In comparison to train travels which we have know how effective and easy that are, bus travels serves up as a comparable option but at a better price. Bus travels have been getting more and more common these days and sometimes, they are not much longer than taking a train. Bus do also, gets you right in the heart of the city, usually the bus stops are just next to the trains stations. With the upcoming of huge bus companies with vast networks in the recent years. I would like to share how great and how good bus routes are in fact! Taking the bus around Europe have definitely gotten more easy with the prevalence of companies such as Flixbus, Regiojet and Leo Express. In fact, the set up of Regiojet, aka Student Agency is a Czech company that was started out by university students to have the ability to access cheap transportation. In fact it is now one of the largest travel companies linking up routes around Czech Republic. It even have plans to operate train routes. I used the bus for some of my travels, especially Flixbus and Regiojet and would like to do a little sharing on the offering.
First up Flixbus! It is founded in 2013, I would even say that it is the largest bus travels company in Europe. It routes spreads throughout the whole continent. Prices are cheap and usually much lower than using the trains. In fact they are an efficient way to connect since the have so many routes. It is also the bus that I took the most. Booking is simple. You can do it in less than 5mins. They also have an app as well. Sometimes they also have promos code so it is really a great way for travelling on a budget! Something that I really like about travels on Flixbus is also the ability to do changes to your ticket last min. In fact their terms are really very generous for cancellation. I did change my ticket just a day before my travels and I only paid a cancellation fee of 1 Euro. The rest is given to you in a voucher where you can book your new ticket!
Demand is high for Flixbus, the bus is usually very full. It is done in an effective way though. There is not much control over your baggage although it did state that you get a check in and a carry on. Although there is more than enough space since people usually just go on short trips. Do note to put your important stuff in your carry on. Especially when you are travelling in a route with many stops. Yes, sometimes the route is just one point to another, but some runs on a line! On Flixbus, you don’t get to choose a seat when booking so it is more of first come first serve. But there would definitely be a seat for you! The seat is actually just okay, a typical coach seat. It think for 2 to 3 hours ride it is still manageable.
You get actually similar offering as a train, wifi. It is even better than regional trains where they don’t even come with wifi. Although the signal is dependent! Now for the bad side of the bus. Definitely, you get more space on a train and the timings are more accurate on the train in comparison to the bus. The timings are usually good, although still affected by the traffic and sometimes if you are as unlucky as me! A check by border police. Speaking on my first trip on taking the bus. It sure make quite a dramatic experience since I had police looking over my passport with a scope and even taking one of the fellow passenger off the bus. I had good and bad experience on Flixbus, sometimes the driver is really nice and gave good tips on the place while some others just stay quiet.
Now for Regiojet, this is in fact my favourite out of the two of the bus company. Their product offering is so much better. And the bus are newer, nicer and definitely more spacious! Prices are low, especially in Czech Republic so in fact I don’t think that it is a fair comparison. Sometimes that I find why their offering is much better is because it is started by students, real travellers who knows really what we want because they use it themself.
I guess even with the improvement in quality and lower in price, they are still making good bucks, given their expansion and becoming such a popular brand in the area. In terms of route and presence, of course, it can’t be comparable to Flixbus, but in Czech Republic and it’s vicinity it is definitely the big brother. Of course there is wifi, much better than Flixbus. Then there are also a personal entertainment on each seat, although they are pretty limited. They even throw in free headphones, something that even AMERICAN AIRLINES are not giving! Hell that is awesome. For that price it is even magical.
The seats are awesome given that the bus are specifically designed for them! They even had drink services on the bus. Speaking about that. Furthermore you get even get more snacks and drinks for market prices. Service? There is a host on the bus in addition to the driver. That is really impressive. Want some newspaper? You got it!
Seeing The World In Steps 