Eurolines, a cheap way to travel around europe

Hi

Many travellers only think in terms of rail travel and rail passes for getting around Europe, but a much cheaper alternative is the Eurolines pass. I'd especially recommend it in low season, because then the coaches are often less than half full and you can lie down across two seats and get a reasonable sleep on overnight journeys. There are some disadvantages though; you can only travel between a limited number of cities and large towns - quite a large number, but obviously with a rail pass you can get off and on at any station. Take sandwiches and a thermos with you, as the stops for breaks can be few and far between.

The coaches generally leave and arrive on time in my experience, with one annoying exception: border guards in the most unlikely places sometimes target the coaches, looking for illegal immigrants, drugs, etc. My coach has recently been stopped on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, causing quite a delay, and between Sweden and Norway, leading to a two-hour delay which made me miss the night train from Oslo.

Any other positive or negative experiences with Eurolines?

Personally, I never used them, because I take trains, planes and my own car in Europe.
I would use them for relatively short trips on a trip further away in Europe (for example between two cities in the Baltics), if they are cheaper, faster and more convenient.
But still, it's a bus, just my least favorite mode of transport to be honest.

I guess that stop between Belgium and the Netherlands was north of Antwerp? They frequently stop vehicles and buses with foreign plates. Especially French They either come with 4 people in an old Peugeot 205 or take a very cheap bus tickets. There, another disadvantage...the type of people

I've used Eurolines about 6 times, for trips ranging from about 4 to about 24 hours. I think they operate a good service. The buses are generally clean, the timetables seem to work, ticket prices range from very cheap to moderate, the drivers seem generally to be fairly safe (in comparison to some other long-distance coach operators).

However, long-distance bus travel just is uncomfortable, and I'd really much rather get the train where possible.

As much as I like bus travel, Eurolines is a living nightmare. Their seats are cramped, their travel times incredibly long, and I actually don't find them that cheap.

Really Niels? Compared to other bus services? I've found other bus services to be worse (Ulusoy in Turkey springs to mind, though it was admittedly cheaper, and some longer Italian routes were pretty rickety). And I don't like the look of some of the budget services from the UK to Eastern Europe.

Is there an alternative to Eurolines for international bus services?

I've only ever taken them once which was between Amsterdam and Barcelona. I thought it was just fine. Nothing spectacular, but certainly not terrible. Then again, I actually can sleep in buses and for some reason have never minded them that much. I'd prefer a train but when both were possible the bus usually ended up cheaper. Of course I did once take a 44 hour bus ride which was on the long side. Even that I can hardly remember so yeah, I guess I am just strange The worst part of the ride to Barcelona with Eurolines was some girls about three rows in front of us who kept eating those rice waffles. The smell of those things in an enclosed space like that was rather gross for my friend and me. But we both hate the smell of those things anyway, hehe...

Quoting magykal1

Really Niels? Compared to other bus services? I've found other bus services to be worse (Ulusoy in Turkey springs to mind, though it was admittedly cheaper, and some longer Italian routes were pretty rickety). And I don't like the look of some of the budget services from the UK to Eastern Europe.

Is there an alternative to Eurolines for international bus services?

Funny that you mention Ulusoy. I took a bus twice with them, and I liked the comfort and service. Although they weren't better than the normal buses. I guess the buses you find in countries like Chile are probably an utopia for Europe. I wonder why...business class for bargain prices!

ive only used it once, between london and amsterdam and its perfectly doable. it was a bit cramped, esp as the kid in front of me put his chair back too far, but considering that the trip from london to amsterdam is broken up a bit, 1st by the border control, then actually onto the ferry and then the last 6hour leg, its not that bad at all.... it was fairly cheap considering all the other options... i dont have any beefs with eurolines at all but im not sure that id wanna go for longer than 10 hours or something.,..