I took Megabus for the first time two weeks ago, and I was impressed. If you're impatient, needy, or a misanthrope you'll probably disagree -- but this is a ride that exceeds expectations on almost every level. If you live in California, you owe it to yourself to try it. Megabus will make you think differently about air travel, and travel in general.
From the time I boarded the bus in San Francisco, I was easily the oldest person on board. It was a Saturday, and the bus was mostly full of exhausted Millennials; I think most of them slept all the way to L.A. At San Jose, a young mother boarded with her two little girls, who got the reserved seats next to me. These kids could not have been older than 4 and 8, but they handled long hours on the road with grace, sharing an iPad and playing I Spy with their mom as the miles passed.
If you're planning to try Megabus from San Francisco to L.A., here's what you need to know:
* If you're traveling on a weekend, consider reserving a seat.
* Pack snacks and water. Your only opportunity to buy these is the mid-trip break, about 4 hours after you board.
* The onboard wi-fi works, but it's slow. Bring something else to do: reading, sudoku, origami, whatever.
* Plan to take photos. The drought is doing amazing things to California, including making all the cherry trees in the Central Valley burst into pink bloom in February. You'll see some sights you'll want to remember.
* Your mid-trip break is exactly 25 minutes. That is NOT long enough to get to In-N-Out and back to the bus in time. Choose another option for road food, or the bus will leave without you. (There is no pre-departure headcount.)
* If you're a hand-sanitizer type, bring it. The onboard restroom is very clean, and there's plenty of hand sanitizer, but you may feel better with your own.
* Wear layers. The bus goes from warm to cold as the trip wears on.
* There are no wipers on the top-deck front windows. By the time we reached L.A., the four of us in the top front row had watched all the bugs in California die on our windshield. (It was awesome.)
* Remember the Golden Rule of Travel: Treat all others -- driver, baggage personnel, your fellow passengers -- as you expect them to treat you.
* If your final stop is L.A.'s Union Station, allow yourself at least an hour to explore the place. It was restored in 2007, now contains a really nice restaurant (Traxx) and a Starbucks, and is every bit as beautiful as you remember.
The eight hours I spent on board Megabus were the some of the best time I've spent traveling in years. The driver was punctual and deadpan-funny, my fellow passengers were friendly, the view was great, the bus was clean, and arriving at Union Station on a warm winter evening was the perfect end to a nice day. Best of all: no bag fees, no security lines, no need to take off my shoes, no boarding groups, no seat-back space shrinking to less than a foot when the guy in front of me decides to sleep. All of this for like $30!
I can't wait to do it again. :) read more