10 TIPS For Traveling ALONE on the GREYHOUND BUS

hey how's it going everybody Tim here the frugal travel guru back with another video and in today's video I wanted to talk about traveling on the Greyhound bus alone now I know if you are planning a trip on greyhound and you're having to go by yourself because you can't find anyone to go with you you're probably a little nervous I totally get this I understand it when I made my first solo Greyhound bus trip I think it was like 10 years ago almost I was super nervous super scared I just I just you know being in an unfamiliar environment with all these different people you know going you know far away from home I was very nervous I'd heard all these these horror stories about Greyhound I just did not know what to expect so I wanted to make today's video and talk about some tips that I think will help you if you're traveling alone on the Greyhound bus but before we get into the tips let me just say you will be okay you can travel on greyhound by yourself you will be okay thousands of people will do it every day they make it to their destination and they're fine you'll be fine too I just want to get that out there maybe ease some of that nervousness you got going on now let's jump into these tips so tip number one is that I recommend you tell someone that you're going on your bus trip okay let someone know when you're leaving let someone know when you should arrive at your destination and have that person check in with you not only at the beginning and the end of your trip but also throughout your trip just let someone know that you're going on this trip so that if you know in the unlikely event that something does happen there will be someone who can get in touch with like greyhound and find out like where you're at or what's going on or will cause try to contact you and get an update so just let someone know that you actually are going on this trip alone tip number two is don't draw attention to yourself I've mentioned this in several other videos Greyhound is not the time in the place to dress up have all your best outfit on your nicest jewelry you know you have your face made all up the ground is not the place to draw attention to yourself the less attention you draw to yourself the your trip will be trust me on this one written the Greyhound many many times and I've seen the people who you know there are some crazy people in Graham you know no there will be some crazy people on your trip what you want to do is fall under their radar so the less attention you draw to yourself the less likely you are that you will have some of the people that can make your trip you know a nightmare to you know come towards you so just dress down dress comfortable dress casual shot or blend in with the crowd and you'll be fine tip number three if possible especially if you are on a longer trip try and find like a travel buddy trying to find someone who's traveling close to where you're going you know or in the same general direction as you maybe they're going a little further than you whatever try to find a travel buddy someone that you can build up a trust with and who you can just a sit by possible talk to you know during lay overs maybe when you want to go to the bathroom or get something to eat or whatever they can watch your luggage you can do the same for them you know kind of be careful choosing your travel buddy because there's some slick talkers out there they may be the main person in trying to get you so be careful I recommend like elderly people okay if you can find like an elderly person who could be your travel buddy not only will can they help you out but you can do a lot more for helping them out if there's someone's elderly they're traveling on ground they probably need your help more than you need theirs but they can also watch your back watch your possessions things like that not to mention an old person can't like grab your luggage is run away hey opers you can't really rob you so that so that's another plus for having an older travel buddy but just try to find someone you can travel with watch each other's back a lot of times with me this just happens organically I've traveled gray on alone enough like I'm cool I don't care but a lot of times I'll just like sit next to someone will start talking and before you know it we just kind of like link up for the rest of our time together tip number four oh and this is especially doing brakes things like that stay with the crowd okay bus stop somewhere for you to get something to eat don't go wandering off way down the street I'll stay with the people on your bus where they're going things like that it's just safer because like I mentioned in the beginning you are in new surroundings new cities new towns new areas you don't know I was a good part of town a bad part of town what's right around the corner if you stay with the crowd you stay with the people you're riding the bus with they can look out for you and people are far less likely to do anything to you if you're around a crowd of people so when you have breaks things like that stay with the people on the bus be a lot safer tip number five keep your eye on your luggage at all times one of the biggest complaints on Greyhound is that people's luggage get lost gets lost and while it's not as a big a deal as like bodily harm it is still still a big deal um a lot of times you're traveling on greyhound a lot of people are moving they're going on important trips you need your luggage very rare someone can lose a luggage you like so you definitely need to keep your eye on your luggage on the Greyhound bus because they can you know either get loaded on the wrong bus get left at a station or someone could steal it let's be honest so whenever your luggage is with you in your possession keep an eye on it I can't tell you how many times I see people puts it down in a station and walk over to like the water fountain walk to the bathroom walk to get something to eat walk to the vending machine and have their back to that luggage anyone could just walk up take your bags and leave it happens real quick cell phones as well when you're charging your cell phone at the station at the charging Bank don't leave your phone there and walk away someone will steal it I'm telling you so just keep your eye on your luggage keep it with you at all times even when you're on the bus you're checked bag will be under the bus you don't have to worry about it just make sure if possible you see it get put on the right bus okay sometimes the luggage attendants make a mistake so just whatever possible make sure you see the bag but don't put under the bus but as far as like your carry-on bags this is kind of up to you even I will admit I don't know I don't always do this I travel with a carry-on backpack typically sometimes when the stops for food breaks or bathroom breaks out I'll take the backpack down from the overhead bin put it on my back before I go in the store or whatever sometimes I don't it kind of depends on where we're at and who and honestly who's on the bus with me if I'm on the bus with a pretty chill crowd I'm not worried about anybody I'll leave my carry-on on the bus sometimes sometimes I take it off with me you know as as the photo travel guru my advice to you is gonna be to take it with you at all times but you know I've never thus far knock on wood had anyone still my my carry-on bag from the overhead bin but just realize depending on what you have in it if you have your valuables some expensive electronics you might want to take your hair on bag with you everywhere just to make sure no one steals it tip number six and this is one I see a lot of people not follow know your itinerary when you purchase your ticket it will show you for the most part your whole itinerary especially all the layover Xand transfers and major stops that you have um gray on stops at a lot of little small podunk hole-in-the-wall towns so we'll show you all of those but it will show you like the major stops on your route just know those because it's good to know for one thing you don't want to be like sleep on the bus and your bus is gonna you know your stop is coming up in an hour and you think you still have like five six hours left or whatever you know it's good to know where the bus is gonna be stopping is good to know where you have lay overs and transfers especially the transfers it's good to know we're as well as when your transfer is scheduled to take place a lot of times Greyhound runs behind schedule okay so you're you may be scheduled to come into Atlanta and then leave at 2:00 p.m. on another bus that the bus you're on might not get to Atlanta until 3:00 p.m. so that means the bus you were scheduled to leave on is probably already gone if you're not paying attention to your itinerary you won't know this you'll pull into Atlanta thinking it's all fine and dandy you'll get off go you know whatever stretch your legs use the bathroom then eventually you look alright when do I once my next bus leave and ee-oh that bus left an hour half ago then you have you know the issue of getting it a new ticket reprinted and you know when figuring out when the next bus is coming if you pay attention to your itinerary and you know that you've already missed your bus you know like this happens to me a lot on greyhound sadly I know when I get to Atlanta 3 p.m. first thing I need to do is run to the service desk get my new ticket get a new ticket printed for the next bus coming in fact me I pay such close attention to my itinerary that I will have already on the Greyhound mobile app I will have already pulled up when the next bus is leaving like I'll get on there and I'll start I'll go to the book a ticket feature and see when the next bus is leaving from Atlanta that has tickets so when I get to the ticket counter I'm like yeah I need a ticket on the 4:15 bus to so-and-so like I'm that in depth with it you don't have to be that in-depth with it but at least know your itinerary know where you're going when you're suppose to be there when your other buses are supposed to leave I've seen people just clueless in a Greyhound bus station and they end up being there for like 18 hours because they have to wait for a bus coming tomorrow you don't want that to happen so no your itinerary number 7 this is kind of common sense but I'm learning in life that common sense is a myth so be careful who you talk to it can be very tempting to whoever says next sits next to you you've got this long bus trip to just open up and spill your guts they'll be telling you all kinds of stories you want to tell your stories first and foremost a lot of people in life in general lie so a lot of the stories these people are telling you probably are not true I would say 60% of stories you hear on gray are people just making stuff up that's part of the fun of traveling and be whoever you want to be so these people start telling you their life story doesn't mean you need to tell them your life story especially be careful about you know real personal private information as well as don't always have to tell people where you're going that's like the main question people eyes where are you going you never know someone might want to get off to the same destination as you and try to follow you home or something crazy so me personally depend on what the person is sometimes I I try to never lie but sometimes the wrong destination might just happen to slip out because I trust the person sitting next to me so just be careful you talk to like I said there's crazy people on the ground bus they will try to come up start conversations all kinds of stuff it is okay to be rude and just ignore someone not talk to them never let someone borrow your cell phone that's another big one on greyhound people want to borrow your phone in this day and age who does not have the phone the government will give you a phone so if somebody does not have a phone and they need to borrow yours that's a red flag don't let people borrow your phone don't just be talking to people willy-nilly put your earbuds in listen to the music it's tell you it's safer because there's some crazies out there not not not a lot but there there are some out there and they tend to love graham so just be careful who you talk to what information you share tip number eight you're gonna be tired especially if you have a long Greyhound bus trip I recommend sleeping on the bus I think that's the safest place I see a lot of people sleeping at the Greyhound bus stations um and I've seen people miss their bus because they overslept I've seen people come around and like be scoping out people's luggage while they're sleeping just all kinds of bad things gonna happen if you're sleeping in a Greyhound bus station just on some random bench you know so I recommend sleeping on the bus really the only bad thing that can happen to you if you're sleeping on the bus is with the person next to you you know starts messing with you or something you're gonna realize that pretty quick and wake up and then you just yell the bus driver will help you out the people around you but I don't think I've ever seen that happen on my many many trips on greyhound unless it was just totally out of mind that I can message you on the bus because there's too many witnesses so if you have to sleep sleep on the bus I know for some people this is super easy as soon as I get on the bus they're out other people like me is harder to do but I try to make myself like stay awake and you know drink like an energy drink it's stuff like that when I'm in the station now we want to get on the bus I'm tired it also another reason we need to know your itinerary when you know you have a long stretch on the bus try to get some sleep sometimes you can't help it I've slept in stations before myself just so exhausted had long layover there's nothing too but whenever possible try to sleep on the bus so that your alert at the station so no harm comes to you when you're knocked out on a bench in the Denver Greyhound bus station at 2:00 in the morning okay moving on tip number nine one of the another tip I mentioned in almost all my videos sit near the front of the bus I don't know why but but the crazies and thugs and the in in the people that you know just just all the drawn what people always go to the back of the bus I think it's just that natural instinct to want to be as far away from authority as possible the bus driver is the only authority on the bus they would be as far away from her or him as possible they go to the back of the bus and then kind of work their way to the middle if they have to meet I plopped down in the first seat available I kind of skip the first row over to because it's for like elderly people if possible but at third rope you know third fourth fifth rope fair game I trusted close to the front of the bus as possible a lot less drama with a lot less activity if something does go down the bus driver is right there and they'll just turn around be like shut up I stopped that you know so it just is easier not to mention you're further away from the bathroom and you want to try to avoid being near or using that bathroom whenever possible so I just think the front of the bus you just win on so many different levels trust me on this one sit as front as close to the front of the bus as possible it will make your trip a lot smoother not to mention you also get off the bus quicker and when you get to a station if your luggage is coming off from under the bus you want to be one of the first people off the bus to claim your luggage it's super easy a lot of these stations where there's a couple different buses right there and then a couple different attendants or luggage off they're not always looking at people's baggage slips anyone can walk up to take a bag walk off so you want to be one of the first people halt to identify your bag take it and leave and now my final tip super easy one have a ride waiting when you get to your destination don't want to spend time milling around a Greyhound bus station trying to find a ride so if possible you know have arrived waiting this may be a little complicated because the bus will probably be late so you have to coordinate with them when you're actually gonna be there this day and age is super easy to have a uber or lyft you know come pick you up you don't have to like have that waiting but me typically already have it pulled up in the app and then as soon as I like get my bags to get in the station you know boom I hit it and the drivers usually there in a couple minutes the old days when you had to wait on a taxi you're standing outside taxi people milling around kind of dangerous but now I just stay in the station till I see my lift pull up and over pull up typically uber and then I just go outside so I have some form of riot either waiting or coming you know pretty fairly soon but just you don't wanna make it safely through your trip and then have something go down while you're waiting on two weird taxi cab driver I don't know what people take taxis anymore I guess it's some some places there are no uber but you know so just have a ride family friend family member somebody to come pick you up not a big fan of especially if you're going to a new place of waiting on the public transportation there's been times when I did my research I was like oh like in Orlando I said oh there the bus is right outside of the bus station the local bus is right outside the bus station I'll get off the bus I'll hop on the you know the local bus go to my hotel when I got to Orlando it was one of these like most ghetto bus stations around how people were just walking up punching people in the face I saw this I was like not waiting out there I think I think this was actually this a couple years ago it was actually the station in the time when I downloaded overused it because I was like no not using that local bus the taxi was being weird was like I'm using this uber thing worked out great so you know don't don't Bank on public transportation unless you have to I mean some places have nice subways right next to the ground bus station or you know the whatever some kind of some places have nice public transportation but just be aware that it might not be super nice it could be in the middle of the ghetto so just have a ride waiting if possible anyway those are my ten tips are riding the Greyhound bus alone if you have any tips to add please leave in the comment box below if you have any other bring on bus questions comment box below check out my other videos I think I have like a hundred plus videos about the Greyhound bus I know I didn't realize I could make that many videos about Greyhound either but anyway you know check out my other videos and I'll probably have answered the question you have in that video if not you can always hit me up on social media and that's usually it's easiest for me to get in contact with you if you see me a question on Instagram a lot of people do that at night I answer them our so so check them out on social media hit me up there if you have a question I don't mind talking all day about Greyhound bus as you can tell this video is almost like 20 minutes anyway I'm telling the frugal travel guru thanks for watching talk to you later

Channel: 2 Suitcase Timmy

Views: 66,540

Keywords: greyhound bus, frugal travel guru, traveling alone on greyhound bus, riding greyhound alone, greyhound bus tips, solo bus travel tips, is it safe to ride greyhound alone, riding greyhound by myself, solo greyhound bus trip, greyhound bus travel, stay safe greyhound, female greyhound bus, alone on greyhound, greyhound bus passengers, how to ride greyhound bus, luggage greyhound bus, 10 tips greyhound, sleep on greyhound bus, greyhound bus schedule, greyhound bus trip

Id: 6_wBsFHa7R0

Length: 18min 12sec (1092 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 18 2018