Megabus

megandscott07 · January 2011

Has anyone ever taken the Megabus to Chicago? I am amazed at the $30 round trip price and thinking of taking it down over a weekend, planning to ride the 10:30pm-6:30am route. Is the bus comfortable? I would want to try to sleep on it although I'm not sure how well that would go. Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks!

jennyk213 · January 2011

A friend and her friend took it last month and were on that route. She had some interesting stories about the passengers that I'm not sure I could have handled but she's pretty open minded and takes things in stride. She said she was a bit freaked out on the way to Chicago because the bus driver was driving like a maniac. They had some bus trouble and had to stop for something like an hour but they managed to arrive in Chicago half an hour ahead of schedule so I can only imagine how fast he was driving.

wittyschaffy · January 2011

I drive by the stop for it on my way in to work. There are some... characters waiting around for their ride. I'm not sure I'd do it solo.

stephmarie · January 2011

I've taken it to Chicago a couple times, including the overnight trip you're thinking about. Are you going alone? The bus is not necessarily comfortable, but I would do it again if I needed to. If you are traveling with other people I would suggest trying your hardest to be one of the first ones on and get a seat on the lower level. There are a lot less seats down there so less noise and a few of the seats are positioned around tables so I was able to lay my head down on that. In the upper deck I swear I could feel it swaying, there is not much leg room, and much more noise. The bus also makes one 30 minute stop on the way. I took one tylenol pm as well, not enough to knock me out but enough to help me sleep for awhile.

ElizabethD · January 2011

I did the 7am arrive 2:30 one and there was NO double layer, no tables.

It was quite an amazing look at humanity. The guys behind me had a CB radio going every 30 seconds talking to people very loudly. Then they turned on a movie and played it loudly with the F bomb going in the dialogue every couple minutes. If you can handle loud, obnoxious noises in your ears for seven hours, the price can't be beat. (And I did ask them where they got their DVD player and they were plenty nice so I never felt scared, just ear drum hurting and hard to read a book with the noise!)

Some folks seemed to not have enough money for luggage so they brought garbage bags for their clothes. Sort of humbling to think about.

There is no way in hell I'd ever do it overnight. My bus was tiny. Thank God I didn't have anyone next to me because I was already squished and not able to have my legs straight ahead of me. And I have no idea how much sketchier a group can get if they're able to be awake at 7am, vs the 10:30pm crowd.

By the way, the prices are sort of auction based so they do change. They start at $1 each way and go up as seats are sold. (So like I think one seat per bus is $1, then $2, etc. I had a $30 one way and $48 another way based on when in the cycle I bought my tix.)

megandscott07 · January 2011

Thanks everyone SO much for your responses. I am going to be traveling with DH, but I think we may still just look out for some cheap airfare instead of the Megabus.

purplecrayon · January 2011

I have a friend that lives in Cincinatti. She has used the Megabus to come to MN to visit multiple times. In fact, she just arrived in town a couple days ago. I thought she had said it only cost $5 or so round-trip. She's never had any complaints & is constantly telling other people to take advantage of it.

MrsKizdoodle · January 2011

From the stories I've heard you definitely get what you pay for. Indifferent

Whitman_Poe · January 2011

My husband and I are taking the Megabus to Chicago in February. We are leaving on a Thursday night at 10:30 and coming back on Sunday at 6:30 am. Round trip is $30 for both of us. I think the return trip is totally free. We always make a game out of staying at really cheap motels, so I don't think the bus will be a problem for us. I may change my mind after experiencing it. I plan on taking some Advil PM and using my noise blocking headphones.

chaoticmum · January 2011

I did the early trip with a friend for a conference. The ride down was decent. The driver was nice, and drove well. The wifi didn't work on the way down so that sucked. Also, some of the outlets above the seats didn't work. It was a pretty roomy trip too because there weren't a ton of passengers, so my friend and I sat on top and across the aisle from each other and got to stretch out and even nap.

The ride back to Mpls was a disaster. Some guy with his girlfriend was trying to board the bus with his things packed in pillowcases instead of duffel bags or suitcases and they wouldn't let him board. He delayed our return trip by an hour because he was arguing with the driver and swearing at him. The trip back was packed full and we were on the bottom part of the bus and were very cramped and it was warm in there so it was miserable. Luckily for me, I was getting off the bus in Madison to spend a day with my parents and then taking the Madison-Mpls trip back the following day. So I only had to be on a bus a couple hours. My friend said that the rest of her trip after Madison only got worse with kids kicking her seat and other fine characters.

Make sure you pack snacks! Some of the trips between Mpls and Chicago stop and some don't - depends on the time of the route, I guess.

Lyn09 · January 2011

Try southwest; they usually have cheap flights to Chi.

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