the Travel Enthusiast
- 10 Nov
Tips on how to survive an overnight bus trip
photo by Marc Sheffner
If you’ve ever backpacked or taken a trip while strapped for money, then you’re probably very familiar with the none too pleasant experience of taking long and tedious bus trips.
When you’re still at the beginning of your trip, full of excitement and enthusiasm, you will probably only be concerned with the cheapest and most reasonably comfortable way of getting from one place to another, but a couple of hours into an overnight bus trip you will have to come to terms with the grueling, boring reality of it.
Overnight bus trips are not fun, and something they can be downright torturous, but they can be made somewhat more bearable with a few tricks. So here are some tips on how to survive an overnight bus trip.
Keeping your stuff safe in the bus terminal
Overnight bus trips usually start at night, which is a pretty inconvenient time to start a trip in any case, especially if you are saddled with a lot of luggage. When traveling at night, a little paranoia never hurts, and you will want to keep a really careful eye on your belongings. If you have your luggage in your visual field (and preferably physical contact) all the time, the chances of someone grabbing it are much slimmer.
Keeping your stuff safe on the bus
photo by Buddahbless on Flickr
You might think that once you board the bus you can sight with relief that the luggage problem is taken care of, but…not so fast. On crowded buses, if you place your stuff on the overhead rack, chances are that it will be dragged (intentionally or not) to the back, and into the hands of someone else even before the trip starts.
Don’t put anything very important on the rack, and keep it at your feet even if it takes up some of that precious space.
How to dress and what to bring
You can never know whether a bus has air-conditioning or heating, or whether they will work, so in order to avoid melting/freezing for the entire night, you should definitely dress in layers. Comfort is also essential – wear lose clothes that won’t cause you any itching or wedging. Also, don’t forget about some snacks and food even if you plan on trying to sleep through the night. Bring some crackers, water, and even some motion sickness pills, just to be on the safe side.
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travel search by Travelgrove (get this widget)Warding off boredom
photo by Todd Morris
A portable music player is a lifesaver if they are crying babies on the bus, snoring, loud conversation, bus-drivers who play electro music in the night or maybe even the occasional squawking bird or squealing small animal.
A sleeping mask might also help if you don’t manage to fall asleep – darkness over your eyes and some relaxing music will shut out the environment well enough to catch a snooze.
Taking breaks
If your bus trip takes a whole night, then chances are that the bus will stop for a break at some point in the night. You might want to get off the bus and maybe do some stretching to relieve the neckache/backache, but don’t wander too far from the bus, and if there are more buses in the parking lot then try to remember which one was yours, no matter how sleepy and tired you are.
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