Travelling Europe by coach
It's the cheapest way to move around Europe and also the slowest. These are the routes where it genuinely pays off and the ones that aren't worth it.
Real prices
Journeys between European cities booked ahead typically cost a fraction of the train fare, and sometimes less than checked baggage on a flight. The earlier you book the cheaper: fares climb sharply in the final days.
When it pays off
On journeys of up to six or seven hours, and whenever train prices spike. Also when you travel light with a flexible schedule, or when rail connections between two cities are poor, which happens more often than you'd think in some parts of Europe.
When it doesn't
On daytime journeys over ten or twelve hours: you lose a whole day and arrive wrecked. And when the price gap with a train or budget flight is twenty or thirty euros — there, your time is worth more than the saving.
Overnight coaches
They save a night's accommodation and that's their entire argument. You sleep poorly: seats recline little, there are stops and lights. If you take one, pick a window seat near the front, bring an eye mask, earplugs and a warm layer, as they run very cold.
What to bring aboard
Water and food, as stops are short and unpredictable. A charger and power bank, since sockets don't always work. And everything valuable in a small bag with you, never in the hold.
Coach stations
They tend to be worse located than rail stations and less pleasant, especially at night. Check on a map beforehand where you're dropped and how you reach the centre at that hour: arriving at five in the morning at an out-of-town station with no transport is an uncomfortable situation.
Combine with rail
The approach that works best is using coaches where trains are expensive or don't run, and trains where a coach would take too long. You don't have to pick one for the whole trip.
A baggage tip
Most coach operators include a hold bag and a cabin bag at no cost, making them more generous than budget airlines. If you travel with a lot of luggage, the real gap with flying narrows considerably.
Keep reading
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