GreyHound to california

[HoboTrek]

Hey guys this May, im hopping a bus from south florida to california, but im not sure where to start the trip. Wheres a good place For a novice to start out at? I plan on seeing the whole state, I heard slab citys pretty cool, but might be to hot in mid summer. Any one Ever sleep under The Red woods? Really looking to do that. Just looking for cool cities and places to sleep. Thanks for the help.

 

[HoboTrek]

WOW, cool thank for your help! Didnt realize this was a douche bag forum huh? Any real help?

 

[iamwhatiam]

well i really like garberville, mendocino and all those other little towns thruout northern california --can't remember their names at the moment.
santa cruz is fun too. altho why on earth are you taking a greyhound? i have done a couple cross-country trips that took 3 days + on a greyhound and I will NEVER do it again. busy greyhound stations + packed bus + little sleep and multiple stops at all hours thru the night = hell. i'd only use greyhound as a last resort after all else fails.

 

[Angela]

California is really beautiful if you spend the time to see it. Start anywhere south of Bakersfield and go north. It doesn't matter which way you go. Up highway 99 or up the coast on 101 you'll find amazing places if your looking for them. The redwoods on the coast highway are beautiful but the less well known spots off 99 up into Mariposa county and Yosemite are very special places. It all depends on how much time you take and what your looking for.

 

[wildboy860]

From reading your nickname, it gotta be a good fucking joke you are playing on us.

:hysterical:

Hobo that rides greyhound busses to move across the country!

:hysterical:

:applaud: Thank you, it's a great one.

So you got your return ticket for the end of summer?

I was thinkin somethin quite similar when I read this post. now that you said, I had to comment. fuckin hilarious man. LMFAO
I never knew hobos ride greyhound. you learn somethin new every day!

 

[steelcitybrew]

order that shit 2 weeks in advance and its like 40% or 50% off the price.

I mean BOOK your ticket 2 weeks in advanced.

 

[coldsteelrail]

one time not too long ago, a greyhound picked me up when i was hitch hiking and took me 720 kilometres for free!
i thought i was dreaming, cause when does that ever happen...but it was kind of like a nightmare, b/c the greyhound still sucks rocks, even when it's free!
bring ear plugs and a well behaved flask, and try to score the back seat! it's smells like toilet, but there's potentially more room...and try to keep your head!!
everyone's gotta start traveling somehow. if the greyhound doesn't drive you to hitchhike, then you might learn how to sleep through anything and make some strange new friends.
oh yeah, and the sequoias up around yosemite are actually a larger and different species from the ones on the coast. i could be wrong about that, i'm a canadian, what do i know?...but have fun in cali, and try to stay sane on the bus.

 

[wildboy860]

also... if you plan on riding greyhound often, which it seems like you do. there is this thing someone told me about called the "Discovery Pass". it's $500 and you can travel on greyhound an unlimited amount of times for 2 months I believe. I dunno check it out.

 

[simpletoremember]

oh the grand ol' shamehound. if i were you i'd check out olivehurst california... a lot of friendly folk there.

 

[chip]

I'm gonna echo iamwhatiam from above: I've done some long distances on Greyhound (Chicago - Boston and back, for example) and in my humble opinion that shit really sucks. Give me the train any day. If you buy Amtrak in advance, the tickets aren't that expensive, and the experience is infinitely preferable.

 

[MrD]

I completely agree with others , I rode greyhound from Chicago-Seattle, it was sssoooo fucking miserable!
The only reason i did it was because i got a free ticket,
So if ya' got a choice, go with something a bit more comfortable
I could not even imagine a Florida-California ride...

 

[coldsteelrail]

Don't let everyone fool ya though. Hitch hiking totally sucks balls too, and can be just as irritating and tedious as the greyhound, but at least you can jump out of a shitty ride without fretting about the money you've spent. And there are a lot of people who would way rather ride a greyhound then hitch hike, b/c they find it relaxing, easy, and worryfree. The thing about hitchhiking, is you don't usually have to sit in one spot for too long, and you get ride variation, a sense of freedom, and more opportunity for adventure, all while not spending 100s of dollars on your destination.

 

[HoboTrek]

Thanks everyone! I was thinking grey hound Because i've never took a train or hitched. ( a little nervous by myself). Besides its only 117 to get out there. Im wasnt sure if i should Start in the north or the south. Thanks! I dont have any time restrictions, and i planned on being out there quite some time. No real plan just gunna go.

btw, Hobotrek is just a name. dont take it personal. haha.

 

[Cardboard]

I really gotta say, with the time frame, Would be a good time to start in the north. or hell, even hitting up southern Oregon, going to Grants pass (which, by all means, is a shit hole), and heading south. Late spring is a great time to be in the forest, should be warm enough to camp out, and take your time heading south.
Hard to say if its better taking the coast, or inland for the north, both have their perks, but once you get central (SanFrancisco), I would say to head to the coast.
Santa Cruz is a pretty friendly city, easy to get into the hills and camp, and from there you can easily hitch down the coast through Big Sur, (try to sneak into the Esalen institue, great bath houses on the ocean) enjoy the hotsprings and pretty much unlimited hiking and camping possibilities.
From there getting to LA is no problem, and further to Sandiego, then out to the slabs for the end of the year. Slab city is fucking great, but summer is hell. Meet up with SPAZ and Digihitch around New Years, say hi to Moth from me, and enjoy-
Need any contacts or advice along the way drop me a line

 

[Tao_of_Pi]

As someone who just rode Greyhound, yeah it sucks fucking balls. The floors on some of the buses I rode were sticky as fuck, a few people had some serious BO. Unless you've ridden Greyhound a few times before, you won't fall asleep on that bus. And most Greyhound employees are complete assholes, apparently they have a policy of "no sleeping" at the bus stations so if it's 3am and you have a 7 hour layover expect the security guard to come over and shake you awake.

As far as sightseeing on the bus, it's completely out of your control. The bus doesn't stop for the night, if your passing over the rockies at 1am you won't be able to see shit.

 

[DCLXVI]

Hey guys this May, im hopping a bus from south florida to california, but im not sure where to start the trip. Wheres a good place For a novice to start out at? I plan on seeing the whole state, I heard slab citys pretty cool, but might be to hot in mid summer. Any one Ever sleep under The Red woods? Really looking to do that. Just looking for cool cities and places to sleep. Thanks for the help.

I'm going to be driving from Tennessee to California around mid-May. I wouldn't mind having some people join me, if you want to bypass the headache of unpleasant Greyhound rides and long-distance hitchhiking.

I'll be heading to Santa Cruz, by the way.

 

[Bizaeea]

I rode a Greyhound from East TN to SoCal once, worst idea I ever had. Six day trip, over a full day behind schedule, and at one point we were all stuck in a station at Abilene, TX for nine hours because for some godawful reason they couldn't change the oil there. But I ended up in Anaheim, stayed with a girl there, went over to Santa Ana, which was a waste of time, and ended with Huntington Beach, which I only stayed in a couple days, but was wonderful. But after that, I took the greyhound to Chicago, then to Atlanta, then back up to TN, and honestly, I'd rather walk than take a bus.

And DCLXVI, I'll ride with you. Just say the word, I'm gone.

 

[little_owl]

I hate Greyhound. If it's something less than five hours it's okay maybe. I spent three days on them from Portland, OR to Pittsburgh and back. Such a dreadful trip. And it took even longer than it should have because it was in the winter and there were snowstorms. The worst was one driver who was ready to kick people off just for talking, it was insane almost how they were treating people. It's nice to meet interesting people if you are in the mood though.

 

[gotstaGO]

I've done a few round trips from FL to NY, never had a real problem. I mean, it sucks. But for one person its way cheaper than driving, and shorter. Others seem to hate greyhound more than I do, but I'm not really picky, ya gotta get where yr goin. Amtrak is about the same price if you book in advance for like a wednesday or thursday, and its so much nicer. No gettin kicked off of busses, cigarette stops, and sometimes drunken lounge car fun.

 

[goggles]

There have been times when I've taken greyhound, its not always bad and its not always great. About... 5 years ago I spent two days on 3 different buses from Vancouver, BC to SF and Back again. For the most part it was nice, but at times you spent more time staring out of the window then doing anything else. It gets boring when the only stops and brakes you get are at truck stops, greyhound stops and basically thats it. On my last trip up to Whistler BC two years ago, it was nice but it just wasn't as interesting because you're not out sitting on a train watching the world go by with the wind in your hair and just doing something that most people would consider ludicrous. But that's just me.

- Goggles