qman

I was thinking of taking a bus from nyc to boston in may.Do I need to book in advance?I saw the website and it looks there is quite a few buses that make this trip.I cant believe it only costs $20 roundtrip,ya cant beat that.

rkkwan

You don't need to, and you don't WANT to book in advance. Just get there, and don't show your money until you're sure that is a bus leaving at the time you think it's going to.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Check with Greyhound & PeterPan -- they're often matching the price of Chinatown buses, but you DO have to book in advance, and can't "walk up".

mabel

You can just walk up. You don't have to reserve, and I wouldn't unless you're leaving at a very popular time, like Friday at 5:30. I left Friday at 4pm and I was one of maybe 3 people who reserved in advance. Just get there about 30 minutes before you want to leave. You might even luck out and get on the earlier bus.

I actually got screwed recently by reserving ahead of time because I had reserved for 4pm, but the buses were running late and the 3:30 hadn't even arrived by 4pm but I couldn't get a ticket for the 3:30 (even though they were still available when I arrived). I had to wait for the 4pm bus that I had reserved for.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Mabel: Do you mean don't have to reserve ahead for CHINATOWN or Greyhound/PeterPan?

I meant Greyhound/PeterPan, but I was writing based on their website, not actual experience.

mabel

Oops, sorry. I was talking Chinatown.

ParrotMom

My friend from L.A. just went from D.C. to NYC and from NYC to Boston and back to NYC..all by the Chinese buses and loved it.. I would though make reservations..

zouxh

According to http://www.apexbus.com, they guarantee seat availability for online ticket. It's always a good idea to buy ticket first. I learned my lesson from experience that I could not get a ticket at bus station as there were too many online tickets sold already.