Busabout....good, bad, ugly??????
 

Hi there, <BR> <BR>I'm traveling over to Euro from Australia. <BR> <BR>Thinking of doing the busabout thing from london down to South of spain over 7 or 8 weeks starting begining of august. (after this do morocco and greece) <BR> <BR>Anyone used busabout before? Good? as flexible as they make out? <BR> <BR>cheers <BR>pat

I've personally never heard of 'busabout', but maybe others have...I'm assuming its like a Europass for trains only for buses. My experience with the trains has been great, with or without the pass. Buses in England (and UK generally) are great run on time and are not too funky, Italy also, local buses are a great way to get from towns that trains do not serve particularly into ski hills or out to seaside destinations. Run on time, cheap and stop at roadside (AGIP) stations for 'breaks'. Get you there on time, though where in town they drop you off will sometimes depend on whether its market day or not and you have to pay close attention if there are multi-stops: the drivers kind of assume everybody on board knows where they are and doesn't announce things very well, unless prompted. Its a good way to meet locals.

I'd be interested in hearing about Busabout, too. My son (age 22) is thinking about using it this summer. <BR> <BR>www.busabout.com <BR> <BR>Anyone?

Topping for Jon

I'm not sure I can help you specifically except to say I have read forums where some people who've taken Busabout talked about it and generally liked it. It has some advantages to railpass (cheaper, they help you make hostel reservations, etc); I think the disadvantages are it takes longer and they only go to major cities, maybe. I'm not real sure where I read these discussions but perhaps www.eurotrip.com in transportation section, try that. It is not like a railpass for public buses, it is a specific company that has its own buses. I think for kids who have a lot of free time (because it can take longer) and want to see the main cities, it can be a very good idea and maybe even preferable for teens/young 20s as you really get to meet people more (spend a lot of time with them) and they help with hostel reservations and advice. Especially for kids wanting to hit the main highlights on their first trip, I think it could be a great choice.

Busabout comes up quite often on the LP Thorntree (Backpacker site mostly), try their search engine and posting there. http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/th...anches.pl?Cat= Regards, Walter <BR>

Thanks so much, Walter. <BR> <BR>I went over to the site and read favorable comments about Busabout. <BR> <BR>Thanks too, for sending me your Italy website file a while ago. I shared it with my Italian II class (and gave you credit). <BR> <BR>