As the title suggests, I'm taking my first Greyhound bus trip in June, when I'm heading to Little Rock from Hendersonville, NC. I have no idea what to expect, except a transfer in Knoxville and a trip that will take most of the day and night.

Truth be told, I'm getting nervous about it, but it'st he only way I can afford to go! I'm hoping someone can give me a little reassurance, or at least tell me what to expect, as I hate learning through experience.

Can anyone help?

"I hate learning through experience."

Shame on you! Would you rather just read a book about bus travel?

From someone who's taken many longer trips than yours:

1) If you sit next to a "yapper," try the old pretend-to-take-a-nap ploy.

2) Get used to saying "coffee and a piece of pie, please." (lots of short stops.

Have fun!

Hi there, hauntedhead!
My first Greyhound trip was from Charlotte NC to San Diego Ca!! After I got over being car(bus) sick, it was just monotonous.
Take plenty of music/books/something to do..take clayrr's advice and keep to yourself if you have a "yapper" next to you, otherwise you are trapped!
I put the headphones on and pretend I am listening sometimes, even if the cdplayer is off
It will be fun! Try not to think of it as "learning through experience" as much as Another of Many Great Adventures you will be going on
Have a great time!

I took one long bus trip from NY to Fla when in college. One thing I clearly remember is the dry air in the bus. It affected my skin, hair and especially my nose... I'm not sure tho what to do about that. Perhaps a small mister with water you can spray on your face every now and then? Maybe someone else can suggest something. Or do a google search.

I took a Greyhound from Atlanta to New Orleans (in August no less). What I remember most is how SLOW it was. Oh, man. I assumed that we would be on the freeway at least some of the time. No, we took the back roads and stopped at every small bus stop on the way. I don't know if they have express buses or not, but be prepared for it to take longer than you expect.

I second traveljune--the bus always takes much longer than you'd think, because they take indirect routes in order to hit all the stops. Yep, bring lots of stuff to divert yourself with, and I also suggest Handywipes--you can refresh yourself surprisingly thoroughly with a couple of those,especially in a restroom. And hey, it won't be a nightmare, just tedious--collect anecdotes and portraits for the great novel you'll write someday! ;-)

Take a small comfortable U-shaped pillow (a normal one like they give on the airplanes will fall off) or a thick sweater - roll it up and put on your neck, the seats are not very comfortable, and you will need it. Also if you plan to read bring a flashlight. Get up at every stop to stretch your legs and get some fresh air. Get to the station earlier to get a better seat on the bus.

I sometimes take the bus from DC to NYC. There are a lot of weirdos on Greyhound. Avoid them by sitting next to foreign tourists. I don't know if there will be any Japanese or German tourists, but i've found that they like to practice English, share snacks and magazines, making the trip go by a lot faster.

Still nervous about all this, especially the part where I transfer in Knoxville. I've looked up the location of the Knoxville Greyhound station. It's at 100 E Magnolia Ave.

I'm wondering if this is a safe area. Does anyone have an idea of how I might find out? I've done a search for "Magnolia Ave" and "Knoxville" and came up with a report on the world sex guide that rates the hookers of Knoxville and the best places to pick them up. If you couldn't guess, the report recommends the bus station.

Needless to say, upon reading this, I thought to myself that there have definitely been times when I've camped more happily. If you get my drift. I'm going to have to arrive at the Hendersonville Greyhound station, located on the edge of the town's slums, at 7-something in the morning, ride to a hooker-infested bus station in a city I've never been to before, where I will sit for about an hour zealously guarding my luggage, at which time I'll reboard a bus and ride to Little Rock.

Six days later, shortly after midnight, I will board a bus in Little Rock, ride back to the hooker-infested bus station in Knoxville and sit around for about half an hour before riding back to the slums of Hendersonville. The trip there will take more than 16 hours, as will the trip back.

Pardon me while I don't quiver with gleeful anticipation. Is it just me, or is this shaping up to be about as fun as a tax audit? Hookers, for God's sake! No one told me to beware of hookers!

hookers are all over the world and not specific to bus stations. I wouldn't worry about them - it's their drugged out customers that should concern you.
If you're so worried, why not rent a car and drive yourself? or see if you can get a flight to somewhere in NC and rent a car from there?

One hour and 1/2 hour not that long as to worry if the surrounding area is safe. Just don't pick up a hooker You will be getting off/on and so will be many others.

hookers?......may you'll bump into mike price!

There is something wrong with this post. I checked Greyhound.com and it looks like the trip will cost you about $120 RT. plus all the time wasted doing the actual trip plus all the coffee and sandwich money you will need to spend along the way. I'm not sure where Hendersonville is exactly, but I just priced round-trip from Charlotte to Little Rock, and it's only $145. So it looks like it's about the same amount after all the expenses you will incur during the 15 or so hours each way on the bus.

Actually, I've arranged to have the friend I'm visiting in Little Rock take me back home, because he's moving up here anyway and wants to come up to get a jump on job-hunting. That means I shaved half of the price off, and thus I've only paid $59 for the privilege of sitting in the Knoxville bus station for an hour and a half (I rechecked the schedule) watching johns pick up hookers while clearly disturbed persons of indeterminate sex lose lengthy arguments to individual air molecules in the background.

Also, it turns out the bus station is across the railroad tracks and about two blocks away from Knoxville's Old City, which might be a nice place to explore, even while hauling around a suitcase and a backpack full of medications -- because I'm sure as hell not leaving anything in the bus station where one of the disturbed persons might get ahold of it.

So many questions! Who do you give your luggage to and what do you have to do to make them give it back? What kind of protections should one take against disturbed persons? What do I do if all the benches in the waiting area are occupied by comatose drunks? What if there are no benches? What if there's no waiting area? What if there is a chalk outline of a body on the bus station floor?

What if there are several chalk outlines of bodies on the floor?

How do you know what bus to get on to next to complete the trip from Knoxville to Little Rock? What if I can't see that bus from where I'm waiting?

I'm thinking if I stress out enough over it, I'll eventually pass out and not have to think about it anymore. But if anyone has any answers to my serious, or not so serious, questions, I'd appreciate it.

I think there is someone/somewhere near the tickets booth that can take your luggage for you while you stroll the Old City. When you actually board the bus, the luggage is stored just the way they do with trains. You get it back the same way.
Re: that while outline on the ground, point it out to any wandering drunk /deranged person and they will lie down.
Re: waiting room or not, I believe in Hendersonville, you might run into a better waiting room clientele, they might police the place a little better than say, NYC or places where the drunks/deranged per capita is kind of high compared to Hendersonville
Or try my husbands theory..if You act crazy-they will leave you alone!
Have a good trip, and pleeeease tell us about it when you get back~Scarlett

Haunted, how was your trip?