Job Discussion Forums

[JakeJakeJake]

I love travelling even though it can be a little bit of a pain sometimes. i think people dont travel by land enough as you really get a feel for the sheer greatness of the place we live.
Anyway, I'm planning on flying from the UK to NY, seeing my old home and then travelling by bus through the US stopping in various places I have never seen before over the course of a couple of weeks. Would I be totally mad to go by bus all the way to DF? I def want to go at least to Texas, should I fly from Texas or is it worth travelling by bus through Mexico also as I want to see loads of places. How long does it take from say San Antonio roughly?

[corporatehuman]

No you aren't mad. I think it's a good idea. Just keep in mind it will be a lot more expensive. I have no idea how long it takes from San Antonio. Maybe like 24 hours or so?? But it's a good idea and if you have the money do it.

Also a sometimes good idea is if you can find mexicans coming to mexico...and are driving. You can check online. I posted an ad on craigslist and actually got answers...and I almost did it but ended up wanting to save the money flying.

[MELEE]

I also think it sounds like the experience of a life time.
But I would want you to evaluate how comfortable you are sitting for hours and hours and days and days. I don't think my current body would allow me that trip.

I also think in the end it will end up costing WAY more than flying.
Maybe you could buy a car in New York and drive...
Though taking the bus in the US is an experience, and you'll get lots of Spanish practice a long the way.
Ride sharing with Mexicans is also an interesting idea, though keep in mind I live in a community with a large number of New Jersey license plates on cars immigrants have drove down--these guys usually do NOT take the senic route and actually do New Jersey-Oaxaca in like four days.
When I drove from Houston to Oaxaca it took us four days, driving 6am to 6pm only.

[lozwich]

I've recently finished a trip bussing around south-western USA, which was beautiful except that I got hassled by lots of very creepy men on the busses in Texas, and got stuck in the less than thrilling El Paso on Christmas day.. Greyhound can be quite cheap if you buy your tickets in advance, or with a no refund policy, but I found it cheapish to fly a couple of times when I had creepy guy weariness.

As for travelling overland through Mexico, if you have the time, you must do it. You could go Monterey, San Luis Potosi, DF, although how you could get that close to the Copper Canyon and not stop in for a visit is beyond me! It is a bit of a sidetrack there though, but well worth it.

On another thread I posted a link to Greyhound Mexico: www.greyhound.com.mx

Good luck, and enjoy!

[JakeJakeJake]

cheers. great stuff guys
i am a little mad, but in a good way. a little madness in a person makes for interesting stories.
Yes i think it could work out to be expensive, but if all things work out I may have a healthy bank balance even after paying for my CELTA et al. i would like to see a very good friend in DC for a week or two before going anywhere so it makes sense really. I'll be arriving in the US towards the end of May and have until July 7th to get my ass to DF for the start of the CELTA (so long as the telephone interview goes well!! )

I really want to go to New Orleans, I've never been before. I've done most interesting places on the east coast so I'm figuring where I could go along the south coast areaish

which are your favourite places in the south???
I love beer, live music, history and coastline. small, quirky places to meet random folk outside with a beer are high on my list.

[thelmadatter]

not mad to travel by bus in Mexico... mad to do it in the States.

Mexico has one of the best intercity bus systems... and cheap too. you can get from the TX border (Nuevo Lared0) to DF in about 15 hours, but Im sure youd want to check out a few places... along the way if you have time.

The last time I used Greyhound in the States was 1987... and Ill never use it again...

[JakeJakeJake]

the only two times i have used greyhound in the US were round trips from NY to DC. Both were the thanksgiving weekends. If I can handle that I think I can handle anything! Yes, only about 5 hours each journey, but oh boy, what a 5 hours!

oh ps... i don't drive, so it's bus, hitchike (no siree in the US) or walk.

[MELEE]

Jake,
You forgot an option, especially when we are talking East Coast,

Amtrak

[GueroPaz]

My daughter and her daughter and I did Amtrak round trip about 15 years ago, and it arrived famously late in Houston going eastbound, and was even late in Tallahassee coming westbound. We had about a five hour layover in New Orleans.

San Antonio is a fun city to visit, good Hispanic, 292-year old tourist town with loads of history (old missions, the Alamo, Tex-Mex food). Along the coast, it's a good time of year to visit the beach (either end of Padre Island is usually better than Galveston, but takes a bit of effort to get there).

I think Jack Keroac's On the Road started in New Orleans and San Antonio, and my son said Neil Cassidy got run over later on the train track in San Miguel Allende. Not to be confused with Dylan's song, Blood on the Tracks!

That same hippie son, who lived in a cave above Guanajuato, rode the 2nd class train from D.F., and that was quaint.

If you find the Hispanic bus station in Houston, or the Hispanic counter at the main bus station downtown, they have Mexican style lujo buses that go deep into the interior; far fancier than Greyhound. There is a coastal route through Matamoros-Veracruz, and various interior routes through Monterrey to DF. Americans pride themselves that they have never ridden the bus. By contrast, upper middle class Mexicans travel by fancy bus. I went from Orlando to DC to Memphis to Houston by bus, around 2000, and the bus ride was no fun at all.

[dixie]

My parents picked me, and the dog up in Torreon and we drove home (to Ontario) in five days...that included a stop at GRACELAND! Its the only place I can think of for you to stop. Looked like there was great camping, but without equipment, it will be hard!

Having lived in the north of Mexico, besides making the out of the way stop for the canyon, there isn�t too much interesting to see until you get south...not something I would be interested in doing to be honest. However, if you can put up with that (and Mexican buses are at least comfy, and with movies) then go for it!

[Prof.Gringo]

I think that you should really check out Amtrak. They are often late, but the service and the people are so far beyond anything Greyhound has to offer.

I saw a guy stabbed in front of the Houston, TX Greyhound station (I was changing buses) and another gentleman, about 55 years old almost get the heck beat out of him on a another Greyhound bus in San Antonio, TX by a guy just released by the Texas Department of Corrections(DOC gives just released inmates a bus ticket to wherever, that might account for some of the creepy men on the bus). I was also on a Greyhound bus in Arizona when the driver snoozed off and the bus almost flipped over and off the side of the freeway. Not to mention the employees of Greyhound treat you like dirt, the terminals are often in horrible and dangerous places (Never, ever walk outside of the Greyhound terminal in Los Angeles, CA).

Try taking the train. I have had nothing but positive expereices onboard Amtrak. As a foreigner you could take advantage of the USA rail pass program.
"USA Rail Passes are for international travelers only. US and Canadian citizens are not eligible to purchase USA Rail Passes. Passes are available for travel in three different regions, or the entire United States, with varying travel durations. Pass prices are determined by the period in which you travel; however, the peak price is charged if any part of travel takes place within any peak period. For more information, see the USA Rail Pass page of our site. "

http://www.amtrak.com

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass

Good luck and enjoy your travels!

[Oreen Scott]

If you love American music a piece of a trip I took a few years ago might fill the bill.

Don't know about bussing, I wouldn't do it in the U.S, too expensive, Mexico has I understand one of the best, if not the best, bus systems in the world. Sorry, I digress.

Getting back to the music. There is a place in Arkansas called Mountainview, little town, no movie theatres, plenty of music halls. The pickers are on every street corner as soon as the sun goes down. Pickers are banjo, dulcime and guitar players, with a few accordians and drums thrown into the mix.

Bible belt country, no alcohol, but the street party goes on all night. The mountain music isn't rock and roll, but it's half the heart of rock and roll.

Mountainview is a short drive from Memphis. Beale Street in Memphis is the home of the blues. I was dissappointed, Beale Street in order to attract tourists doesn't play much blues anymore. I loves the blues.

In Memphis there is a fabulous museum called Rock and Soul that explains how the mountain music and the hollerin' of the disfranchised black slaves came together in Memphis to form rock and roll, as well as the blues.

New Orleans is the home of jazz.

[ls650]

I would recommend flying to the border and busing (sp?) from one of the Mexican cities on the border. As folks have pointed out, Greyhound stations in the US tend to be ratholes in the run-down part of town, whereas first class buses in Mexico are pretty decent.

Actually, if it were me and I had some time and cash to spare, I would buy a decent used car in NY and drive all the way. You can buy a used car in good condition a lot cheaper in the US than the UK; I suspect it would actually be cheaper than buying Greyhound tickets from NY to TX, and if the weather is nice you could buy a tent, sleeping bag, and a foamie, and sleep in campgrounds cheaper than motels.

[MELEE]

I didn't have time last night, but in 2001 I Greyhounded it from Des Moines to Chicago--not bad experience it's only about a 4 hour trip. I think I was the only "white" person on the bus. I think the other passengers were scarred of me "Muss be sumin wrong with dat white girl if she be on a bus." Then after a couple of days in Chicago I Amtraked to to Washington, DC. Yes the train got in 6 hours late. But I wasn't in a hurry. It seems we got stuck behind a frieght train, and to me it seemed like Amtrak should have been able to anticipate that (the frieghts must have schedules too) and ajusted their schedule so the passengers wouldn't be annoyed. But most weren't because most were vacationing, and not on a tight schedule. Everybody talked to each other. The only non-vacationer was a business traveller with a strong fear of flying, most of the rest were families and retirees. I bought my ticket on an awesome internet special, it cost me $19.99. From Chicago to DC! We went through a national forrest on the way and a park ranger boarded the train and gave a nature talk in the viewing car, all the while we were creeping along behind a frieght train, probably around 25 mph.

[veroax]

Several people have mentioned Amtrack having problems with timeliness. From my experience the north-east corridor (Boston-NYC-Philly-DC) tends to be more efficient that other routes. I lived in Philly for a while and regularly took the train back home to the Boston area, and I found that trip to be very convenient and comfortable. I think the OP mentioned starting the travels in NY, so I personally would at least start off on the train.