It should be said right away that this type of trip involves a lot of walking and little rest. In fact, after such a vacation it is necessary to rest for another week! This trip is not about relaxing by the pool, but about what would be in a short time and on a small budget to visit as many interesting places as possible. Accordingly the pros and cons will be purely personal.
PLUSES:
- The price of travel between cities. This is a very cheap option, which means there is an opportunity to visit many different places in one vacation.
- The process of travel itself is interesting (when the trips are not very long), looking out the window at unfamiliar places, stops, talking to people.
- Buses depart and arrive from the central part of the city or train station, which is more convenient than getting to/from the airport.
- For departure by bus, you just need to arrive at the bus stop 30 minutes before the trip, so when you arrive you are free right after you get off the bus. It takes much longer to get on a plane.
- In fact, it was very cool! That last point overrides all the minuses.
MINUSES:
- Long bus rides lose out to the airplane in terms of time spent. Where you drive all night, you can fly in an hour and a half.
- If there’s a lot of moving in one vacation, it’s very exhausting. We didn’t even unpack our bags until we got to Chicago.
- If something goes wrong in a long and carefully planned chain (bus delay, flight cancellation, etc.), plans can be severely disrupted.
It goes something like this. There are probably more pros and cons, but that’s what’s most memorable. There are some very important things to consider when you go on a trip like this:
Be sure to plan in advance what places you want to visit in each city. When you have one or two days, you don’t want to waste time making plans. Therefore, we made a list of places of interest to us in each city (we visited, of course, not all).
No need to take a lot of things, especially some that are not necessary. I regretted that I brought a lot of clothes (well, I wanted to be photographed in each city in different clothes…). Tablets were not useful either, there was just no time to use them.
Be sure to have an external battery for your phone (power bank), as not all buses had outlets, and where they were, not USB, namely, the U.S. network outlets. So be sure to have an adapter with you.
Clearly have your documents and first aid kit handy.
In general, it was cool and very interesting trip. We were able to see several interesting cities, visit two U.S. capitals, and talk with great people. It was an invaluable experience for all future trips!