My Review of Best Bus From Washington DC to New York for $30

Before we went to DC and New York, I spent several hours researching ways to get from DC to NY. We looked at flights, trains, renting a car, taking a bus and when I contacted my cousin who lives in NY and whos brother lives in DC, she suggested taking a "Bolt Bus" for $30. 

I was very excited about this as my only public long distance bus experiences were on a greyhound bus when I was about 10. I started doing research and spent hours looking at the reviews of many different bus lines that drive routs between DC and NY. We had thought about visiting family in Pennsylvania but it just added so much on the cost and time that we opted out and just did DC and NY. 

In my research, I found that Bolt Bus had many horrible reviews. They often have issues with no air conditioning and I don't do well with heat so that would have been an issue at the end of July. I also found many reviews of broken down busses on road sides for hours waiting for rescue or waiting in the rain on the side of the road for a bus that never came and no email or notifications of them not coming or being canceled. 

I read about clogged toilets, smells, Wi-Fi never working on any of the trips etc. The only good thing that was consistent with Bolt Busses was that they give out $1 trips last minute and you can go to NY or back etc for $1. I met people who actually had paid $1 for trips on their busses. If you don't have a time limit or don't care about Wi-Fi or air conditioning at cooler times of the year, this may be the bus for you getting a ticket for cheap. 

I also looked at Mega Bus and they had better reviews. All the busses had the same price points of about $30 to $35 for the trip. So, if money is considered, it is all the same. 

The best reviews on many sites went to "Best Bus" and so I felt confident in purchasing out tickets a month ahead of time because I had done so much research. They had four trips a day each direction. The reviews said that one time they had a breakdown and they hired one out from another company and due to the late start, the person was given a refund as the trip wasn't on time. She didn't ask for the refund and understood that breakdowns happen but they just automatically refunded her. 

I was worried about my luggage getting taken from the under compartment but that issue was quickly resolved. I realized they have a wonderful system in place. Each pickup has a driver and a host. Neither is ever alone with the luggage. The host and the driver put the luggage in and lock the compartment and it isn't opened again until you read the drop off. There are a few pick up stops in the same city before leaving and they count the passengers together to verify the numbers so a driver can't say someone didn't show. 

Pick up is just on a street corner so take an umbrella or rain poncho in your luggage as you may need it. All of the busses are this way. However, they did have a parking garage pick up so we could have taken a Lyft or uber to that site to stay out of the rain but seats may be more picked over at the second stop. You have to give the stop of your pick up when you buy the tickets so you can't change pick up spots last minute. 

Your name is the ticket and you just give them your name when entering. The bus was spotless. The seats were clean and spacious. There were spring loaded foot rests for short people but for people with long legs like mine, there was adequate leg room so I didn't have my knees in my chest. 

The toilet was clean and big enough to fit me and I am not small. There were several plugs under the seats both plugs and usb plugs. They handed you a bottle of cold water as you got onto the bus. They had cup holders and put a trash bag on each seat so you could collect your trash keeping the bus clean. I appreciated that the bus had seat belts as well. I was on a trip and one of our busses crashed and people died from our group so that is an issue for me.  

Getting on the bus, the driver handed those of us in the front row or two free sun glasses. Princess Two was all over those. The air conditioner worked great and I appreciate that announcement that the driver gave before leaving asking everyone to be considerate of the others not talking on the phone loudly, not using the toilet if not feeling well as he would pull over asap if there were "stinky" issues so that we didn't all have to smell it. He let us know there would be a food and bathroom break half way for 20 minutes and said if people were cold or hot, to let him know. It was wonderful! 

We arrived when they said, they left on time. We had overhead storage on the bus so you didn't have bags around your feet. I had an empty seat next to me which was great. It was mostly full though so that was great. I arrived early at the pick up so I could get a seat near the front as I get car sick sometimes but since most of the driving was highway, it was not bad. Because we had the tickets early, we could have arrived late but maybe just not sat together. As it was, we sat across from each other and could visit but we were tired so the girls slept. 

I would for sure use the bus again. I think the value of the price was really good. I enjoyed watching SNL skits while driving as I watched a movie and didn't want to start another so the WI-FI was great for watching youtube. Trains cost us twice the price for all of us depending and since Pen station (Pennsylvania station) is under construction, we ended up taking a Lyft to our destination as I didn't want to haul luggage through the smelly NY streets. We left from Dupont Circle in Washington DC to Pen Station stop in New York. It really was a great trip and I suggest it highly. 

I'll be writing about our Lyft / Uber soon.... Have a Blessed Day!