Gutman's Cave -
Widest and highest cave in the Baltic countries
Also oldest attraction in Latvia
I've never been into doing travel diaries as I'm usually too lazy to take photos lol. But as I get older I realised that I'm forgetting all these useful tips/information accumulated over my years of solo travel...
So this is a post about busing through the Baltics - from Estonia to Latvia to Lithuania to Poland to Czech Republic and finally, Germany. Whooooop did you read everything in one breath?
I'm just going to focus on the buses and bus companies I took because if I have to talk about each country too, this post is never going to end.
1st bus - ECOLINES - Tallinn, Estonia to Riga, Latvia
Cost: 5euros - booked 2 weeks in advance
Trip: 4 to 5 hours depending on traffic which depends on the time of the day
Time of travel: Tuesday afternoon - bus was pretty empty
You get to select your own seat during ticket purchase
FACILITIES
Charging ports - under the seat
Free WIFI - relogin every hour or so
Toilet on board - was clean!
Unlimited tea/coffee - there is a coffee vending machine on board
Personal entertainment screen - good selection of Hollywood movies. Bring your own earphones.
2nd bus - ECOLINES - Riga, Latvia to Vilnius, Lithuania
Cost: 12euros - booked 3 days in advance (see the difference in price between a weekday and weekend?! And booking 2 weeks out vs 3 days out)
Trip: 4 to 5 hours depending on traffic which depends on the time of the day
Time of travel: Saturday afternoon - bus was PACKED!
You get to select your own seat during ticket purchase
Same facilities as above.
BUT this time the bus was so crowded it was way hotter in there than the previous bus. I was one of the few who got 2 seats to myself yay.
It was on this bus that I forgot my makeup pouch =(
Called the company and emailed them numerous times and they said they spoke to the driver but he didn't see it. Oh well!
3rd bus - LUX EXPRESS - Vilnius, Lithuania to Warsaw, Poland
Cost: 14euros - booked 3 days in advance
Trip: 8 hours depending on traffic which depends on the time of the day
Time of travel: Monday morning - bus was empty!
You get to select your own seat during ticket purchase
Free bottle of water upon boarding yesssss! Broke ass travellers love free stuff.
FACILITIES
Charging ports - in front of you
Free WIFI - relogin every hour or so
Toilet on board - was clean!
Unlimited tea/coffee - there is a coffee vending machine on board
Personal entertainment screen - good selection of Hollywood movies. Bring your own earphones.
4th bus - FLIXBUS - Lodz, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic
Cost: 16euros - booked 5 days in advance (spoke to some people on the bus, they got theirs early for only 13euros)
Trip: 8 hours depending on traffic which depends on the time of the day
Time of travel: Wednesday morning - bus was half filled but most got off at the next city, no one had to share seats.
Free seating so good luck if the bus is crowded.
FACILITIES
Charging ports - far down under the seat, almost hidden. See pic below
Free WIFI - BAD. Spotty. Use your own data instead, or just keep logging in and out until you get lucky
Toilet on board - was okay
Unlimited tea/coffee - ooops I can't remember. But I don't think so
Personal entertainment screen - NOPE
Bus broke down halfway. This is an adventure that shall go onto another post!
5th bus - EUROLINES - Prague, Czech Republic to Berlin, Germany
Cost: 18.30euros - booked 4 days in advance
Trip: 4-5 hours depending on traffic which depends on the time of the day
Time of travel: Friday afternoon - bus was FULL
Free seating so good luck if the bus is crowded.
FACILITIES
Charging ports - window side, see pic above.
Free WIFI - was okay
Toilet on board - not the cleanest, but not that bad
Unlimited tea/coffee - NOPE
Personal entertainment screen - NOPE
Tips:
- The earlier you book tickets, the cheaper they will be. Tickets are cheapest a month or more in advance.
- If you have time, always get the bus on weekday afternoons. Tickets are the cheapest during the week and buses fairly empty which means toilets are cleaner and you get to spread your shit out.
- Make a bed for yourself at the back of the bus if it isn't too crowded, and get a good lie down. But if the bus brakes hard (which happens often!), you may land on the ground lol. From a safety point of view it's shot, but from a comfort point of view...
- Don't have to print any tickets. Just show them the e-ticket / email on your phone.
- The buses are really punctual and all left on time. So don't be late!
Thanks for reading, guys!
The story so far:
- Why I quit my Marketing job and became a global hobo - https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@somethingrandom/hello-i-m-a-former-corporate-drone-turned-wonderer-now-wandering
- Living out of a suitcase since Dec 2016 - https://steemit.com/travel/@somethingrandom/i-tried-living-out-of-a-suitcase-and-i-m-tired-of-it
- Things that mess with your head when you become "homeless" and "jobless" -https://steemit.com/health/@somethingrandom/i-looked-like-i-m-living-the-dream-but-i-had-anxiety