Greyhound for a first time solo traveller?

[lubinski]

I have also debated Oz experience vs Greyhound and think i'm gonna go for the greyhound. Just wondering if anyone out there has used it, how easy is it to hop on and off? are there regular stops along the way and do they help you with accommodation at all? Bit nervous, as apparently Oz ex is better for socialising, but I'm not sure i wanna be on a 24/7 booze cruise for 2 months...(although i do want to have a few messy nights... i also want to remember most of my experiences!) Am I going to be on my own a lot on the greyhound? anyone travelling in Oz april-june 2011 also using this service?

[georginal]

I used the Greyhound for the Cairns - Sydney leg of my trip a few years back now. It's much more like a straight forward bus service, and good if you want to cover a lot of ground quickly and cheaply. You can also save on some overnight accommodation as there are many overnight routes available as well. I don't think they give you any help with accommodation though.

Oz experience - it's designed to be big party all the way through, but you can do your own thing just by getting off the bus and staying put for a while. You can also wander off the Oz Experience route for a bit, and then go back and and carry on. You could do this if 2 months is what you've got. Australia's huge, and you'd still be missing things out.

Mixing in hostels - the party is there if you want it - sometimes you just have to find the right hostel, or end up in the party room. The best nights are the unplanned ones!!!

You can of course mix and match, use Greyhound for some of your travels, and also the Oz experience for some of it to. I used OzExperience for the Southern Curl (Southerwestern tip of OZ)for 3 days. It was a quieter trip than some I had experienced, but then got back to Perth and had a massive night out!!

Don't worry about going by yourself, loads do; alot of people say that they find other single people are easier to approach.

Good luck, have fun and happy planning!!!

[lubinski]

so greyhound is better for an A to B type thing? I've got two months to travel down from Cairns to Melbourne. I really have no idea which one to use, because Oz experience is double the price. I just don't wanna be stuck on something I can't get out of if I hate it. But I also want to take my time travelling, so not sure which one to go for. Got a lot of thinking to do!

[georginal]

Yes, Greyhound is a much more of an A to B thing. But just remember, you don't have to book anything up now in a place like Oz. It is so geared towards backpacking. Both these bus tickets can wait you you get there - that wont be a problem. There may also be some deals offered when you get there which you wont find online. 2 months is a fair amount of time and will be winter as well, therefore not as busy as the summer months.

[123matts]

This is my exact query as well! I've heard for travelling alone, the oz experience is better as you are with fellow travellers, whereas the greyhound, you could be sitting next to grannies/babies etc. etc. as its just a local bus service... The oz experience is more expensive but I think its probably just a little easier and takes the hassle out of things.. and there will be a lot of solo travellers on it too... I hope!

[Zuleika]

There are pros and cons for both ways of travelling, you need to pick what is right for you - maybe wait till you get there to chat to others doing similar - you may find some travelling companions too, the hostels along that route are very sociable, its very popular.
One other tip - if your getting an Aussie YHA card you get discount on greyhound.

There are some other threads that may help here too;
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11752&hilit=+greyhound

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7794&p=32256&hilit=greyhound#p32256

Hope this helps