DON'T.
And if you must take Greyhound, arrive at least 6 hours early and pay with cash.
That's my advice.
And here's why:
My girlfriends from college were all meeting up in a town about 3 hours away. There's no public transportation between the two cities. I looked for Amtrak, there's no shuttle bus, there's only Greyhound. DH and I share one car, and we had hoped he could get its oil changed before making our trip up north. I looked into it, and there were several Greyhound buses leaving throughout the day going just where I needed.
I texted my friend who lives there and told her that was an option. She, even in texting, sounded pretty apprehensive about it. Apparently the terminal in her city was pretty shady. I talked it over with DH, and determined it was during the day, and that I would be cautious, but still take the bus. We were excited to find they offered military discounts. I bought the tickets online and went to bed.
The next morning, DH and I got up and were in the process of changing our address to our parents' address. We looked at our bank statement online and were surprised to have our credit card amount be more than we expected. I looked further into it, and there were 3 charges that I hadn't made - to match.com, singlesnet.com, and lavalife.com. I asked DH if there was anything he needed to tell me, and there wasn't... (ha! like he would do that!).
We immediately cancelled that credit card and had a new one issued to us. We only have one credit card (and also our debit card) but it's kind of frustrating to start a vacation/road trip only having your debit card. Whatever. What kind of an idiot signs up for dating places with a stolen credit card??? (I'm not against online dating sites. I only think that if you're going to really want to meet people, aren't you going to use your real name and not steal someone else's credit card to spur on your love life?... anyway... I digress).
So, we get over that drama, and I pack for my few days with my best friends. DH and I leave our friend's house and head over to the Greyhound terminal, which also happens to be in the shady (dodgy for you Aussies) area of our town. I get there over an hour beforehand to "check in." I keep my bag with me and make sure DH will wait in the car for me, "just to make sure." It takes a good 20 minutes for me to check in, and DH is still waiting where I left him, unable to find a parking spot.
We leave to buy me a camera case (Lowepro, in case you are wondering - good suggestion Justin and Peter), and come back with plenty of time to spare. I make DH come inside with me and wait for me to board my bus. We get into the line at the gate, and are immediately told we're in the wrong line. That line was for people with layovers... um ok. So I move to the other, correct line.
It's about 15 minutes before the bus is supposed to leave, 15 minutes after we're supposed to board. I'm in the middle of the line, with about 20 people in front of me, 20 behind me. The line moves forward a bit, and there are only 5 people in front of me. We wait in line for another 5-10 minutes and the rumor goes around that the people who "moved forward" are actually on our bus and that it is full. Great. I send DH to the fabulous (sarcasm) customer service line. He has to wait 5-10 minutes to get to the front and when he does, he calls me over. Yes, indeed my bus is full and already has left, without me on it! Uh... Ok. Were you planning on telling us/the people in line at any time? And the next bus? Oh yes, you can wait for the next bus. It's coming in 5 and a half hours, getting you into your destination well past dark. DH and I decide this is not acceptable. Me, waiting alone in the shady bus station for 5 more hours to *hopefully* get on a bus. My friends having to come get me from another shady bus station after dark... um, no thank you.
We ask to have my ticket refunded. The lady at the ticket counter says, "And why would you want your ticket refunded?" Let's try - my bus left, it was full, the next one is in 6 hours, and you weren't going to tell me... she responds with, "Fine. Can I see your credit card?" Um no. That's when it clicks... Oh yeah, what did I last buy with the card before someone used it fraudulently? What a "coincidence"! My Greyhound ticket! Could it possibly be that someone from such a wonderful organization could have used my credit card number for something other than what I wished? (gasp!)
So... needless to say, I drove myself to the girls weekend.
And that, my friends, is why I say never to "Go Greyhound." And if you must, arrive at least 6 hours early and pay with cash...
