Busing Made Simpler

After a successful first year, the East Coast Explorer, a backpackers’ bus service that links Washington, D.C., with New York City and Boston, has started operating again for the summer. Also, a new backpackers’ bus service, the Western Stage Coach, will begin shuttling travelers through California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

Special bus services geared to backpackers and budget travelers of any age is a trend that has been growing for several years in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

These services have several advantages over other bus services: The coaches usually pick up and drop off passengers at the door of popular hostels and budget hotels; drivers are usually good sources of information about local facilities, ranging from camping opportunities to good-value meals and night life; your bus may also make stops en route at sites of interest and will wait for several hours while passengers go exploring, and the buses are usually half the size of other coach lines.

There can be disadvantages, though. These small companies don’t have the resources of large coach lines. If you decide to break your journey en route, you may have to wait several days for the next bus. If a bus breaks down, a backup may be days behind. If you are on a new route with a new driver, your patience may be tested while drivers work out the bugs, including getting lost or being late, until they learn the routes. When a company is new, it’s difficult to tell how strong they are financially, so there is some risk if you are buying an extended-use ticket.

Drivers of the East Coast Explorer use the scenic back roads.

Every Monday, for example, the 14-passenger bus picks up travelers at hostels in New York and heads for Boston, making stops at the Gillette Castle, the Mystic Pizza parlor (of movie fame) and Newport, R.I. Cost: $29.

The bus makes stops for economical meals, or you can bring your own lunch. At the end of the day passengers are dropped off at centrally located hostels and hotels.

Every Thursday the bus covers the route from New York to Washington. A stop is made for passengers in the Amish area of Lancaster County, Pa. Cost: $32.

The East Coast Explorer is operated by Wanderlustig at 245 8th Ave., New York, NY 10011; telephone (800) 610-2680. The Western Stage Coach began operation last month. This is a shuttle service for backpackers that covers a 2,000-mile circular route through California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

For $149 passengers can travel from Los Angeles to San Diego, Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Barbara. During winter the company plans to skip Yosemite and visit Lake Tahoe or Mammoth Lakes instead. You can take up to two months to complete the circle. Contact the Western Stage Coach at (800) 576-6527.