Bus Service Adds Stops in Europe

The backpacker bus service Busabout has just launched its third season of hop-on, hop-off transportation around Europe. Through Oct. 31, the company’s 30 buses cover a route that links 70 locations in 15 countries, visiting each scheduled stop every second day.

Segments can be traveled in either direction. This year the company has added 15 bonus stops at off-the-beaten-path destinations.

The Busabout service is designed for travelers who want the freedom and flexibility of independent travel with the advantage of transportation directly to hostels and campgrounds. You won’t have as many choices of routes as you would with a Eurail pass, but each bus has an on-board guide who can give basic pointers on what to see and where to eat, and can reserve a seat on the next bus or a bed at the next hostel. The average price for a bed in a shared room is $13 to $22 per night.

The opportunities for interaction with local residents are fewer than on regular public transportation, but those traveling solo can meet other young international travelers on the Busabout bus.

Busabout also makes it easier for your family to find you in case of emergency. All they have to do is contact the head office in England and a message is relayed to the on-board guides, who know your route. The next time you board, you’ll receive the message.

Busabout sells two types of passes. Students or those under 26 and teachers who hold recognized identity cards get discounted rates.

The Consecutive Pass allows you to travel as much as you want along any of Busabout’s routes for consecutive days. For students, youths and teachers, the passes range from 15 days for $229 to a three-month season pass for $999. Regular prices are $259 to $1,109.

The Flexipass allows travel for a specified number of days within a certain period. For example, 10 days of travel within a two-month period cost $349; 30 days of travel within four months cost $929. Extra days are $29 to $39 each.

Besides stops at many major European cities, Busabout takes in interesting smaller sites.

Called bonus stops, in Italy they include Verona, made famous by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”; the five small fishing villages of Cinque Terre in northern Italy; Pisa, where you can hop off to check out the Leaning Tower; Pompeii, where you can see the ruins that were buried by ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in AD 79; and Turin, of shroud fame.

Spain’s bonus stops include Montserrat, a pilgrimage center an hour north of Barcelona known for its 11th century monastery; Pamplona, which Ernest Hemingway made famous in “The Sun Also Rises” (this year the running of the bulls is July 6 to 14); Carcassonne, France, the medieval city with Europe’s largest fortress; Cordoba, once the most important Moorish city in Spain; and Cadiz, which may be the oldest inhabited city in Europe.

In the Czech Republic, stops include Terezin, location of a World War II concentration camp, and medieval Cesky Krumlov.

The European Pass also offers service to London, Scandinavia and Greece. London Link transportation is $29 to $51. Eight days of travel in Scandinavia costs $299. The Athens Link from Venice is $49. A pass allowing travel by ferry among five Greek islands (Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini) is $89 for deck class.

For information contact STA Travel, telephone (323) 934-8722 or (800) 777-0112, or Council Travel, tel. (310) 208-3551 or (800) 2COUNCIL. Busabout is on the Web at https://www.busabout.com.

Lucy Izon is a Toronto-based freelance writer. Internet https://www.izon.com.