As I mentioned in my post on Haggis Adventures, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get from each city when I was traveling through Europe. That was until I searched the web and came across the Busabout site.
This was the perfect solution for me. They offered consecutive passes, flexi passes and add ons. All I had to do was decide what I wanted to book and which pass would work for me.
I decided on the flexi pass over the consecutive pass because I wanted the flexibility of being able to stay in one city for as many days as I wanted before I traveled to the next city within the loop. I booked the 10 days in two months pass since I would be starting my travels with Busabout in April and ending it in June. Since then, they have changed a few things. You can still book the flexi pass or flexi trip as they call it but you book the number of stops you would like to take which covers the entire circuit. One good thing about this is if I was doing this trip now then I could book 10 days but would have the entire season to use up all 10 days vs. the two months’ time frame I had when I took my trip. Another thing they offer which is good is the North, South and West loops and you can take any one of them for specific countries. Or combine two or all three to see all of the countries within their circuit.
Besides the flexi pass, I added a few things for my trip. I added the London link which would get me from London to Paris where I would be starting my trip with Busabout. This was offered as a round trip ticket which worked for me since I needed a way to get back to London via Paris. I added the Athens link which would get me from Brindisi to Patras by way of Naples. I did this as a one way ticket since I would be heading back through Poland to Czech Republic so I could rejoin the Busabout circuit. Another add on for my trip was the Greek Island Pass which at the time I took the trip consisted of Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini (through Blue Star Ferries).
Now you may ask if Busabout still offers these add ons. From looking through the site, I don’t see that they offer the London or Athens links which I wish they would bring back. It made traveling to each of these places a lot easier for me.
The London link was a great way to get into Paris especially if you were not starting the circuit in Paris but from somewhere else in the United Kingdom or Europe which Busabout may not cover. The Athens link was a great way to start the trip into Athens going into the Greek Islands. The Greek Island Pass is still offered but is now called the Greek Island Flexi-Hopper and only offers visiting four islands instead of the original five they had when I went. They only visit Mykonos, Paros, Santorini and Ios. They no longer go to Naxos which is a shame. I would love for them to bring Naxos back as part of their Flexi-Hopper or possibly add another island to the ones they already visit.
As for where to stay, Busabout works in the same way that Haggis Adventures does. Only thing is you can book the accommodation before you arrive in the city. You go through the site and book through ‘my trip.’ It allows you to book the next part of your trip since the bus leaves from each city every two days. Or it did when I was using it. For instance if I was in Amsterdam and wanted to go to Berlin next then I would go through ‘my trip’ and book the day of travel and it allows you to book the bed where you will be staying. Everything could be booked through ‘my trip which really comes in handy if you aren’t sure how long you want to stay in one city. But you do need to realize the bus along the circuit runs every two days…..
The great thing about Busabout is the flexibility. I am not the most spontaneous person but in taking Busabout, it allowed my spontaneity to come through. I actually went from not being spontaneous enough to being more spontaneous then I ever thought I would be. I would definitely recommend taking Busabout because it allows for the flexibility you may want as a backpacker traveling through Europe for the first time or the hundredth time. The only thing I would recommend for Busabout is possibly adding a few more countries to the circuit. It would be great to see Poland and Denmark and maybe a few other places added to the circuit.
Busabout: Freestyle Europe Travel
Disclaimer – I was not compensated by Busabout for this review. This is solely my own opinion/experience using this company to travel through Europe.
