Hi,
Since I'm going to be moving to San Diego shortly, I thought I'd ask about people's experiences with Amtrak California buses. California seems to be unusual in that there are actually Amtrak-branded buses (and a LOT of them, at that) - elsewhere, all the Thruway service seems to be provided by Greyhound, other similar bus lines, or charter bus companies. With that said, how do these buses compare to regular charter buses or Greyhound? Are they more comfortable/roomy, and has anyone tried sleeping on one? I've looked at taking Amtrak from SD-SF in the future, and have wondered about some of the overnight bus options - such as the one that leaves SAN at 10:15pm and gets to Bakersfield around 5am to connect to the San Joaquin.
Obviously I could just take the Coast Starlight or the daytime bus-train combos, but that is a full day trip - definitely nice on the CS, but something I'd like to generally avoid for a quick trip (may just wait until I can go all the way to SEA and back in a sleeper to really enjoy it). The bus+SJ overnight combination would be way better time wise - though I'm concerned that sleeping on the bus will be way worse than sleeping in LD coach. If that is the case, I may just go with the airlines to SF (Southwest is nearly as cheap as Amtrak SAN-SFO/OAK, though I obviously couldn't use AGR...) - at least when I don't have time for the Coast Starlight or the daytime bus connections...
Any input would be appreciated - I've been on Amtrak plenty (including Surfliners), but have never set foot on an Amtrak California bus...
Since I'm going to be moving to San Diego shortly, I thought I'd ask about people's experiences with Amtrak California buses. California seems to be unusual in that there are actually Amtrak-branded buses (and a LOT of them, at that) - elsewhere, all the Thruway service seems to be provided by Greyhound, other similar bus lines, or charter bus companies. With that said, how do these buses compare to regular charter buses or Greyhound? Are they more comfortable/roomy, and has anyone tried sleeping on one? I've looked at taking Amtrak from SD-SF in the future, and have wondered about some of the overnight bus options - such as the one that leaves SAN at 10:15pm and gets to Bakersfield around 5am to connect to the San Joaquin.
Obviously I could just take the Coast Starlight or the daytime bus-train combos, but that is a full day trip - definitely nice on the CS, but something I'd like to generally avoid for a quick trip (may just wait until I can go all the way to SEA and back in a sleeper to really enjoy it). The bus+SJ overnight combination would be way better time wise - though I'm concerned that sleeping on the bus will be way worse than sleeping in LD coach. If that is the case, I may just go with the airlines to SF (Southwest is nearly as cheap as Amtrak SAN-SFO/OAK, though I obviously couldn't use AGR...) - at least when I don't have time for the Coast Starlight or the daytime bus connections...
Any input would be appreciated - I've been on Amtrak plenty (including Surfliners), but have never set foot on an Amtrak California bus...