Vamoose (Reston: buses, friendly, metro) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

FindingZen · 09-26-2008, 06:45 AM

Actually Amtrak can cost a lot more, especially if you're travelling on the weekend or otherwise don't plan far enough ahead. The reason why I ended up on the Chinatown bus from Philly was because a weekend round-trip cost upward of $100. I think weekdays you can get it for around $70. Of course NYC, which most of these smaller companies make a beeline for, would be even more expensive by train.

It's all a matter of personal comfort level and how much (or little) you're willing to spend for it.

DCguy03 · 09-26-2008, 07:11 AM

Definitely make sure to plan for a muuuch longer trip if you'll be hitting rush hour traffic. It's not pretty going through the traffic mess inbetween NJ and NYC. Vamoose is good though, I've been satisfied. But if you're going on a high traffic time, that is when the train can pay off (although its more $).

stax · 09-27-2008, 12:19 AM

I would definitely recommend Vamoose, this from someone who has been making the trek from DC to NY for over 23 years now (off and on). The only problem is that the schedules may not be tailored to exactly when you want/need to leave (no buses leave after 7:30 pm). In that case, I take either Greyhound (rough crowd, Port Authority is the pits), or Mega Bus. By all means, leave the Chinatown buses alone!! With all of the other companies, they will drop you off near MSG in NY, whereas the Chinese buses drop you off in Chinatown. And at the end of the day, it's still cheaper than driving.

Caladium · 03-13-2010, 02:13 PM

Hi everyone--

I just took the Vamoose for the first time today and I'm now a big fan. My mother is seriously ill and I've had to make many trips to New York at the last minute. Never thought I would take a bus, but flying became too expensive. Also, flying is a PITA these days. I hate airports now. Amtrak was expensive and took too long. Just getting to Union Station was a nuisance.

So I thought the only thing to do was drive there, even though that's a long drive. But this weekend, I got an emergency call once again and this time I didn't want to do the drive because of the storm.

Which left me with the Vamoose. I dreaded the thought of taking a bus, but it was so nice. I tried the Vamoose and that's what I'm using from now on.

The trip was very smooth. Faster than I could drive, since it sails through the toll booths. The bus was clean and more comfortable than airplane seats, that's for sure. I could relax and catch up on some reading. And the whole thing cost only 30 dollars. After four trips you get a free trip.

If you've never tried the Vamoose I highly recommend it.

michgc · 03-13-2010, 06:32 PM

Thanks for the review, Caladium. I hope your mother makes a full and speedy recovery.

tgbwc · 03-13-2010, 06:50 PM

Would it be a good way to travel with kids?

CaliTerp07 · 03-14-2010, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Would it be a good way to travel with kids?

Sure, I don't see why not. If you'd be comfortable flying with kids, there's no reason you couldn't take a bus trip with them. They just need to be able to sit still for 5 hours.

Also look into Bolt Bus. It leaves from Metro center, and was WONDERFUL when I took it to NYC. There was free wi-fi on the bus, so I brought my laptop and got all kinds of work done on the trip. Much more productive for me than flying or driving! (And much cheaper than the train--it's less than $20 each way).

tgbwc · 03-14-2010, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

Sure, I don't see why not. If you'd be comfortable flying with kids, there's no reason you couldn't take a bus trip with them. They just need to be able to sit still for 5 hours.

Also look into Bolt Bus. It leaves from Metro center, and was WONDERFUL when I took it to NYC. There was free wi-fi on the bus, so I brought my laptop and got all kinds of work done on the trip. Much more productive for me than flying or driving! (And much cheaper than the train--it's less than $20 each way).

Sounds good. How is parking near where the buses leave from?

CaliTerp07 · 03-14-2010, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Sounds good. How is parking near where the buses leave from?

Dunno, I metro'd. It's probably pretty crummy and/or expensive, since it's downtown. It leaves from Union Station too, so there might be more parking there.

normie · 03-15-2010, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Sounds good. How is parking near where the buses leave from?

The Hotel Palomar is right next to the Rosslyn bus stop, so maybe you could get overnight parking there. Also, the bus stop is one block from the Orange Line, so maybe you could get parking along the metro route and then ride the train to the bus stop. Either way, sounds like you'd be better off taking a taxi or having someone drop you off.