Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Post by tonydoblel on Feb 12, 2009 10:50:39 GMT -5
i plan on taking a greyhound bus from El Paso to Nashville and its about 30 hours, or so the site says. i actually wouldn't mind taking one, i dont get easily frustrated sitting for long periods of time and i could just take sleeping pills, but i've never done a bus ride longer than 4 hours. flying is kinda out of my budget and driving is not an option. so im just wondering if its a good idea and tips on how to make it less like hell, what to bring, what NOT to bring, what should i avoid and share your stories if you have done a bus ride this long.
Post by nodepression on Feb 12, 2009 15:00:10 GMT -5
I did about 20 hours last year from Buffalo to Roo. It's was definitely interesting to say the least. It helps if you have someone with you also. How many bus changeovers do you have?
I brought a few books, and I might even suggest earplugs to offset some of the people who think that talking on a phone is a great way to pass the time.
Try to condense everything you have into something you can bring on the bus, in other words, do the bare minimum. Last year I lugged a fold up chair with me which I didn't need. Something things off the top of my head that I would consider essentials: Bandana (probably the best thing I bought in centeroo, it kept me cool all weekend) Nalgene or camelbak small hygene stuff like a toothbrush/soap toilet paper kleenex wipes gold bond Theres other stuff too, I believe there's even a backpack list somewhere on the side of the front page.
Keep in mind the bus can't drop you right off at the grounds. They'll drop you off around two miles out and you get to walk past all the cars in line on bushy branch road.
Hope this helps, and you have any other questions ask. I obviously didn't come from the same way you are but taking the bus is an experience.
we took the bus last year. Our 26 hour trip ended up being around 40 hours. Expect delays. There's also a good chance you could miss a connecting bus if yours is late getting in. Greyhound will do nothing for you, you basically have to kill the time until the next one (Lousiville fucking sucked. 6 hours surrounded by cokeheads and sniffers).
To put it nicely, the bus ride was hell. In the end though, it's a good story. We had people trying to sell us stolen shit within 5 minutes of arriving in Chicago.
thanks, i think its 2 transfers on the way to, and 3 on the way back. is sleeping on the bus that hard?
Sleeping on the bus was pretty hard for me. For some reason I didn't bring a pillow and also the guy in front of me kept saying "huh" into his cell phone. My advice is to start a list now of things to bring that sound like a good idea. I lurked on these boards all year last year and pretty much forgot everything when I was packing haha.
Hey it's my first Roo and I was wondering the same thing, I was consider taking a Greyhound from Madison, WI. I was wondering how I would get to Manchester if my bus took me to Nashville, or If I could find a bus that took me to Manchester how I'd get to Bonnaroo from the bus station in Manchester. Would I just walk in? If so how far is the festival grounds from downtown Manchester. I'd really appreciate any info anyone has.
Hey it's my first Roo and I was wondering the same thing, I was consider taking a Greyhound from Madison, WI. I was wondering how I would get to Manchester if my bus took me to Nashville, or If I could find a bus that took me to Manchester how I'd get to Bonnaroo from the bus station in Manchester. Would I just walk in? If so how far is the festival grounds from downtown Manchester. I'd really appreciate any info anyone has.
When I bought my ticket, I got it for Manchester. Once I got to Murfreesboro, they had a special bus for Bonnaroo which included about ten or fifteen others. The bus dropped us off across the street from Bushy branch road. After this it was about a two mile walk into the grounds, but I was so excited to finally get into roo it didn't matter.
Post by Lawn Gnome on Feb 12, 2009 20:49:19 GMT -5
I took a bus ride from Memphis to Knoxville one time. By car, on a slow ride, is 6 hours. The bus ride took a little over 10. On a side note, the ride was in July, and I sat beside a guy dresses in a wool coat and cap who rocked back and forth and sang to himself the ENTIRE way. I'll fly next time. The bus ride will be good for you though; builds character.
"The bus station is a few miles from roo but I am sure you could find a ride.Bonnaroo people will be everywhere. Michael Franti says that "in the back of a Greyhound bus you can be who you are.In the back of a Greyhound bus you can go very far...." Happy trails ....
Instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light.
Once, I took a bus from Boston to Denver with a buddy, and we got rerouted like crazy. We went Boston > New York > Pittsburgh > Columbus > Indianapolis > St. Louis > Kansas City > Oklahoma City > Amarillo, TX >Albuquerque > Denver. Greyhound definitely quacked up big time - twice. They told us it would be another two-three hours before the bus was working again, so my buddy and I left to wander around. We come back 40 minutes later and they got the bus working, and left without us. We had long stop overs in some places, including 18 hours at Amarillo. Oh, and they lost my luggage too.
The bus ride will be good for you though; builds character.
Haha, true dat. In 2006 me and my buddy took a bus from Syracuse to Manchester and it was something like 26 straight hours of hell. The bus seemed to stop like every 2 or 3 hours through the whole trip. On the bus we met this crazy kid coming down from vermont and somehow he forgot to grab his bags on a transfer to another bus and wouldn't stop complaining about it (don't blame him).
Every time we had a mini layover we looked around for a place to eat some corn we had brought for the travels, I think we were in cinci, after we did got back on the bus two cops had boarded there too and we started freaking the quack out! It turned out there were a bunch of convicts recently released that were traveling with us. They sat all the way in the back with me and my boy and were telling prison stories, flashing gang tats and showing off their 'offender' cards. Needless to say we were flipping out for a while.
Later the convicts stopped trying to intimidate us and we got to know them a little bit, we told them about where we were going and what we were going to do there and the look of shock on their faces was hilarious. They couldn't believe this kind of heaven that we described of really existed after spending so many lonely years in the pen. They all really wanted to go with us, it was kind of funny and sad in a way because they were so enthralled with the concept. We lost them at the next transfer.
Then the bus broke down about 20 miles outside of manchester and we almost decided to walk, by this time there were a bunch of us going to roo on the bus, then a cop in a truck pulled up and a bunch of us jumped in and the cop drove us all the way up bushy branch as far as he could take us. What a cool cop!
Anyway, my only advice to you for this long bus ride: DO NOT sit near the back! people go in and out of the bathroom all day long and that nasty stanky smell lingers around the whole back of the bus! Be a good boy and sit up front, and avoid the blue sh*twater stenk. Other than that you'll be fine!
Thanks for the advice-info. I have the money for a plane ticket so I'm probably just throw down the extra $100-150. The greyhound sounds like an experience but I think I'm going to play it safe.
I greyhounded last year from Ft Lauderdale, about 20-24 hour trip. The transfers are the worst part of the trip, especially if you have like only 20-40 minute layovers because you will almost certianely miss your connection, which sux because you may have to wait a full day for next bus. I didn't run into this but some of my co-riders did. I missed my connection in Atlanta but luckily they had extar buses so only had to wait about 2-3 hours. I would expect your 30 hour trip to last 35-40 hours easily. Had trouble sleeping on the way up, uncomfortable seats, kid kept kicking my back seat, some lady coughed the entire way ect... The way back i slept the entire way being so whooped from 'roo. Got a ride easily from th greyhound station from a local on the way there, the way back got a ride from campmate. Entering the grounds on foot sucked because they dam near stripped searched everyone who walked in for some reason, they had everyone emptying there backpacks out and everything, was ridiculous. I may take it again this year but if I can afford it will take plane for sure.
Post by ChiefPemperToadWigginsky on Feb 14, 2009 2:13:07 GMT -5
In 2004 I rode Greyhound from Knoxville, TN to Redding, CA. What has been said is true; it builds character, expect delays, stations are usually in shady neighborhoods, luggage can be lost easily. My trip took over 60 hours with a 5 hour lay-over in L.A. I hated parts of the trip but met some cool and some crazy people on the bus. In El Paso, TX (i think) and a border cop got on the bus and asked where everyone was born individually, one guy was not a citizen and didn't sound american enough and he was sent back to mexico, it was real sad especially since he had family who had citezenship and stayed on the bus and cried for two hours afterward, it was rough. I would advise one of those neck pillows that are a cresent shaped, they really help with sleep. Also bringing music of some kind really helps, and if you are a poet or artist, bring plenty of paper and writing utencils.
we took the bus last year. Our 26 hour trip ended up being around 40 hours. Expect delays. There's also a good chance you could miss a connecting bus if yours is late getting in. Greyhound will do nothing for you, you basically have to kill the time until the next one (Lousiville quacking sucked. 6 hours surrounded by cokeheads and sniffers).
To put it nicely, the bus ride was hell. In the end though, it's a good story. We had people trying to sell us stolen poop within 5 minutes of arriving in Chicago.
EXPECT DELAYS is my best advice as well (Did the greyhound thing in 99 for Woodstock...HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE with delays!!!)
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I did a 56 hour bustrip cross nation it really wasnt that bad. The only issue would be your schedule gets all messed up (poop wise) because your on your ass all day and not eating properly. Doing that before getting to a 4 day festival might make it a little harder on your system. If you can figure something else out I would but otherwise it isnt going to kill ya. Bring plenty of tunes and some munchies and your good to go
Post by Steel_City_X on Feb 15, 2009 11:41:48 GMT -5
You should see if there are people traveling along I-40 that you could join if they have an extra seat.
I know that there are a couple buses that run really quickly from El Paso to Denver. They are downright cheap. Maybe trying to get a flight on Southwest to Nashville from one of the cities along these bus lines would be faster.
I do not know if these then radiate out from El Paso to Dallas, or New Orleans, but I would try to track down an option or two other than greyhound.
Yes, Greyhound is the "official" transporter of people just released from prison. In Pueblo, they all have matching clothing and carry their personal effect in a clear plastic bag. One guy on the bus I was on to Denver gave a guy his blazer so that he had something to wear other than the 'prison issue' jacket. That was cool.
I looked up one company that my be an option: Autobuses Adame They seem to run to the southeast part of the US. Good luck!
Took the bus last year and it wasnt as bad as I was expecting, but then again I was expecting it to be absolutley horrible. The bus was always 2 or 3 hours behind schedule, I suggest getting in on Wednesday night like I did last year that way if the bus is way behind you wont get to the festival late. Once you get there there are locals giving taxi rides that will get you close to the festival, at least they did last year. But its really not that bad, if you dont have any other option then I say go for it.
Post by jamminkid89 on Feb 15, 2009 20:40:33 GMT -5
I took a Greyhound from Gulfport Mississippi to Ft. Luaderdale Florida last year for langerado. The buss trip took a little over 24 hours. All I brought was some powerful chocolates and four grams of hash. Every now and again the bus would take rest stops and I would just wounder off somewhere and get really baked and then get back on the buss. I just repeated that process for the majority of the trip. The part about buss's that really suck is when you have to change buss's and have to drag all your bags around trying to figure out what other buss you have to get on. But sometimes you end up meeting people on the buss that are going to the same show your going to, like I meet a dude named Max on the way to langerado. He went to this four day festie with just a hammock and a horn made out of a animal horn. And another thing is that buss trips like any other trip always make for good stories.
"Can you answer?" "Yes I can, but what would be the answer to the answer man?" Shows to be at: 4/17 Widespread Panic 4/18 Widespread Panic 4/19 Widespread Panic 6/10 Phish 6/11-14 Bonnaroo
Post by twinkletoes on Apr 2, 2009 12:19:35 GMT -5
So my friend and I are taking the Greyhound in to Bonnaroo this year and were just wondering how close some of the gas stations/supermarkets/wallmarts stuff like that is to the stop? We'll obviously be bringing the majority of our supplies with us on the bus but the less we have to carry on the better. Anyone who's done it before or knows where the stop is and has some info, it would be greatly appreciated.
Have you checked Southwest? Sign up for DING fares and they'll alert you when there are sales. I haven't ever taken Greyhound, but I did take the train from New Orleans to Los Angeles once and it was wretched (I thought it'd be more of an adventure than it turned out to be). Good luck!
Post by JustSoYouKnow on Apr 5, 2009 22:07:02 GMT -5
Personally, sleep is the best thing on a long greyhound ride. I rode roundtrip twice from Atlanta, Ga to Dallas, TX a few years ago. I didn't need a pillow, just slept on my backpack. It resembles a long airplane ride if u try not to nitpick and just forget your surroundings. Bring anything u like that distracts u.
Have you checked Southwest? Sign up for DING fares and they'll alert you when there are sales. I haven't ever taken Greyhound, but I did take the train from New Orleans to Los Angeles once and it was wretched (I thought it'd be more of an adventure than it turned out to be). Good luck!
My thought exactly. If you live in a city that has SW then check them out, many of their fairs are VERY cheap. My husband did Greyhound once for about an 8 hour ride and said he would NEVER do it again.
i take the bus from school to home all the time its about 15 hours, and i absolutely dread it every time i have to do it.... i pretty much only go home like once a year lol..... bring a pillow, and make sure you plan for a couple extra delays, i would hate for something to happen (which it most likely will knowing greyhound, i've been stranded on the side of the road in a broken down bus like 5 times) and then bonnaroo were going on without you... it would be a tragedy, if i were on the bus knowing i were missing roo i would probably be sobbing horribly.
