Flixbus cheap and comfortable when traveling or not?
Today our experience with the Flixbus. Flixbus cheap and comfortable on a trip or not? We were looking for a cheap way to travel to Munich and booked a trip with the Flixbus for the whole family. Today share our experiences with the Flixbus, because is it really cheap? And above all:what about comfort? You read it all.
You've probably heard of it:Flixbus, a green bus that allows you to travel cheaply. If you Google it you will see that the company advertises that you can travel to 1700 destinations within Europe. And all that from € 5.00. It is indicated that it is comfortable, you have access to Wifi and with so many destinations you can actually get anywhere.
Of course, every company presents itself well to the outside world and you first have to experience it yourself, before you know whether all the promises are fulfilled. And that's exactly what we've done. We were looking for a cheap option to travel to Munich as a family (3 adults and a teenager of almost 17) last minute. We soon arrived at Flixbus, which seemed to have very attractive prices.
We live between Arnhem and Nijmegen and there was a possibility to travel from Arnhem to Munich, but then we would be on the road for 16 hours. Not an option, because that would be too long, especially in view of this heat. A little further searching gave us the idea to travel from Düsseldorf (easy to reach with the RE 19 from Arnhem) to Munich.
The Flixbus from Düsseldorf to Munich and back would cost us €196 for the whole family. Travel time was 9 hours which was quite acceptable. The price was very very good, almost too good to be true. But since we were going to travel with big kids, it would work (or so we hoped).
The outward journey from Düsseldorf to Munich took place at the end of July. Just under 20 minutes before departure, we received a text message informing us that another bus would be used. It was already indicated on the website that they may have to use another bus company. So we weren't surprised. This was a double-decker that looked good from the outside. After dropping off the luggage (with maximum dimensions and maximum weight) we managed to get some nice places.
Unfortunately, there already started to rattle something about the promises made. My son searched in vain for a possibility to charge his phone. Once on the road, there appeared to be no WiFi in the bus. And also no possibility to buy food and drinks (luckily we hadn't counted on that). To make matters worse, it turned out in the evening that the (reading) lamps were not working. The toilet also left a lot to be desired and so did the mood of the teenagers. They had counted on being able to watch netflix on the bus or simply use the internet. The drivers were very nice and tried to make the best of it. However, this did not bode well for the way back and was disappointing, although the price is and remains very good.
Fortunately, on the way home we did get the opportunity to travel with a real Flixbus. This time we boarded a regular Flixbus with light, possibility to connect USB cable and a clean and tidy toilet. Instead of the option to buy food and drinks on the bus, a half-hour break was taken in between at a roadside restaurant in Germany. In addition, you could use 150 MB WiFi per device. Not much, but this time we were prepared and downloaded movies so we wouldn't be dependent. We also had good seats on the way back.
The driver was nice, although he spoke very bad German. Unfortunately, it was the first time he drove this route, so he lost his way in Heidelberg. Fortunately there were a number of helpful passengers on board and the delay did not last too long. He also forgot to count the passengers at a stopover, as a result of which he had already driven away and 2 female passengers had to do everything they could to attract the attention of the driver when he had already driven away and was standing at a traffic light.
All in all, our trip with the Flixbus was quite adventurous. Five stops were made, where you were given the opportunity to get out and stretch your legs. On the way back, a break of half an hour was made to get food or to get off the bus. Although the trip didn't quite go according to our expectations, we can only say that we traveled fairly comfortably, especially for the price.
Would we choose to travel with Flixbus again? I can say a resounding yes to that. Now that we know that there are restrictions on the Wifi and that you may have to travel on another bus that may not have all the comforts, you can prepare for that. Moreover, the price really plays a major role:for a family with 4 adults, we lost less than 200 euros.
By the way, families also traveled on the bus. Not too small children, the youngest I've seen was I think 8 – 9 years old. However, I think it is also doable with younger children, as long as you provide distraction. The advantage is that you do not have to drive yourself and can therefore spend all the time with your child. It will take you a bit longer than with your own car, but that is inevitable, since there are stops in the meantime and therefore it may not be possible to choose the fastest route.
Do you want to travel cheaply within Europe? Then I would advise you to take a look at Flixbus.
