TRAVEL

The Pros and Cons of Taking a Bus Tour

One and done for me

We rented a car during the first half of our trip to the United Kingdom. My husband was the driver, mainly because I was nervous about driving on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the street, with a manual transmission shifting with your left hand, and the influx of roundabouts to maneuver.

After we hit up all our destinations in England, we decided it would be an excellent time to turn the car in and take the train to Scotland.

Seeing the Scottish Highlands and the Glenfinnan Viaduct we were at the top of our lists, so the only way we could do that from Edinburgh was via a tour.

The first pro: my husband would get to relax and enjoy the scenery while making the trek on a bus to these destinations.

The con: The tour would take us a total of 12 hours. That’s a long time on a bus with other people and a lot of driving.

Would it be worth it?

The night before we left, we went back and forth about the idea. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that since we’d been walking many miles each day, we would give our feet a rest and take the tour.

Another con: We had to be up early and at the meeting point at 7 am. I guess I should say this is a con for my family. I have no problem getting up early.

Followed by another pro: We could bring our breakfast and leisurely eat it while someone else was driving. Ok, this is just a pro for anyone who would be the driver.

On the morning of the tour, we were all up and ready on time. No one was complaining which was a sign we would have a good day.

We arrive at the meeting spot early because I like being on time, which means I am always a little early. I get anxious when I am late and try to avoid that.

The other tour-goers had the same idea, as about half the group were already in line.

We show our tickets and line up when the bus arrives. As we all file in, we hit another con.

Rude people.

Aren’t we taught as young children that when you file into a bus, you take up all the seats as they come?

All of the tour-goers didn’t think this applied to them because they filed in and took all of the window seats. People even separated from their families so they could each get a window seat.

This meant that all of the remaining guests had to split up from their families and take all of the aisle seats.

By the time we got on and tried to find a seat, we were all the way in the back, even though we were in the middle of the group getting onto the bus.

Pro: We did get to sit together and we took Dramamine, so we could handle the back of the bus. It wasn’t ideal but we didn’t complain.

We didn’t complain until two parents and their young daughter ran to the bus, late, and there are only 3 separate aisle seats left.

They look frazzled and the young daughter, who appears to be around 5 years old, doesn’t want to sit by herself. They are towards the front of the bus but we are all observing.

No one is budging to help this family sit together. No one cares. The bus driver gets up and heads straight to the back of the bus to my husband.

“Sir, can you move so this mom can sit with her child?”

Begrudgingly, my husband obliges and I can tell he is upset.

What about all of the rude families that filed in first taking up all of the window seats? Maybe one of them should trade?

Those were my thoughts, all kept inside. Just breathe through it and all will be ok.

My husband moves while the mom and daughter make their way to sit in between me and my daughters. I glare at all of the looky-loos from the front of the bus, the ones that all took the window seats.

Breathe. Namaste. Inhale, exhale.

Pro: You can bring your yoga techniques on the bus.

Finally, after the seating fiasco, we are off and starting to get a little tired due to the Dramamine.

At our first stop, we grab some coffee and check out the Highland Cattle. It was a bit rainy but we didn’t care. We were glad to take a break from the whining of the 5-year-old girl.

Con: You aren’t guaranteed who you will sit next to and it might be a whining child.

We got back on the bus early, and my husband came to sit next to us. I gave him a confused look and he said…

“I want to sit with my family. Someone else can move.”

Pro: There are no assigned seats.

When the mother and the child come back on the bus, she looks shocked. I don’t like confrontation and almost moved to where my husband was sitting before he says…

“I got here early to sit with my family, so can you ask some solo travelers to move?”

You can tell she is very shy and doesn’t want to ask anyone so instead, she marches up to the driver. The driver glares at my husband and says that we are not to change seats now but asks if anyone else would be willing to move.

After a few minutes and the continued stares from the rude window seat stealers, someone agrees and her husband comes to take the one seat in between our family.

Con: Things can get awkward on a bus tour.

The rest of the trip was smooth sailing, besides the evil eyes that we would get from the other travelers because somehow now, we were the bad guys in the back of the bus.

Pro: Since reaching our 40s, we continue not giving a f*ck about certain things, and this was one of them.

Our second stop was Glencoe where we walked around for about 30 minutes and it wasn’t enough time.

Con: You are on their set schedule at each stop on a bus tour.

For our 3rd stop, we arrived in Mallaig, which is a small fishing village on the western coast of Scotland. We were able to see where the Hogwarts Express landed and then took off as we were leaving.

We had lunch and some tea here, with a little extra time to walk around.

Our 4th stop was the best and most exciting, the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This is the iconic spot in the Scottish Highlands where the Hogwarts Express crosses the beautiful bridge.

Everyone filed out of the bus with excitement because the train wasn’t supposed to be running, but much to our surprise, the schedule changed and we were going to be able to witness it.

This was the highlight, among seeing all of the green Scottish Highlands making the tour worth it. We were able to take in the beauty of the train and this spot for an hour.

Back on the bus after we marveled at the beauty, we settled in for the long bus ride back to the meeting point where we left.

All in all, it was a beautiful treat for our eyes even with the fiasco and the long drives.

We won’t do a bus tour again. It was one of those “one and done” experiences but I am glad that we decided to take a break from our feet.

Have you taken a bus tour? If not, would you consider taking one? Let me know your pros and cons!

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Thanks for reading!

Much love, Michele