#95 Yes, it is cheaper than flying

I'll be getting the bus to London (from Ireland) in a few weeks.

After searching through a few forums online, and after getting a similar reaction from anyone I've told - I would like to clarify and say that the bus is cheaper than flying. It is a fact.

Since I don't live in Dublin it will cost me €30 for a return ticket to Dublin Airport. A return air fare to London will be about €50, and then once you get to London you'll need a transfer to the city which will be about €20. So flying will now cost €100 total. With only hand luggage.


Now for the bus. Since it leaves from where I live, and arrives into the centre of London, there's no transfer fees. The bus ticket is €53 return. And I can bring as much luggage as I want. So what's the total cost? €53. Half the price of flying.

Apart from the price, everyone's talking about how long it takes. The bus leaves around 8pm and arrives 8am the next morning. So I acknowledge that it is 12 hours of my life gone, but it's all night time so realistically I should be sleeping soundly anyway.

"But flying only takes an hour". No sir, no it does not. That is a lie.

Anyone who has ever flown anywhere knows you have to get to the airport at least two hours in advance of your flight. And then there's the aforementioned connections - so for me it would take 3 hours to Dublin airport, and about an hour once I get to London. So that's 7 hours, and this would be probably during the day.

Oh, and there were a few who said I'd spend all my money at the petrol station stops buying food and coffee etc. Like, I'm travelling at night. I dunno about you, but I'm not one to tuck into meals at 3am. And even if I did buy coffee, I'd have to buy a lot for it to make a dent price wise in comparison to flying.


Now, if you lived in Dublin and only wanted to bring hand luggage then yeah, flying could work out about the same price as the bus. But, for me, getting the bus is a far cheaper option, and since I have very little money to spend on this trip, it's the only option.

Am I looking forward to sitting in close proximity to a stranger for like 7 hours (I get a 5 hour break while on the ferry)? Not really, last time I got a long distance bus (Oslo-Stockholm, night bus, took 7 hours) I had a friendly but odd woman fall asleep on my shoulder and it was terribly uncomfortable. But let's face it, it's €53, and I'd say I'll be getting what I paid for. If I had more money I would definitely fly, but the reality is that I don't, so I will be bussing it, and I will let you know how it goes.

(Oh, and before you say I could get the train - it's more expensive than the bus, and cheap is the name of the game).