Living & Working in Great Places

Anyone taken the bus to Bozeman, MT or any long distance location?

I was debating whether or not to fly, drive or take Greyhound to Bozeman in June. I am going to work at Yellowstone. Is Greyhound reliable because according to their website, (correct me if I am wrong) if you miss a connecting bus they say tough luck and you have to find your own transportation, regardless of why the bus is late. I have little time to afford if a bus is late and causes me to miss a connector bus. I like the fact that greyhound is fairly inexpensive but need to know if it is reliable. By the way I am coming from CA and will have to have 3 connector buses in order to get to Bozeman. Are the buses comfortable? What is my best option?
Thanks!

Tags: bozeman, greyhound, yellowstone

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mellott on March 13, 2009 at 10:46am: I took the Greyhound from Bozeman to St. Cloud MN in Nov. Here is my two cents. The bus ride was fine, we went over night so it was not too bad. Some of the people were great talked to a lot of them on the bus. I encountered one problem where we stopped at Billings for our dinner stop where we we were there for an hour, I left my ticket on the bus in the seat pocket but thought I had it in my pocket. When I couldn't find it I was forced to buy a new ticket because these people live in the stone age and they don't have a system that says who you are and what you have purchased. Luckily the driver was actually a good guy and went back onto the bus and found my ticket for me and got my other refunded. There will be no worry missing your connections unless you don't pay attention to the announcements telling you your bus is leaving. Also, the comfortability of your ride is directly proportional to the number of people that are riding your bus. Luckily my bus was fairly empty so the ride was pretty enjoyable.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steve on March 13, 2009 at 11:00am: If your connection is missed due to the bus being delayed, they will put you on the next scheduled departure. As far as comfort goes, Kevin couldnt be more correct! I took the bus from Cheyenne, WY to Portland, OR once and was miserable. but it was packed! I would make the assumption that the bus will be full or close until you get to Salt Lake City, but from there to Bozeman you should be in good shape. Good Luck and we will see you up there!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by reggie on March 13, 2009 at 2:07pm: i been on greyhound so many times the longest i;ve been on is from philly to idaho falls took about 3 days u meet some good people and some strange and the stops the driver would tell u how long u have at the connections sometimes if have to change busses they will tell what gate to arrive and what time so its comfortable; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ken horner on March 13, 2009 at 2:17pm: greyhound is ok, I've used them to yellowstone 3 times and gonna do it again in two weeks. If ya miss a connector, ya just have to work it out at the desk. the worse there will be is $15 and wait till the next bus. no the busses arent very comfy. the problem with flying is that the airport is a good ways outside of Bozeman. It will probably be a $50 taxi ride from there to the bus station where xanterra picks ya up. I'm going from ohio to ystone nad it's only $74. air to bozeman is $300..........; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amanda on March 13, 2009 at 3:25pm: Hey there, I use to live in Big Sky, Montana(you'll pass through it on your way to Yellowstone), and I originally took a greyhound to Bozeman when I first went out there. Flying is definately better, but unfortunately it's usually a lot more expensive to fly into Bozeman than other towns. The bus ride wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. The biggest thing for me was sleep deprivation. So here is my advice, bring a real comfy pillow to snuggle up with, wear comfy clothes(aka pajamas) and pack toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, clean undies, change of clothes, book, deodorant, well you get the idea, pack this stuff up in a nice little backpack so you won't have to get into your luggage during the trip and you'll be well prepared if the bus does leave without you because of some unfortunate circumstance. Always take that bag with you when you're not on the bus(ALWAYS), along with all you're moneys, which should also be in the bag. And just stay alert(wear a watch) when the bus stops, be the first one off and the first one on, if you hang near the driver this shouldn't be a problem. Okay I'm making this sound like a life or death situation now :) Don't worry you'll be fine, it's a cake walk. Hope I could help.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 13, 2009 at 5:22pm: If you can afford to fly, do it. Being on the bus sucks and waiting for your connecting bus sucks. Each time you swap buses you have to get your stuff off of one and stay with it until you get on the next bus which presents a problem when going to the bathroom because you won't want to leave your stuff unattended at any bus station. If you do take the bus, get on first and fall across the seat next to you and pretend your asleep; drool on yourself a little :) . Hopefully somebody will pick another available seat before waking you up. It's a pretty lame move but some people would rather sit next to someone than walk a little farther to sit by themselves. Just kidding about the drool by the way, but try to discourage anyone from sitting next to you because having an empty seat next to you will make a world of difference on a bus.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Drew on March 13, 2009 at 6:51pm: Good tips, falling across the seats and acting passed out or inebriated works pretty good done it myself upon many occassion. But if someone insists on sitting with you have them take the window seat so you have the leg room down the aisle when your legs start to cramp from sitting on the bus for several hours or days.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jason Kemple on March 13, 2009 at 5:23pm: If you get to Bozeman and can't get a ride into Yellowstone, i'll be in Bozeman when i'm not working and could drive you down... at least you can use me as a backup resource if you need to! Add me as a friend if you'd like.

GOOD LUCK with your trip!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rachelle on March 13, 2009 at 7:47pm: Thanks for the offer but Yellowstone is picking me up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly Barnes on March 13, 2009 at 7:01pm: This is a great question and I really enjoyed the answers. I am also planning on taking the bus from Rogers Arkansas to Bozeman MT. Been trying to con my sister or one of the kids into driving me out there but no luck with that so far. I just thought they could have a little adventure but my family has no taste for it. No adventurers in my family except for me....; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by akscootr on March 13, 2009 at 7:18pm: The bus can be fun or it can su**, depending. I really enjoyed the trip to Mackinac Island (bunch of hippies going to a Rainbow Family Gathering), but on others I have been jammed next to people who were so big they took up part of my "space" and they obviously wouldn't shower.
Amanda is 100% about the backpack; Your i.d. and $$$ should be on your person at all times. ALWAYS. A book and mp3 player will help also...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jon Tilley on March 14, 2009 at 5:24pm: You know what, just swallow your money like you're smuggling coke and duct tape you debit card to your butt.; ▶ Reply to This