Traveling around Europe is neat. More importantly, it is efficient. Between public and private train lines, affordable budget airlines, and buses, I have never had an issue getting between cities without renting a car. (I hate driving in other countries, and to be honest, if I never had to drive again, even at home, I’d be ok with that.)

I wrote some time back about European train travel, and you can click here to read about that. This is my preferred method of getting from Point A to Point B. But sometimes trains aren’t best, whether from a logistical perspective or a cost one. So when I search for my transportation (as you’ll recall I tend to use either the Omio or TrainLine app, even though I prefer to book directly with the rail or bus companies), I always include bus options. And in Europe, those almost always mean FlixBus.

So today, let’s talk about FlixBus. What is it like from booking to riding? What are the advantages and what are the drawbacks?

Let’s start from a purely anecdotal standpoint. I recently (as of this writing – I have no idea when I’ll end up publishing this article, so it’s currently February 2026) needed to travel from Genoa, Italy to Nice, France. I consulted my apps and found that train trips were about 3.5 to 4 hours, with one change in Ventimiglia, for a cost of $30-40 per person. That’s not bad, although rail changes can be very short, necessitating a bit of anxiety if anything isn’t 100% on time. (I once had a 7 min change somewhere in Belgium, and with my train arriving a few minutes late, I basically had to sprint with my suitcase to catch my connecting train.) As I always do, I then hit the bus tab, and found that FlixBus did the journey in basically the same amount of time, with no changes, and for about $15. I ended up choosing that option.

Why did I go with FlixBus? Was it just the price? Did the routing have anything to do with it? Was I worried spending so long on a bus?

Bus travel gets a bit of a bad reputation in much of the world, and deservedly so. So when most Americans think of intercity buses, they are understandably concerned. Well, FlixBus isn’t the run of the mill Greyhound, let alone a Guatemalan chicken bus.

Booking is easy. Select your start and end points and date, pick the specific time, and press go. You’ll be offered the chance to pick your specific seat on the bus for an additional fee; I’ve never done that, rather I’ve let them assign it to me, although even in those cases I’ve occasionally moved to another unoccupied seat. You’ll be given an electronic boarding pass, just as with an airplane, to show on your phone. Easy.

I typically arrive at the bus stop about 15-30 minutes ahead of my departure. After all, the bus will only stop for a few minutes to do drop offs and pick ups and then continue on its way. But more importantly, bus stations don’t tend to have as good signage as train stations. While FlixBus’ bright green buses will always stop at the same spot (it can be just along a road, as it was in the case of Genoa, or a numbered parking stall or two), it might not be so easily apparent where that is when one arrives. So I like to be a bit early to figure that out. (Hint: it’s probably where the group of people with suitcases are.)

I will admit that this is a drawback of booking FlixBus as opposed to a train. Bus stations, even the nicer ones, aren’t as nice as train stations. There may or may not be shelter from the elements or even places to sit. As for something to eat or a restroom? It’s a roll of the dice.

FlixBus seems to generally run on time, or at least in my own personal experiences I have rarely been on one running more than a few minutes behind schedule. (A recent trip is the sole exception, with a roughly one hour delay, although I was sent a text alert about it, and was able to track my bus on the app.) I would imagine that in the case of a bad accident blocking some or all of a highway, they could have rough days on specific routings, but as I’ve never experienced that, I can’t say for sure what the process would be in the case of a cancellation or multi-hour delay.

So you’re at the station, you’ve found where FlixBus stops, and yours arrives. What now? The driver will scan your boarding pass and ask to see ID. Then you’ll put your own luggage below the bus in the storage compartments. Sometimes there will be specific spots depending on where you’re getting off, and sometimes it will just be wherever is empty. Remember where you put it because you’ll be in charge of getting it out again when you get off at your stop.

The buses themselves are rather lovely. Single or double decked, they have reasonable legroom (more than economy on airplanes), USB outlets, lights, tray tables, and even WiFi. There is a restroom on board. Curtains can block the windows if you don’t want the sun. It’s a comfortable ride.

There are scheduled (although not publicized) stops between actual cities at times. For instance, while there was no stop to drop off or pick up passengers between Genoa and Nice, there was a half hour stop at a rest station with restrooms, a store, and a restaurant. (I had brought food with me on board, since I wasn’t expecting this.) I don’t believe the same can be said between each set of cities, but the odds are if you’re on the bus most of the day that it will have at least one such stop.

Stops aren’t exactly well announced most of the time, but since they are basically only in reasonably sized cities, it’s fairly easy to figure out. For those rest stops, just ask the driver how long you have and keep the bus in sight.

Riding on a bus can be a bit less comfortable than being on a train. There is certainly less ability to get up and walk, and there are more curves and bumps. But all the seats face forward (I don’t like riding backwards on a train), so that’s something.

So is FlixBus right for you? Well, it really depends on scheduling and pricing. If both are about even with the train, I’ll choose rail for the ease of use of stations rather than bus stops. But if FlixBus is direct and the train isn’t, or it’s significantly cheaper, I’ll opt that way.

But for Americans worried about taking a bus – of all the horrors! – I hope this dispels some of that anxiety.

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