Well, many have already received their visas, and sessions are halfway through, so it's time to start preparing for the trip in earnest.
- How do you get to your little village in the middle of a cornfield somewhere in Iowa?
Almost all agencies book Moscow - New York - Moscow tickets, and you have to get to your destination on your own from there. There are many options: plane, Greyhound (or other bus lines), train. Hitchhiking, if I'm not mistaken, is illegal in the USA. So, it seems you'll have to choose from the above.
- Bus. Perhaps the most extreme way to travel, especially if it's Greyhound. Greyhound is the largest bus company in the USA. Prices are pleasing compared to flying, but the travel time is very disappointing. I spent my first summer in Spokane, WA. I got there from New York by plane in about 6 hours with a layover in Salt Lake City, while some guys we knew took the Greyhound for 3 days and 13 hours. A quiet nightmare. But during the layover in Chicago, many managed to walk around)) Tickets can be bought at www.greyhound.com. If you need to go somewhere not too far from New York, it makes sense to Google it, because there are many companies that handle bus transportation for shorter distances (for example, New York - Philadelphia, or New York - Washington) at even more democratic prices than Greyhound. About every six hours, the bus stops at some fast food place where you can buy food and wash up. There is a toilet on the bus, but no sink. By the way, I recently rode in a new bus; it had power outlets, Wi-Fi, leather seats, and quite a lot of legroom (compared to their regular bus). Not the most comfortable way to travel, but you can survive.
Let's compare the pros and cons of this mode of transport.
Pros:
- Price. If you didn't buy a ticket in advance from home, flew into New York, and are now looking for how to get to Atlanta, and you have very little money with you, the bus is your ideal option. Or simply for those who would rather spend the difference between a plane ticket and a bus ticket as a deposit for an apartment or buy silly non-slips or beige work trousers.
- Let's call it "ground-based" (for those who are afraid of flying).
- On the way to your destination, you can see half of America. Usually, Greyhound stations are located in the old part of the city, which, as a rule, coincides with downtown. For example, if you travel by Greyhound through Washington, you can see the Capitol and the Washington Monument))
Cons: - Huge time expenditure. For example, the trip from New York to Knoxville, Tennessee, takes at least 19 hours. And 19 hours on a Greyhound is a serious test of endurance. Be prepared. I want to say right away: what you see there is not all of America, but it is an important part of it.
- As I already wrote, Greyhound stations are usually located in the old part of the city, and almost always in not the best area. I can give you valuable advice - if you see a sign with the street name Martin Luther King Blvd or Magnolia Ave nearby, run away. This is definitely not the area where you want to be if your skin is white. For example, in that same Knoxville, the Greyhound is located at 100 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN. Speaks for itself.
- You have to constantly watch your luggage. A specially trained person puts (or rather, throws) your suitcases into the luggage compartment at the bottom of the bus. He also takes out the suitcases of those people who are getting off at that station (he checks this by special luggage tags that are attached to you during luggage registration). And it often happens that someone's suitcase ends up behind yours, so your suitcase is taken out, and they might forget to put it back. It's a bit better now, but a couple of years ago my friend miraculously noticed that the bus started pulling away from the station while her suitcase remained standing on the street))
It turned out as always - I was going to write a little bit about each, but it turned out three times longer. So I'll have to write about the plane and the train separately)
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