Can You Reserve A Seat On The Greyhound Bus?

Unfortunately, Greyhound no longer offers the option to reserve a seat when you are buying your ticket.

In the past you could reserve a seat with certain options like Greyhound Express and Priority boarding, but now all seats are first come - first serve.

This means that everybody lines up to board the bus and as passengers get on the bus they pick an empty seat and sit down. So you need to get to the Greyhound bus station that you will be leaving from early enough to get a good place in the boarding line.

Getting to the station 30 to 45 minutes before your bus is scheduled to leave will usually be early enough to ensure that you are near the front of the line.  Being first in the boarding line allows you to get on the bus first and therefore gives you a better choice of seats.

So while the option to reserve a seat would be nice since you would know for certain that you have a seat, there is something to be said for being able to choose your seat. We've all gotten on a plane and groaned silently when we saw who was assigned to the seats next to us. At least on Greyhound you have options when it comes to your seating.

This doesn't mean that I agree with Greyhound's decision to suspend reserved seating.

I think they should follow the example of Megabus and at least have limited reserved seating on each bus. The reserved tickets would cost a little more but they would guarantee that you have a seat on a specific bus departing at a specific time.

This would ease the worry that many people have about their bus being overbooked and their having to wait and take a later bus. I'd say maybe like the first 6 rows of each bus should be reserved seating and all the passengers with those tickets get to board first and are guaranteed their seats. I personally would gladly pay an extra $10-15 for that peace of mind.

Perhaps one day Greyhound will bring back reserved seating. But until then the best we can do is get to the station early and hope there are some good seats left on the bus when we board.

Does Greyhound Weigh Your Luggage?

If you are planning a trip on the Greyhound bus and are going to be taking luggage with you then you might be wondering about weight limitations.

The last thing you want to happen is for your bag to be overweight and you have to pay some heavy fees to get them on the bus.

The good news is that the weight limitations on Greyhound are pretty straight forward. Your checked bags cannot weigh more than 50lbs (you are allowed two with each adult ticket, one for free the second is $15).

And yes, they will weigh your checked bags to make sure they are not overweight.

If your checked bag weighs 50lbs or more you will have to have it shipped through Greyhound Package Express to your final destination. Not only can this get expensive but it is also risky since there is no guarantee that your bags will be on the same bus as you.

This means that your bag(s) may arrive at your final destination before you do which means they will be sitting around a random bus station for who knows how long. Or they will arrive after you do and you will have to sit around and wait on them.

So your best bet is to make sure that your checked bags weigh 50lbs or less so you don't have to deal with the hassle.

You are allowed one carry on bag with each adult ticket you buy on Greyhound. Your carry-on bag is supposed to weight 25lbs or less but in most cases they will not weigh your carry-on bag.

The size of your carry on bag is important however because if your carry on seems like it is too big to fit under your seat or in the overhead luggage bins the driver will make you return to the ticket counter and check it.

This could open you up to the $15 fee if you already have one checked bag and maybe even the whole Greyhound Package Express ordeal if you have two checked bags already.

So while the weight of your carry on bag isn't usually an issue, the size is very important. Greyhound doesn't have any exact measurements in inches or centimeters for how big your carry on can be but an industry standard carry on bag will fit easily in the overhead luggage bins on the bus.

Another great idea for a carry-on bag is a small to medium sized backpack or daypack. Not only will they fit easily in the luggage bins but they are also easy to tote around while you are traveling.


If you are worried about your bags being overweight and you don't have a scale at home to weigh them on here's a quick tip. Completely pack your bag the day before your trip and go to the Greyhound station and have then weigh it for you. If it's underweight you are good to go.

If it's overweight you can remove items right then and there and have then re-weigh your bag until it's the right weight. This saves you the hassle of having to do all this on the day of your trip plus any items that had to be removed can be left at home if they aren't essential to your trip.

Do They Search For Drugs on the Greyhound Bus?

Do they search for drugs on the Greyhound bus? This is a question that I get asked quite frequently when people find out that I make videos about the Greyhound bus. And I always give the same answer: Yes and no.

The reason I say 'yes and no' is because while there is a chance that your bag may be searched while you are riding on the Greyhound bus, it's not Greyhound's policy to search passenger's bags.

In fact I think Greyhound as a company could care less what you have in your bags as long as you hand over the money for your ticket and you don't cause trouble.

That being said law enforcement has a totally different attitude towards drugs and they know that there is always a good chance that someone is using the Greyhound bus to transport them.

So in certain areas and cities the authorities do routine searching of Greyhound passenger's bags either before they board the bus or during their trip.

I've heard that this happens a lot in major cities and along bus routes near the U.S./Mexican border. Basically the more known the area is for drug trafficking the more likely that your bags will be searched.

If you are traveling in areas where drugs aren't really an issue then you probably won't have to worry about having you bags searched.

For instance, I've made countless cross country Greyhound bus trips from Florida to the Northwest and I've only had one incident where my bags were at risk of being searched and that was in Atlanta, GA.

Homeland Security  was at the station with the drug dogs and all and they were searching the bags of all passengers headed to California. I never travel with any contraband and I wasn't heading to California so I wasn't worried but I saw quite a few people that were.

My point is that you can ride Greyhound for years and never have your bags searched. It kind of just depends on what cities you are leaving and arriving from and the routes you are traveling on.

Even then a lot of the time when law enforcement searches a Greyhound bus they are acting on a tip they received. I don't really think they are ever out to catch the guy or girl who has a little marijuana stashed in their carry on bag. They are more out for people who are using Greyhound to move some serious weight.

Basically I'd say that 90% of the time there is no danger of your bag being searched while you are traveling on the Greyhound bus. But it's that other 10% that should have you worried if you are thinking of traveling with drugs or anything else that could get you into trouble.

I'm pretty sure that since the Greyhound bus crosses state lines you would up with federal charges if you got caught with anything illegal in your bags and that's just a risk I don't advise anyone to take.

Why not just leave the drugs or whatever else you are thinking about taking on the bus at home and then you don't have to worry. Trust me, it's not worth it.