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Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review (London to Paris to Rotterdam!)

by Katie Dawes

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know that I recently returned to two of my favourite cities: Paris & RotterdamΒ via FlixBus! So after three overnight buses takingΒ me from London to Paris, Paris to Rotterdam, and back from Rotterdam to London – here is my FlixBusΒ review!

Flixbus Review Contents:

London to Paris | Paris to Rotterdam | Rotterdam to London

WIN a Trip for Two!Β | InterFlix Pass

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

WIN a Trip for Two with FlixBus!

COMPETITIONΒ NOW CLOSED – CONGRATULATIONS TO VLAD:Β The best thing about travelling with FlixBus?! They’ve offered a lucky winnerΒ the chance to win a pair of return tickets to a European destination of your choice! All you have to do is complete the entry form at the end of this page and you could be heading off to your favourite European destination for free!!

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

FlixBus Review: London to Paris

Price: Β£34

Departure time: 23:30pm

Arrival time: 9:50am

Duration: 10 hours 20 minutes

Channel crossing method: Channel Tunnel Shuttle

Departure from: London Victoria Coach Station,Β 164 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 9TP

  • Victoria Coach Station is a ten-minute walk from Victoria Train Station
  • My Flixbus departed from the first departure hall. But there are two so make sure to check the departure time boards either at the entrance or in the second hall opposite Starbucks
  • By 23.00pm most of the shops and toilets are closed so make sure to stock up on food and water before you arrive. There is also a Sainsbury’s (supermarket) nearby that closes at 23.00pm

Arriving at:Β Porte Maillot Coach Park, 16 – 24 Boulevard Pershing, Paris 75017

  • My suggestion is to ignore all the taxi drivers who line up outside the coach park and find the entrance to the Metro
    • Opposite the coach park is a shopping centre called Palais des CongrΓ¨s de Paris. There you can follow signs for the metro and they also have great toilets to change in and brush your teeth!
  • If you need to get to Gare du Nord then take the M1 towards Chateau de Vincennes and change at Charles de Gaulle (after 2 stops) for the M2 to Gare du Nord (in the direction of Nation). To see the metro map of Paris click here

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

Disadvantages

My first trip with FlixBus didn’t get off to the best start as the bus was an hour late. Meaning it didn’t arrive until 00.30am, long after the toilets and shops were closed. Our driver also went first to the port of Dover, rather than the entrance to the Channel Tunnel shuttle as we were taking the shuttle and not the ferry that night.

My only other issue was the lack of communication between the driver and the those of us on board. When I noticed we had left the port and were driving back in the direction of London, I had to get up and go ask what was happening. There were also no instructions when arriving at passport control at the shuttle, which meant I was directing some of the other passengers from my own previous experience.

However, writing this FlixBus review inΒ hindsight, it seems like these issuesΒ don’t best represent the normal service. As you’ll see in the rest of the review, the rest of my buses arrived and left on time. The other drivers were also really chatty and great at directing us all through passport control.

I also reached out to Flixbus about the delay and they told me:Β “We are consistently working on improving our services and informing our customers about their trip with FlixBus.”

Advantages

As this was my first ever FlixBus, I was really pleasantly surprised with how comfortable the double-decker bus was.

I sat upstairs and was lucky enough to get two seats to myself, which meant I could definitely sleep better. But if you travel in pairs or only get one seat for yourself, the seats recline without taking up too much space for the person behind.

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

FlixBus Review: Paris to Rotterdam

Price: Β£19

Departure time: 22:15pm

Arrival time:Β 06:15am

Duration:Β 8 hours

Departure from:Β Porte Maillot Coach Park, 16 – 24 Boulevard Pershing, Paris 75017

  • At this time of night, the metro exit toΒ Palais des CongrΓ¨s de Paris is closed so make sure to take one of the street exits and look for the coach park from there
  • Port Maillot is on metro line 1

Arrival at: Rotterdam Centraal Station, Conradstraat, Rotterdam,Β 3013 AP

  • This is by far one of the best coach stations of my trip, as the stop is directly behind Rotterdam Centraal station making easy access to trains, metros and trams in the city
  • If you need the toilet when you get off, the station toilets open at 7.00am and cost €0.70. If you’re hungry, the Starbucks in the main hall opens at 6.00am and Albert Heijn (the local supermarket chain) opens and 5.00am Monday – Friday and 7.00am Saturday & Sunday
  • Unfortunately, luggage storage facilities are located in the departure area of the station, which you can only access with a ticket for the trains. Luckily, the guys at Hostel ROOMΒ are happy to store luggage if you arrive before check-in for free!

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

Disadvantages

The only disadvantage on this trip was that I chose to sit on the seats in front of the toilet, the door of which wouldn’t stay shut when not locked from the inside. However, there were two drivers on board this bus and one of them quickly came to tape it up.

Realistically, apart from the tape there’s not a lot they could have done to fix it en route, and he was diligent in replacing the tape throughout the journey when it began to loose stickiness from passenger use.

Advantages

Remember how I said how comfortable the FlixBus buses are? Well with no border crossing to worry about (there’s no need once you’re in Europe) I fell in to a deep sleep as soon as I left Paris. I woke up a few times en route to Rotterdam, but I was that comfortable that I missed my stop.

So I woke up inΒ Delft. I know the Netherlands quite well, but I’ve never been to Delft so I stayed on board until The Hague. The funniest part was quickly power-walking past the driver who was unloading another passenger’s luggage, with a quick wave and a thank you. I didn’t want him to think I had grabbed a cheeky free half hour ride when in fact it cost me another €6.00 and half an hour to get back to Rotterdam!

Note: The driver on this bus was really communicative and was loudly announcing all the stops en route. I was just literally that tired!

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

FlixBus Review: Rotterdam to London

Price: Β£29.50

Departure time: 22:15pm

Arrival time:Β 07:30am

Duration:Β 9 hours 15 minutes

Channel crossing method: Ferry from Calais to Dover

Departure from: Rotterdam Centraal Station, Conradstraat, Rotterdam,Β 3013 AP

  • The FlixBus stop is right at the end of the coach park (at the opposite end of the station entrance)
  • Luckily, the Albert Heijn is again open until midnight so you can grab a large bottle of water (always reccommended on bus journeys!) and some snacks

Arrival at:Β London Victoria Coach Station,Β 164 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 9TP

  • By this time in the morning, the shops and toilets at the coach station are all open, and the toilets cost Β£0.50 – you will find these in the departure hall which will mean leaving the arrivals hall and crossing the road infront ofΒ CaffΓ¨ Nero
  • For morning coffee lovers, the staff atΒ CaffΓ¨ Nero are always awesome and they open at 6.00am
  • To get to the tube, follow the signs for Victoria Train Station – the walk is approximately ten minutes or less depending on how much luggage you have

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

Disadvantages

At the end of June, FlixBus acquired operations of the Megabus services inΒ Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Benelux, as well as cross-border services to London. Whilst this isn’t much of a disadvantage, as I already use Megabus frequently, it meant that I instantly noticed the change in comfort between the previous two FlixBus services and my Megabus from Rotterdam to London. FlixBus buses are definitely more comfortable!

Also, on this crossing we took the overnight ferry. Basically, when you travel to or from London to the European continent you have the option either of taking the tunnel train or the ferry, and when you take the ferry you have to get off the bus and sit in the ferry lounges for safety reasons. However, it’s impossible to know when you book in advance what channel crossing method the bus will use so this is just a chance we all have to take!

Advantages

Of all three buses I took, the driver who picked us up in Rotterdam was by far my favourite! He was super friendly and helpful with luggage (I had picked up an extra bag in Rotterdam that would have to stay in the luggage hold rather than with me on board). He was also great at communicating with everyone about the ferry crossing and just generally a really nice guy.

Also, like my previous ride from Paris to Rotterdam, the bus arrived and left bang on time. Which is a huge bonus!

Travelling Europe By Bus: FlixBus Review London to Paris to Rotterdam

Pros & Cons of Travelling With FlixBus

Despite a dodgy start on my trip from London to Paris, the majority of theΒ 27 hours and 35 minutes that I spent travelling overnight with FlixBus this August were fantastic. A few reasons why:

  • The wifi worked consistently. I have a Spotify subscription but had forgotten to download a few playlists and podcasts for the trips but I was able to do this so easily on board
  • The toilets were clean and worked perfectly (apart from the one door). Also as someone who spent one journey sat directly in front of the toilet – there was no smell…hallelujah!
  • Each pair of seats had a working plug socket. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken budget buses where the plug sockets don’t work, so this was aΒ huge plus!
  • The bus drivers offered low cost food and drinks when they stopped for a fifteen minute break! That’s a completely new service I’ve never experienced on board other bus companies and I was so grateful of it when I ran out of water
  • Β I tweeted about missing my stop in Rotterdam (because I thought it was funny and showed just how comfortable the journey was!) and the service team were quick to respond and tell me to get in touch if I was stuck! I told them not to worry as it was entirely my fault but still – great customer service!
  • I used the app to show my booking confirmation, find bus stops and book the tickets and it was so simple to use! If you’re travelling with FlixBus, definitely download their app as it’s the best I’ve seen for any budget bus company in Europe!

And overall I have only one complaint:

  • When my bus was delayed in London, I didn’t receive a message from the app or by text until 5 minutes before the bus showed up… 55 minutes after the scheduled departure
  • However, a friend of mine was taking a FlixBus from Port Maillot at 22.00pm on the same day as me but to London (what a coincidence!) and he received a text earlier in the day to inform him of the delay. So I assume my late notification wasn’t the norm

Map of my route:

WIN: A free trip to any European Flixbus destination!

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER – VLAD!

Introducing the Flixbus Interflix Pass

My competition may have now closed. But you can now travel to any five cities across Europe for just €99 with the new InterFlix Pass!

WithΒ a network of over 900 destinations, the InterFlix pass gives youΒ five voucher codes that will enable you to book any five routes across Europe!Β The voucher codes are valid for three months, and can be redeemed on the Flixbus website or smartphone app when booking.

Full disclosure: I haven’t yet tested out this pass for myself. However having experienced great bus services with Flixbus I wouldn’t hesitate to test out the InterFlix pass on my next Eurotrip.

Interflix

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This post and giveaway were written in partnership with FlixBusΒ who provided the tickets for this mini Euro trip. However, andΒ as alwaysΒ all opinions are honest and my own and I hope you find this FlixBus Review helpful when planning your next Euro trip!

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45 comments

Kenza September 11, 2016 - 6:47 pm

I am taking Flixbus for the first time next month from Paris to the Netherlands, thanks for the comforting reviews!

Katie Dawes September 12, 2016 - 9:07 pm

Hi Kenza – that’s great news! And how strange that my route is similar to yours! I hope you have a comfy trip too πŸ™‚

Gareth September 11, 2016 - 8:07 pm

Looks amazing and really comfortable. I’d probably go to Bucharest.

Katie Dawes September 12, 2016 - 9:06 pm

Ah I’ve never been to Bucharest! Good luck with the entries! πŸ˜€

Ravi Roshan Jaiswal September 12, 2016 - 12:42 pm

Hi Katie,

Feeling awesome to see this wonderful FlixBus review. It’s a matter of great happiness that you have got a chance to travel The Europe by Bus. Many time, we experience well traveling by bus. I cover some of short distances by bus while traveling. This is really amazing to read your travel experience here on bus. Whenever I get an opportunity to travel a Europe, I prefer to travel by this Flixbus.

It comes with an affordable price and I think its great fun while traveling with bus. I’ll try to win a free trip LOL πŸ™‚ This is going to more interesting when I’ll travel the Europe with Bus.

thanks for great review on bus by pros and cons. I prefer the best one who is cheap for me.

Have a fantastic day.
– Ravi.

Katie Dawes September 12, 2016 - 9:09 pm

Hi Ravi – glad you’re already a Flixbus fan and good luck with the competition! πŸ˜€

Claudia September 14, 2016 - 5:49 am

Flixbus looks like the perfect way to move around europe on my next eurotrip!! I’d probably go to paris or amsterdam!

Katie Dawes September 14, 2016 - 11:09 am

Great choices – two of my favourite cities!

Richard Cegledi September 14, 2016 - 3:25 pm

I would go definitely to Lyon πŸ™‚

Katie Dawes September 16, 2016 - 12:02 am

Yes! I really need to go back to Lyon! Great inspiration πŸ˜€

Kelly September 16, 2016 - 6:13 pm

I went to London (Antwerp -> London) with Flixbus. I always went with Eurolines, but Flix is much cheaper, and more comfortable ( I once went to Paris with Eurolines, departing from Antwerp, and they had no toilet breaks, and the toilet in the bus was out of order/locked!

Thinking of going to Vienna next.

Katie Dawes September 19, 2016 - 9:53 am

No toilet breaks! I’ve experienced that – I’ll never understand how breaks aren’t included in these trips! Vienna would be incredible – I hope you win the tickets there! P.s. I love Antwerp πŸ˜€

Hanna Dunse September 18, 2016 - 5:21 pm

The only long bus ride I’ve taken was from my home town in SW Scotland to London, over a year ago. It took 11 hours overnight with National Express! I’d love to go from London to Amsterdam to explore ☺️

Katie Dawes September 19, 2016 - 9:38 am

Wow that’s a long trip! But it’s definitely one I would take – I spent a fortune on a train from Glasgow to London last year!

Melinda September 18, 2016 - 5:56 pm

I would love bus traveling for the first time to beautiful Prague πŸ˜€

Katie Dawes September 19, 2016 - 9:37 am

Ah I’ve never been to Prague! That would be amazing – especially if you get the night bus and arrive early πŸ˜€

Glenn C September 18, 2016 - 7:23 pm

Awesome review.. thank you. After reading your review I’m going to try the Flixbus option to travel to Berlin in the coming month !

Katie Dawes September 19, 2016 - 9:35 am

Hi Glenn – that’s great to hear! I hope you have a good experience like mine! πŸ™‚ And enjoy Berlin!

Vlad September 20, 2016 - 10:01 pm

Because autumn is the wine and grape must season in Vienna, I’d certainly like to discover the city fall colors and its fruitage perfumes!

Katie Dawes September 21, 2016 - 6:22 pm

Another vote for Vienna! I have to visit this city too…!

Samantha Wragg September 23, 2016 - 7:39 pm

I would love to go to Berlin with my boy! <3

Katie Dawes September 24, 2016 - 10:32 am

Yes – another #PartridgeTrip! πŸ˜€

Vlad September 29, 2016 - 6:31 pm

An evening sky full of stars, light enough to dream about a green journey on FlixBus. Thank you for this! πŸ™‚

Tallat Satti December 1, 2016 - 9:57 pm

These fixbus trips can only those travelers who have holidays and plenty of time, because visiting on weekends for such trips can be irritating.

Annelot April 5, 2017 - 3:29 pm

I want to go from Antwerp to London with Flixbus. Does the price include the trip over the canal to England (by ferry or tunnel)? Or is this an extra cost?

Katie Dawes April 6, 2017 - 12:04 pm

Hi Annelot – good question! The ferry or shuttle are included in the price.

Just so you know, if the bus takes the shuttle then you stay on the bus. But if it takes the ferry then you have to get off the bus during the crossing. It’s a nuisance, because you don’t know which one you will have to do when you book. But it’s all included in the price!

Diane July 21, 2017 - 7:41 am

Hey Katie, just heard about FlixBus and have a question for you. Do most of the longer routes have 2 drivers that switch off or was that the case for you because someone was training? I’m thinking on a trip like Paris to Berlin (13 hours) that it’s really far for one person to drive. Just curious. Thanks!

Katie Dawes July 21, 2017 - 10:48 am

Hi Diane! So my experience has been that the driver hasn’t driven alone that far. Either they have switched at a stop en route with a new driver, or there have been two drivers that take it in turns. Unfortunately I can’t confirm that this is their policy, but I’ve just had a look at the safety page on their website where they say: “FlixBus follows a strict policy that requires our drivers to take regular rest breaks and the most appropriate route for each journey. With GPS tracking, we can check driving and resting periods and see the location of our buses at all times. FlixBus night-time trips are served by a two-person crew, and drivers switch regularly.” I hope that helps your decision! πŸ™‚

Sugandha July 23, 2017 - 11:51 am

Hey Katie!
I wanted to know whether all of their buses have on board toilets or not.
Thanks!

Katie Dawes July 23, 2017 - 10:39 pm

Hi Sugandha – all the buses I have taken with Flixbus have had toilets! I hope that helps πŸ™‚

Isabel August 21, 2017 - 3:08 pm

Hi Katie,
Thans for this review. I decided to take the coach from Rotterdam to London and really didn’t know who to go with. So glad I found your review it really helped and I did choose Flexibus in the end. You were spot on. As a thank you I gave you a mention in my Netherlands post. Check it out if you like https://isibue.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/netherlands-explored/
Thanks Isi

Katie Dawes August 21, 2017 - 3:18 pm

Hi Isi – I’m so glad you had a great experience with Flixbus as well. And well done for giving it a go! Coach travel can seem horrific but it’s actually not that bad… and great if you’re travelling on a budget! Loved the station you went to visit – what an opportunity to catch it before it disappears completely!

Angel August 30, 2017 - 6:20 pm

Hi, Katie!
I am going on a trip from Bologna to Munich via the overnight bus at the end of September. I was wondering how the overnight buses look like and how different they are from regular buses. I can’t seem to find any photos online.
Thanks!

ANGEL

Katie Dawes August 30, 2017 - 6:22 pm

Hi Angel! The overnight buses don’t tend to be much different from the day buses. Actually I’m pretty sure they use the same ones. The good thing about Flixbus is that the seats can be separated, so if you do need to sleep you’ll have some personal space πŸ™‚ Have a great trip!

Sam September 21, 2017 - 12:14 pm

I wouldn’t recommend flexbus, they cancelled my bus (1.5 after departure time) and refuse to refund or book another bus. my trip is about to end and they are telling me to respond it will take us 14 days. the worst company I have dealt with ever. not to mention no one would even get back to me after 3 phone calls, 5 emails and messages on facebook (which they deleted)

Katie Dawes September 22, 2017 - 11:23 am

Hi Sam, this doesn’t sound good at all and I think it’s great that you’re commenting here to contribute to the discussion. My review is based entirely on personal experience, and as you can see I didn’t have any problems (and haven’t had since after taking many more trips with them). So it’s really unfortunate that you had a bad experience and also, that you can’t seem to be compensated for this. As I don’t work for FlixBus I’m afraid I can’t help you in getting in touch with their customer service team. But I hope you do, and that this gets resolved.

Vlad October 8, 2017 - 10:23 pm

Some of us just love the warmth of summer, others the smell of cinnamon covering the winter holidays, but I never thought that Vienna could shine so beautiful at the beginning of October.

We’ve just returned from the journey won here an year ago and have to say we’ve started this adventure with open hearts and we had a great experience on the first ever road trip with a FlixBus coach.

The FlixBus trip, a 16 hours direct run from our near town in the middle of Romania, went in good and comfortable conditions and using the bus WiFi internet connection, gave us the opportunity to quietly order the thoughts about what to follow when we get to the imperial capital of Europe. The excellent timetable of this route has contributed of maximizing the time spent at the destination. But because we are talking about the city of Vienna, time could never be enough, just used as efficiently as possible.

In the early hours of the morning, the city was still asleep, and after this Bus route, the best way to start exploring the city was the public bicycle system. The weather was friendly and we just fell in love with this type of transport here. This day we got met with the city, and in the days to come we discovered its wonders in the autumn light and perfume. A traditional fall festival near the Prater amusement park greatly delighted us, like all the other special tourist attractions, the museums visited and the culinary experiences that have impressed us.

In the spirit of The Hostel Girl’s journey blog, we chose to be accommodated in a Hostel, as the first time of such accommodation outside of our country, and finally we can say that we had an wonderful experience. Many stories and many friends connections can be made under the starry sky of a city like this. To feel young again in the atmosphere of a hostel, has no price and can not be bought for anything in the world!

After leaved the traces of history, from ancient imperial times to the modern age of today, I can say that the city can please everyone. Next year is celebrated the year of modernism in Vienna and what the city may have the most valuable, is the perfect combination between classic and modern, between old and new, everything in an atmosphere with a particularly noble flavor.

The way back home is always faster, but like this time we wouldn’t want to leave this city. It’s a good reason to think about coming back one day. And we will do it for sure, because the city is magical.

We appreciate the recent FlixBus coming to Romania, we hope in a developing of the network and the number of passengers and this experience has made us thinking about the next holiday destination by Bus.

Thank you Katie – The Hostel Girl and FlixBus for this great challenge that we have lived at maximum intensity, thinking about you!

Here is a short photobook with a few moments spent in Vienna: https://goo.gl/TG8Jhi

Katie Dawes October 12, 2017 - 7:41 pm

This has to be one of my favourite comments of all time.

Thank you, Vlad, for sharing your experience here, both in Vienna and with Flixbus. I can honestly say that I couldn’t have picked a more deserving winner and it has brightened my day so much to hear that you enjoyed your trip!

The photobook is beautiful – and thank you for the toast! πŸ˜€

I’m also super excited that you took my advice and opted to stay in a hostel. And even more excited that you enjoyed your time there!

Thank you for being such a loyal and engaging reader of this blog. Our communications over the last year have always helped spur me on in writing for this site, and reading an account of your trip that has been inspired or facilitated through this platform is inspiring also for me! I hope you continue your travels and, as always, if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to get in touch. You know where to find me πŸ™‚

Safe travels Vlad and stay in touch x

fateh October 29, 2017 - 8:49 pm

hello i have a good trip with flixbus from madrid to paris 08/10/2017

Katie Dawes November 17, 2017 - 1:40 pm

That’s great to hear! Thank you for sharing your experience πŸ™‚

Bec November 11, 2017 - 1:46 am

About to use Flixbus to travel Paris to London on 2nd January! Thank you for sharing your reviews. It helped us make the decision to travel with Flixbus πŸ™‚

Katie Dawes November 17, 2017 - 1:38 pm

You’re welcome Bec! I hope you have a safe trip!

TaqinLah December 16, 2017 - 8:59 am

Hi Katie,
Looking at few bus options to get to Paris from London. Very keen withFlixbus, but can you confirm the allowed luggage per person? And are they strict with the weight? Your post really helps! Thanks!

Katie Dawes December 16, 2017 - 12:26 pm

Hi Taqin! The bus from London to Paris is super easy! I have never had trouble with the weight of a suitcase, and I’ve seen some people take really big suitcases! But ideally, your suitcase shouldn’t weight over 20kgs. For more information, click here to see the official Flixbus luggage policy. The official policy recommends: One item of hand baggage (max. 42 x 30 x 18 cm, max. 7kg) and 1 travel baggage item (max. 80 x 50 x 30 cm (31.5 x 19.7 x 11.9 in), some deviations in dimensions allowed for max. size of all sides of 160 cm (63.0 in), max. 20kg (44.1 lbs)). Both of these are included in your ticket and won’t cost any extra πŸ™‚ Have a safe trip and I’m glad you found this post useful! Katie

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