Flixbus looks nice from the outside. But Flixbus sucks, once you are inside the bus.

Flixbus looks nice from the outside. But Flixbus sucks, once you are inside the bus. So here is my Flixbus review.

I have just taken a couple of rides with Flixbus. And I was not impressed. So I decided to write this Flixbus review.

Last week I was in Dresden in Germany and needed to get to Denmark. Being early August, flights were either full or very expensive. The German railways can be really cheap, if booked in advance. But I was out late. So I decided to look at bus companies. Flixbus came up with a very good deal. Having had good bus experiences recently in countries like Mexico and Brazil, I decided to book it.

Next to no legspace on Flixbus.

Next to no legspace on Flixbus.

My journey started with a night bus between Dresden and Berlin. In Berlin I changed to another bus that would drive me to Flensburg, right by the Danish border.

When I first got to Dresden Railway station, where the bus leaves from, things worked quite fine. I spoke to a Flixbus employee, who was very friendly and polite. He explained to me where the bus would leave from and when I should be there. So I was quite happy before entering the bus. When the Flixbus came it looked quite nice. Huge double decker bus that looked very new to me.

But then the doors to the bus opened.

I was one of the first passengers to enter the bus, so I got what I thought was a nice spot. There was just no space for people in the seats. I am not a very big guy. I’m 173 centimeters tall. Not very tall for European standards. I’m a little strong build and a little wide over the shoulders. But nothing crazy. I’m not some jerk who eats steroids and works out to get big biceps.

Check out how my shoulders are twice as wide as the seat.

Check out how my shoulders are twice as wide as the seat.

There was no way I could fit in there. I was unfortunate enough to have a window seat too. Next to me was a young man who was not as wide as me, but he had long legs. He had to put his legs out on the aisle all the way to Berlin, while I had to partly sit up against the window, cause my shoulders would otherwise spill into his seats. The seats were way too narrow. And there was no leg space for any person taller than 165 centimeters. 

I normally fall asleep right away when I am in a moving vehicle. But this time there was no chance. I was so squeezed the entire trip, that I was close to asking the bus driver to stop on the Autobahn and let me off.

Once we got to Berlin we had to change buses. After two hours of waiting a new bus came. This was not an official Flixbus, but one from a partner. That helped a little bit in terms of space. But it was still not nice. And I decided to do what I noticed many other passengers did. I started to act like a jerk to other passengers. I sat on one aisle seat and put my luggage on the window seat, pretending that someone was already occupying that seat. This is one thing that I really don’t like doing. But budget transportation with limited space for passengers, simply brings out the inner jerk in most people. Including me unfortunately. It partly worked and I had part of the remaining journey with no one next to me. The bus was very full though, so I was lucky. This would not have worked on the journey between Dresden and Berlin, as that journey only had one free seat. And that was next to a really fat guy who occupied both seats with his body.

As I mentioned earlier, I had good experiences with busses recently. Especially in Mexico, where busses are fantastic. With big nice seats. And food, drinks and wifi.

Flixbus also claimed to have free wifi by the way. But on the journey between Dresden and Berlin, there was none at all. And that was when driving with an official green Flixbus. We sort of had it between Berlin and Flensburg. But what they do not tell you in the advertisements, is that you only have limited time on the free wifi. Total rubbish from Flixbus, all the way.

Flixbus is Ryanair on wheels.

I took Flixbus because it was cheap in the first place. And they lived up to the promises there. The staff was behaving nice under the given circumstances. But there is nothing else nice I can say about this company. These big double decker busses might look impressive. But they are only built to fit as many people as possible, in as little space as possible. And the result is that the journey is awful.

Would I ride Flixbus again?

For an overnight journey: NEVER. When I take an overnight journey with a bus, I want to be able to sleep. Not to be squeezed between two seats and up against a window that has not been cleaned for several days.  I could probably accept it on a shorter daytime journey of less than 3 hours. But that is all.

Bus travel does not have to be horrible.

This is a long distance bus in Mexico. Now THAT is proper legspace.

This is a long distance bus in Mexico. Now THAT is proper legspace.

I have taken busses in more than 70 countries and most trips have been ok. In Latin America in particular. The bus rides have often been fantastic. Even the Greyhound rides in the USA are trips I have enjoyed. I did not enjoy my two Flixbus rides one bit. And I feel that I am a little obliged to write this Flixbus review. People need to know what a piece of garbage this company is. Give me a chicken bus in Guatemala any time instead of these horrible green Flixbus monsters.

This was my Flixbus review.

Hope you find it helpfull.

If you want to read about German trains, which is way better than Flixbus, then I have a blogpost about the subject on this link.

12 Comments

  1. I can never sleep on buses, even if they are comfortable, so I always take day buses nowdays when I travel.
    That space in the Flixbus is way too small för any journey. Myexperience of buses in South- and Central America is much better.

  2. I agree. Flixbus is now in the United States and I will only take them on short rides. They also don’t always have charging outlets on many of their buses like they claim to have. This was hard for me as I recently traveled by myself to Europe and I arrived in Munich at midnight with a dead cellphone.

  3. My first experience with flixbus was ok, travelling short distance from Groningen to Hamburg. I keep your warning in mind since I have a flixbus stop 5 minutes walk from my home recently. It ‘s the bus to Berlin, all other connections are really bad, so I prefer trains in the direction of Germany. I agree with the comfort of busses in Mexico and even of the chicken bus I took there. Also my experiences in Argentina, Thailand and Turkey are ok. The only horrible experience I had was with a night bus in Peru.

  4. Herbert Scheffer

    Dear Claus , thanks for the Euronet post and this one, While I was suspicious of “Euroanything” and did NOT get hooked , I am (WAS after reading this article ) contemplating using Flixbus from Split to Vienna in the near future which now I will definitely NOT. Yes , buses can be great in Mex , Bra ,Colombia , Peru , but Europe does not get it right on that one. Thank you once more , and great info , too so I found lots to read now !
    Greeting from Herbert ( Starigrad , Croatia presently )

  5. I recently hired a bus and a driver for a job (I am an historical tour guide in Munich). The bus did not return as instructed (and paid for). my clients had to get cabs home. FlixBus refuse to take responsibility and have the balls to suggest that E50 voucher is suitable recompense. Cowboys

  6. Hallo Claus. Thank you for your review on the conditions of the buses in Europe. I have already booked a bus from Milan to Ljubljana on a Flix bus. Being semi smart, I’ve booked both seats in the very first row on the upper double decker bus. I hope to have some really great views that might compensate for the narrow seat..however being a petite women, I think and hope my trip will be alright and look forward to NOT having anyone sit next to me. As cheap as the tickets are, one should consider booking two seats for a comfortable trip. Just an idea. Happy Travels.

  7. I traveled with Flixbus for the first time on Nov 11 2019, at 22:45 from Rome to Milan.

    I sat on the corner back seat on the upper floor. Long story short, I was DESTROYED by bed bugs bites (see pictures).
    The bugs bites gave me hitching and red skin for the next 2 weeks before and at 6 weeks I still have bumps and rough skin. It’s awful!

    I contacted Flixbus through their website and they took ages to respond and did not want to take responsibility.

  8. Great article. People who have learned a lot about Flixbus can also find reviews of this company if wright “Flixbus reviews”. Yelp, Chekmybus, Reviews.io, trustpilot and many many other sites have a large number clients opinions about Flixbus. About delays, uncomfortable buses, rude drivers, etc. After trip with this company I live 3 days without things and documents in foreign city.

  9. Horrible, horrible drivers. They take all front seats and even if you pay for they will tell go to the back. Not enough space for legs. Not taking Flixbus anymore.

  10. Magdalena Elvira Valenzuela

    Awful service! We bought tickets for our bikes and the ride driver did not allow us to board the bus because he argued that his bus was not for bikes.
    He left us there in the middle of Croatia with a flight to catch. Had to pay a private driver, lost my money and nobody responds to mails or messages.
    Do not use this service, they will scam you!

  11. My wife and I also booked a ride with bike reservation 3 months in advance. One day before the ride I received an SMS informing me that we cannot take our bikes. After many long chats with customer ‘service’ they basically left us stranded there and said ‘Sorry, there is no transport’..but you can get your money back. I agree Flixbus is similar to Ryan Air.
    Another experience was a 2.5h delay which was not communicated in the beginning. Every 15 minutes , 15 more minutes were added to the delay. This was from Munich to Füssen (Schloss Neuschwanstein) Many tourists on a Euro-Trip could not visit their highlight of the trip – the castle due to the communication strategy.Otherwise they could have catched the train.
    All in all I will happily pay a little more and use a reliable, fair company and for sure not flixbus anymore

  12. Last Friday February 23, 2024.
    The flixbus came late at Florenz, Italy for about 45 minutes. Furthermore, it arrived in Munich also for 4 1/2 hours late.
    I had messaged and discussed the matters thru their Customer Service. However, there was no resolution takes place. Not even a compensation to refund the half, if not the whole fareprice.
    The Customer Service replied that the late arrival is not covered for the compensation. Althoug, I have explained that because of late arrival, I had missed my connecting transportation in Munich.
    The Time wasted and money is not what the company is utmost for their passenger.
    I hope those future clients and passengers will try to use other bus company, that helps and bring the matters of their passenger’s rights.

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