green tortoise

“Is anyone familiar with the Green Tortoise bus company that caters to people who would rather travel than be a tourist. It looks like alot of fun. I hope to try one of their trips in a couple of years.”

“I haven't heard of them before. How did you find out about them? Do they have a web site?”

“Sandy,
I have a friend who travelled with them a few years ago to do a news story. It seemed like a pretty cool way to travel. I think they sleep on the bus or at campgrounds. They fix their own meals (though I don't know if those are provided in the trip cost or not). I do remember seeing some people bathing in a river or a stream but I don't know if that is common or not. It's definitely worth looking into for a cheaper, out of the way tour.

I see the Green Tortoise bus in Zion NP every once in a while. The people on the tour are mostly of the earthy, eclectic, hippy crowd so if that's not your scene you might want to look into it further.

Their web page is greentortoise.com. Check'em out.”

“Yeah,I had already scoped out the website. They have a printed brochure you can order also. I like staying at hostels,so odd crowds are cool to me. Close living is not a problem either. It looks like they do a lot of cool stuff like dayhikes,swimming,rafting etc. They even have a trip in Central America. Looks like a way for folks on this site to spend some time together without spending much.”

“Here's another company. I have signed up and get newsletters from them. AND... sometimes they'll send something that says they have maybe 3 spots open on a trip. If you can get away from work with that short a notice, you can go on those type trips for half price!!!

Adventurebus”

“I took the tortoise from SF to Portland once. It was a memorible trip. Since no one was getting off at Redding, we took an alternate route to stop at a hot spring.

My sister also took a trip to see an eclipse in Baja. On the whole she had a good time and made some lasting friendships. But she went a little crazy with the cheek-by-jowl sleeping when they weren't camping.”