12-Hour Bus Trip from Lisbon to Algeciras, Spain via Seville

^{Day 0: Introduction: Perfecting My Trip to Europe Using United Miles}

^{Day 1: LAX-YVR on Air Canada, Vancouver, and YVR-LHR on Air Canada}

^{Day 2: BD Number One Lounge at Heathrow and London to Lisbon on TAP Portugal}

^{Day 3: A Day of Sightseeing in Lisbon}

^{Day 4: An Unexpected Extra Day + New Years in Lisbon}

^{Day 5: 12-Hour Bus Trip from Lisbon to Algeciras, Spain via Seville}

^{Day 6: Monkeying Around in British Gibraltar + Ferry to Tangier, Morocco + Overnight Train to Marrakech}

^{Day 7: My Five Star Hotel Room in Marrakech}

^{Day 8: Bartering for Mont Blanc Pens + RAK-MAD on Royal Air Maroc}

^{Day 9: City Tour of Madrid on Foot}

^{Day 10: Escape to the Madrid Airport Hilton}

^{Day 11: MAD-FRA-CPH on Lufthansa}

^{Day 12: CPH-IAD on SAS, IAD-PHX-BUR on US Airways}

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Day 5: 12-Hour Bus Trip from Lisbon to Algeciras, Spain via Seville – 01 Jan 2010

What can I say? A bus trip is a bus trip. Thankfully the bus route was in operation this morning and we departed on time for Seville. I had never been an international “long haul” bus trip before and I didn’t know what kind of amenities, if any, would be available onboard.

The bus was not all that different than a modern Greyhound, except it had no electrical outlets or wi-fi onboard. The legroom was tight, but the bus was not filled so I had two seats to myself. 

The bus company must have a nice arrangement set up with a roadside gas station/cafeteria we stopped at halfway through the day. I thought the prices were ridiculous (12EU for a slice of lasagna?) but the bus driver had a large slice of lasagna, a big bowl of soup, some fruit, a few rolls, and a large beverage—about 25EU worth of food and was waved past the cashier. Nice job perk.

The ride went quickly. I had planned to get some work done for law school, but ended up sleeping through a lot of the trip. We arrived in Seville in the early evening and I had about an hour before my connection to Algecerias. 

There was a bus change and my new bus had “Star Class” on both sides of it. I had hoped the seats would be a little roomier, but they were even tighter—and there was no “exit row” seats on this bus or the previous one. 

Still, the ride to Algecerias went by quickly and we arrived just after 2100. Having only had a sandwich and apple earlier in the day, I was quite hungry and immediately looked for a restaurant. I found some great shawarma near by that was reasonably priced and filled up before trying to locate the hostel. 

When it comes to finding hostels, I usually attempt to find it myself based on the direction provided when I make the reservation, but half the time I end up asking people for directions. After a half hour of tomfoolery, I finally just asked a shop owner if he knew where my hostel was. Turned out it was one block away. At least I was on the right track…

The hostel owner did not speak English, so we communicated in German. The room was about $30, but was a private with a clean bathroom and hot water. What more could I ask for?

Wi-Fi. But I survived.