People cite Amtrak as a no-brainer, however those traveling with kids are usually constrained to peak periods, and that $70 round trip ticket becomes $250-600 x 4 people. I think there is a good reason they are asking about buses.

I just did Amtrak day trip to NYC. Left at 7am and got home at 930pm and it was about $70. It was great!

I've taken Flix, Best, and Mega.
They are all "good enough". I was looking for convenience (leaving from Vienna, mostly).

I did do a day trip once--8:30 AM there, 1:00 am return bus. It was fine. Hotels were 600/night last minute and I was too cheap to stay over.

DH and I have taken both Vamoose and Gold Bus. We actually prefer it to taking Amtrak. Yes, it takes longer, but it was easier for us to get to the NoVa bus stops than down to Union Station, and the buses were plenty comfortable.

The Post recently did an updated article rating buses. I think they liked Best Bus the most.

I used to take the bus to NYC a lot. More recently I’ve done the train. Both are fine but subject to significant delays. I agree that NYC is too far for a day trip because you can’t guarantee your arrival or departure time.

The nicer bus services are totally fine, and are actually easier from the suburbs than schlepping all the way to Union Station (and then back) for Amtrak, which can add an hour or more. I would not take Greyhound.

I travel between Bethesda and NYC quite often and have taken Tripper and Vamoose. Both I think stop in VA as well. I’ve also heard Best Bus is decent and stops in Vienna, but have not taken it personally. I do agree that travel time will be around 4.5 hours and the earliest departures are around 8am, latest around 5pm, so you’re not going to get much time in NYC if you’re doing a day trip on the bus. Amtrak might be better since you can leave early and get back late.

I would do Amtrak for a day trip, but not a bus.

Have you even considered Amtrak? I've gotten train tickets for the same price as a bus ticket before and you don't have to worry about traffic. Much more enjoyable way to travel to NYC.

I took Go Bus for a weekend once. The ride there was fine but cramped, the ride back was 2 hours late getting home due to traffic, but less crowded so we ha a little more space.

Which bus leaves from Tyson’s area? (NP)

Day trip? It's 4-5 hours each way, so that's 8-10 hours spent just traveling there.

Tripper Bus and Vamoose Bus, to answer your question though.

Vamoose

I took Greyhound a few years ago with my teenaged kids. We did a long weekend and left from Union Station in the morning and left NYC in the morning. It was fine but I don't know if I would feel comfortable traveling at night.

For a last minute day trip to NYC, would you consider taking a bus? Which line/company would you trust taking your kids on?