An 11-hour bus ride instead of a two-hour flight may not seem like the ideal transportation trade-off. napaway‘s premium sleeper bus service may change your mind.
Still, Napaway founder and CEO Dan Aronov argues that the long way is more efficient.
Aronoff told me: “The time you are awake is not the same as the time you are asleep. The time you are comfortable is not the same as the time you are uncomfortable. The time you are tense is not the same as the time you are relaxed.”
Instead of spending half a day traveling to and from the airport, you can travel overnight and wake up downtown NashvilleIt’s like getting a red eye, but it gives you a full night’s rest.
To test that theory, I booked a $125 one-way ticket and boarded a luxury bus. For comparison, my one-way return flight was $244.60. Routes can often be cheaper, but it was a holiday weekend.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 10:00 PM from a parking lot in DC’s NoMa area at 180 L St. NE. I boarded the Lyft at 9:00 p.m., dressed in stretchy jeans, a soft t-shirt, and a sweatshirt, and arrived just in time for a pizza nearby.
Choosing an outfit for the trip took a little thought. The other passengers were huddled in his one of her 18-room private her suites in Napaway, where we all slept.But if you get off the bus at 8am in central Nashville, you won’t be able to check into your Airbnb until 4pm, and instead of going into pajama mode, or dress up like some travelers i knowI settled on something in between.
A Napaway attendant helped me place a duffel bag under an eight-wheeler with tinted windows and images of twinkling constellations on the sides. Passengers can store her two pieces of luggage free of charge: Anything more than that he can bring in for $25 each. There is no weight limit and even large items like unfolded bikes are allowed for $25 (checked he is one of two items, folded is free).
Not Allowed: Children under the age of 8, dogs (other pets are welcome), weapons, open bottles of alcohol, illegal substances, irritating foods or large electronic devices, other passengers on board Anything that can be a distraction.
After that, I boarded like a normal long-distance bus. Aside from the tiny bathroom, the similarities between the Napaway and the Greyhound end here.
My suite had two folding seats with “butterfly” cushions, creating a 6.5 foot flat bed with 48 inches of legroom and 40 inches of hip width. It was complete with crisp white bedsheets, plenty of pillows and a large fluffy blanket. There was also a 3-point seat belt on the chair position and a 2-point seat belt on the bed.
Aronoff says it took years to develop the suite with Butterfly Flexible Seating Solutions. Each suite has over 13 feet of usable space and a pull-down privacy screen. This executive was inspired to hear that a tall frequent flyer friend of his was sleeping like a baby in his flat full of luxury in his class of business (he I’ve never been able to sleep on an airplane before). If you can put a full-flat seat on an airplane, why not put it on a bus?
“It seems like a small thing, but the key to good sleep is being flat,” he says. “It’s not flat, it’s not reclining, it’s not sitting in an armchair. It’s actually lying down.”
Before we took off, I made my bed and opened the Napaway amenity kit. There was a blackout eye mask, earplugs, a disposable toothbrush, toothpaste, and a moist towel to remove makeup (handy after a greasy dinner).
delays due to weather pilot shortage We left at 10pm. I pulled down the privacy screen like a home movie projector and snuggled up against the fresh smelling sheets of the hotel. It felt comfortable and spacious with 5-4 people. Aronoff says the maximum height for full extension is his 6 to 4 inches, so taller people may need to bend their knees. I put on my headphones, listened to audiobooks, and did an abbreviated version of my nightly routine in bed.
Then, like those old Disney commercials, I was so excited to get on the bus that I couldn’t sleep and felt dizzy as if I was at a traveling pajama party. So I messed around with my phone, read his FAQ on Napaway, and tested my internet speed. Fast enough to stream movies from your own device. There are no televisions or screens on board. Unfortunately for me it’s a regular occurrence. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, so my car sickness was gone.
In the middle of the night, turbulence on the road woke me up a few times, but I quickly fell asleep. It also woke me up a bit when Bass made his two scheduled pit stops. Passengers can go outside to walk around and have coffee, but I was left trapped in a small cocoon both times.
It really woke me up when I heard the announcement that the final destination was 15 minutes away. I took out the mirror to examine the damage. Her face was a little puffy and her hair was a mess at night, but she didn’t mind. I felt the excitement of the same sleepover camp and slept deeply enough to have a full-fledged dream.
At 8:00 a.m., Napaway parked at 421 Rep. John Lewis Way North in downtown Nashville. The woman behind me commented that she fell asleep the moment the first light for the bus went off and woke her the moment she heard her last announcement.
Before she left, I grabbed my bag and caught another passenger. What got her on the bus? Was she claiming it was greener than flying?Was she afraid to fly?
She said she travels frequently between DC and Nashville for work, so she’s always looking for cheaper alternatives to flying. Unpredictable year for air travelA friend told her about Napaway because flights that weekend looked particularly expensive. Her trip went so well that she is now trying to see if we can rent the entire bus for future events.
For now, Napaway operates on a limited schedule, departing DC on Friday night and returning from Nashville on Sunday night. Aronoff said the company will add more options to its current schedule before expanding to other cities. In November, we plan to launch more options on Wednesdays and Thursdays, offering more trips during the holidays.
While the U.S. lags behind Japan and other European countries, Aronoff said the domestic market for luxury bus travel is expanding, with companies such as: Bonlane, red coach When jet already in action nationwide. (such as other cabin from california and limousine liner from Boston went bankrupt before the pandemic).
We hope more Americans will join this trend after their pleasant experience at Napaway.
