NO TOILET - LONGEST coach journey from UK, London to Sofia - Union Ivkoni in 50 hours!
I spend 50 hours on a Union Ivkoni coach from London to Sofia, Bulgaria. It was an uncomfortable journey, not just because of a lack of toilet.
Filmed March 2024 | London, UK.
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*** TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:52 Victoria Coach Station
00:04:06 P&O Dover to Calais
00:11:29 Paris
00:16:35 Stuttgart
00:20:15 Austria-Hungary border
00:20:37 Hungary-Serbia border
00:23:05 Serbia-Bulgaria border
00:23:45 Entering Sofia
00:24:17 Conclusion
I'll never complain about a bus journey again! The things you do for your viewers mate, the absolute king of coach journeys! The Union Ivkoni tour of European construction sites is something I'm happy to watch on here rather than 'enjoy' for myself :) This video deserves a million views at least. Thumbs up everyone!
I just kept telling myself it was 'fun', it was an adventure, and I'd probably never do it again. I'm still walking a bit funny. :-)
You're both going through the suffering so I don't have too! I once took the bus from Manchester all the way to Romania; never again!
@@DanielM19931 we done the same from Bucharest to Manchester ....was dead cheap but very uncomfortable.
Guys. Please visit Heidelberg soon. The funicular and monorail up to both levels of the castle is epic
You will have to go back when the construction work as finished
No toilet is a total dealbreaker for me. Let alone the 50 hour journey itself. God bless you
This coach had a toilet. He did say he did not like to use when moving.
@@adrianwright86853:15 He literally says there's no toilet onboard
Imagine, there would be a toilet and the bus would have a decent amount of passengers. How would it look after 30 hours. I tell you you will be happy not to use this. Restrooms are cleaned every day, the toilet gets cleaned at the end of the journey.
I agree i am not taking up my bus pass for any journey over 1 hour let alone 15hrs, there is a time and age when you have to shit. Every single bus outside a local route should have a multisex toilet with room to move and toilet roll. That includes people with disability, they can put a simple coin system on it and it would pay for itself and make profit in a very short time.
We went on coach tours with a toilet on board, the driver recommended we only use it if we really had to and used the rest stops, if it was used for solid matter he would have to take it to another coach station to have it emptied.
Bus drivers in Bosnia Hercegovina overtakes, talk in their phones, smokes, change gears manually and drink coffee in the same moments... ;-)
Serbian taxi drivers are the same haha
Scott I would have been off that bus faster than a rat up a drainpipe before it got out of London. Your description of the drivers driving skills had me in stitches laughing, but I wouldn’t have been if I had witnessed it first hand. As for the comfort breaks, omg they were disgraceful, maybe that’s the reason the driver had a toilet roll on the dash board he came prepared 😂 Thanks Scott that journey was very entertaining.
@@Danse_Macabre_125 ya Balkan culture 😂
And pick their nose...
I would also suggest he takes a coach through BiH. Absolutely gorgeous country, and you didn't even mention that they do all that while driving on single lane, often unpaved, or poorly paved, mountain roads (specifically thinking of the route from Podgorica to Sarajevo). From the border to Foča is a rough stretch of road, but incredible views through Tara Kanyon
Wow! 50 hours, on a hot coach with the driver smoking my idea of hell. I would’ve got off a Dover and gone home 😂
You wee fanny 😂😂
You are soft westerners
How you guna survive ww3 😅😂
@@ChrisMaunder-jk4oy dude did you really make two accounts to make fun of this guy.
@@calum5975 no just the one lol
Thanks for taking one for the team.
Right?! Legend.
@@baconatorrodriguez4651Rather him than me.
😂
‘Hello , my name is Scott a Scottish travel masochist ….’ You deserve a medal or being locked up. Nevertheless a brave man . I salute you .
To be honest I'd come across this journey years ago, and never plucked up enough courage to do it. It definitely ISN'T up to Flixbus standard!
he loved every minute of it
@@PlanesTrainsEverything "Up to Flixbus standard" is a phrase I never thought I'd have heard said unironically.
@@alang5764yeah that's...horrifying. I did 22 hours on flixbus and I wouldn't want anything worse than that. Jeezus.
arent you glätt be outcyde öff yör chijpgöne? üm ´kanntryy??
I did a horrendous 60-hour coach journey once in my life. Posadas in Northern Argentina to João Pessoa in NE Brazil. But I was only 20!!! I’m 49 now and there’s no way. You’re a hero Scott!
How can did let you parents?? It’s not normal when you’re child… 💀💀💀
You are the boss . Letting your body go through this just to entertain thousands of people you’ve never met . Deepest respect.👍👍👍
And not forgetting he earns money from it mind
And so he should.@@Dan-78
Scott, I hate buses / coaches with a vengeance and 50 hours would have had me crawling up the wall. There is no way I could ever go that far without a toilet so again, huge credit to you for putting up with that. Looks like collective hell so yes an award must be pending!
Do you really think the driver just drove continuously for 50 hours without stopping? I'm sure they made plenty of stops a long the way.
@@JackButland-tt9zkthey changed drivers on long intervals and seemed to have stops every 2hrs or so. If there was a toilet onboard, chances are that it won't be cleaned and will get blocked and smelly. I will always take the opportunity to use the toilets at every rest stop
@@BoskiMsure it's more hygienic. It seems that some people expect having a paid cleaner on board.
This is what KZhead is all about! Excellent 👍👍
That was hard work, and as someone who watches Hungarian news channels, I can tell you the elemenent of danger is real. I can't tell you how many reports of buses and coaches being wiped out or overturned in ditches across that end of Europe I've seen, and often due to drivers taking risks and not operating by the rules. Give this man a medal!
Between 2009 and 2018 I travelled every year 2-4 times with Bus from Germany to Bulgaria thru Hungary and there was never something dangerous. No vehicle incidence. Very safe.
@@yogiaol From today's news: report 'At least five people have been killed and over 20 injured in a motorway crash involving a coach near the eastern German city of Leipzig. The FlixBus coach veered to the right on the busy A9 autobahn before falling on to its side.' Stuff happens.
@@stephentalas1940 Well Germany ist actually very Dangerous because of all these illegal Moslem migrants....
I thought that they don't have any roads and motorways there. Let's see what did the EU build. After the bridge in Baltimore during the peace time...
@@stephentalas1940yeah 'accidents' happen all the time (Though can it be deemed an accident really, if the instigators are aware of their harmful behaviour that caused it?) People shove their head in the sand and deny reality. I don't feel sorry for them if the worst happens... it's any innocents like children under their care who get harmed because their parents are lax or denialists about safety.
Thanks for the bowel update😁
I am a bulgarian, and this is a perfect and real description of the Union Ivconi coach service for this long-distance 🙌
Goat services
I wonder how is this profitable. It is not cheap, considerably more than the plane and you can see it is not full. But they keep going.
@@fresagrus4490 shhh it's a secret
I have no idea...
Никой не го е карал да се вози, да не би в Англия да е по-добре ? има много по добри от Ивкони, така че да съдиш без да си видял останалото просто е тъпо.
The warm fizzy drinks served by union ivkoni give you special powers apparently
Megabus from Edinburgh to London via a very roadworked M1 near killed me - we salute your courage and indefatigability.
Megabus from Glasgow to Liverpool is bad enough 😂
And I thought Manchester to Dublin on the old eurolines service was a long haul. Well done Scott for perseverance.
Yeah, I once got stuck on a megabucks for 10 hours for a journey that should have taken 2 hours. I managed to get a refund 3 months later.
You deserve a medal 🏅 No way could I cope with 50 hours on a bus 🚎
I can barely go 5 minutes before I need to pee 😂
I'd rather chew my left arm off
And no toilet or booze or power source. Legend
I used to be a regular on the London-Paris bus when my Dad lived in Paris for a while. This was pre-chunnel days, and the Autoroute hadn't even reached Calais. It used to take 9-10 hours overnight. The thought of doing it five times back-to-back doesn't bear thinking about. At least in those days, I was quite adept at making a bed on the floor at the very back, but sitting up on a hard seat for 50 hours 😰
I can't decide whether to say that you are nuts or a hero for doing that trip. I had the impression that the coach was half empty most of the time which means you could have stretched out a bit over two seats. I'm pleased that P&O have gone back to Costa Coffee and stopped serving the dishwater served by Starbucks. Yes, you are my hero, Scott.
A bus going that distance without a toilet or usb chargers is certainly a choice! Thanks for doing the journey so we don't have to.
There was a toilet on the bus. He just didn't want to use it and the bus stops every 2 hours.
As someone who’s massively scared of flying, your videos give me the motivation to travel by bus/train. No matter how painful!
You have probably heard this before but you are much safer on a plane than on a bus or train.
@@MetalFan10101 people can tell me that a million times, still doesn’t take away the crippling anxiety
@@scotteaglen4872 The last time I flew was to majorca back in 1988. We had a bad flight going. I spent all of the fortnights holiday worrying about having to fly back home. I totally ruined the holiday for me and my wife. The flight home was even worse. Bad turbulence. I said when we touched down at Manchester. That's it I'll never fly again. It us true what they say about it being the safest form of travel. But nobody will ever convince me to step foot on a plane ever again.
Ibuprofen for the bum-ache is my travel tip!
@@Boilingfrogg exactly my thoughts. Don’t think I’ll ever step foot on a plane again. I’m happy to travel Europe by train. May try a ferry at some point!
Hats off to you . Many years ago I did London to Athens by coach (and back again two weeks later) 🤕. I remember waking up in what was then Yugoslavia to see the driver swapping places with his co driver, the bus was still barrelling along at 60-70 mph ! . I learnt my lesson after a back breaking 36 hours + journey, never ever again did I take a coach trip that was more than 12 hours.
Ah! reminds me of a journey from Athens to London many many years ago, the driver arrived late at the Athens bus station wearing a cowboy hat, it all went downhill after that, the highlight was getting stuck in Switzerland and having to follow a taxi driver who showed us how to avoid the customs by going through farmland! I left the bus after that but we heard later about the brawl between the drivers and getting stuck in France because they had no money for the ferry! I’ll never forget the journey though, all part of travelling 😊
5:35 This level of sophisticated analysis makes me adore this channel so much. Thanks Scott 👍
You did it so we don't have to! Thanks so much for your efforts on behalf of the team, and for your endurance of dodgy driving, random building sites and the lack of loos. If I could give it multiple thumbs up, I would.
Well done. I've seen scheduled services from Lisbon to Romania. That's even more hours. Also this video is a salute to the working class heroes if eastern Europe taking these busses to travel. I've done 32 hours once or twice with toilets and proper meals in restaurants. You've done a great job showing this to us
Yes we may clearly see the difference. The British are not traveling to Europe for working. They must take a plane for that. Did they do Brexit for this?
The same company in the video actually also operates Lisbon-Sofia, which should be even longer
@@turtant9232ùĥĥu 25:29
Absolute fair play to you for doing that. There is no way I'd even contemplate doing anything like that especially with no toilet on board.
But what would the toilet be like after 50 hours and a full coach!
@@jeanjacques9980Loaded
@@jeanjacques9980I mean, bad, but what happens when someone needs the toilet in an emergency? I think that would be worse?!
@@cjeam9199 Yes I know, I’m getting on now and the availability of toilets has become a lot more important to me. I’m careful what I drink and when, nothing worse than really needing to go and nowhere to go.
@@cjeam9199if someone has problems and can't solve it by themselves shouldn't travel by bus
Brave man. I did London to Portugal by coach once and said never again. That was only 30 hours. Can't imagine how bad that extra day was onboard this.
I imagine they probably think ""soft drink" is a synonym for "non-alcoholic drink" so "hot soft drink" kind of makes sense to someone whose first language isn't English
..but you don't get 'hot hard-drinks' XD
Great video, getting me through standing in essentially in a cupboard on a train between Bath and London
Seeing there was no toilet on board, I would have left the bus right there 🙈🤣
Much braver than I. Get a nap. Thanks for all your hard work. Cheers
I’m from Bulgaria myself and I have never went there by coach… always by plane and even that is long enough for my liking!😅nice video there!
Jesus 50hrs on a bus you sir deserve the Victoria Cross. Saying that done 40 odd hours on one in Vietnam however i was 23 then and it was a sleeper.
Well it’s harder when you’re a child.
Hi Scott, thanks for taking us on this ride. It was very interesting, but I could see the pain in your eyes. You are definitely a trooper!
I hope this goes viral, it deserves it
Favorite current YTer, proper throwback travel blogs.
The motorway from Serbia to Bulgaria is indeed impressive
What an absolute torture.. glad you've made it alive. Hope you have enjoyed your stay in Bulgaria.
This brings back memories. I used to travel on the Balkan Horn coaches from Veliko Tarnovo to London and back. (They used to go from Varna to London.) It was worth it for me because it saved travelling to Sofia. You get in the habit of limiting your fluid intake and making sure you visit the toilet every time there is a stop. There used to be a toilet on their coaches but they rarely let anyone use them. A Kindle is a blessing on such journeys.
I did a coach trip from North Portugal to Lisbon about 30 years ago. There was a toilet on board but securely locked!! I had to go ask the stewardess to unlock it which she did with much sighing and groaning. Once is enough
I really like your laid back humor, so you got yourself a new subscriber from Sweden.
I cant believe you actually made that journey Scott, hats off to you, that was amazing 👍👏🏻
I lived in Bulgaria for a while, always saw those coaches going as far as Portugal and wondered what the heck is with it. Thank you for this video so I didn't need to take it myself
I did 4 hours on a coach once, it was in the uk and I was young, my dad picked me up at the bus station and I sat in the back of the car and cried with sheer relief. I don't know how you do it Scott, but you do, and it makes for amazing channel content, you should get an award for doing this, seriously your channel deserves so much recognition.
Jesus you are soft 😂😂.. 4 hours on a coach is a trauma story 🤦♂️
@@conorredmond6217 Its a comment written in a style of humour called self depreciating, this kind of humour does tend to be misunderstood by people who have a literal view of comprehension in reading.
It’s sounds like child abuse…
@@conorredmond6217Do you think child abuse is funny? I wouldn’t be survive…
@@vilagistene2939 Its all in your head mate, get some help.
‘Rest and be thankful’ brings back memories of Arrochar and Inveraray. Thanks for taking us viewers along on this trip Scott, not for me though. I intend to visit Sofia later this year via slightly faster travel, i.e. by good old Ryanair.😊
Truly incredible that you actually did this out of choice. Huge respect to you legend
There are times you have to be grateful for Michael O'Leary
Many times🎉
No one is grateful for Michael O’Leary. Especially not Mrs O’Leary. 🤷♂️😂
My level of respect for you goes higher and higher when you do these crazy journeys, i cant imagine doing anything like this, i really enjoy your channel.. 👍👍👍
You certainly took one for the team with that journey. Thank you.
Amazing. Thank you for posting
I told my wife to buy me this trip for my birthday. ❤😂🎉
Always been fascinated what this journey would look like! Thanks for sharing ☺️
I'm glad to have had a chance to see this experience now. I've recently booked a return trip from London to Lille in May with Union Ivkoni - and of course there are other operators for that route, but... you'd be amazed at how low their prices from London to Paris and Lille are!
Hopefully they'll have been banned by the EU authorities before then
Why would you do that? You can get a train from London to Lille in minutes. Are you an idiot?
fair play mate, stamina, stamina and more again, well done and thank you for the chance to watch this
I did 14 hours on a coach to Paris. Never again. We did however have a toilet and hot drinks onboard. I salute you sir.
You are a very brave man. Smoking whilst driving is against PCV regs and smoking in a workplace. Using a phone! Driving much to close to that truck while overtaking!!!!! The maintenance of a lot of these vehicles also leaves a lot to be desired, ask the DVSA.
You are a total star to endure that journey hope its a better journey home xx
Thank you for yet another amazing trip
Epic trip, Scott, thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks for your videos, Scott
Nicely filmed, edited and produced Scott. Thank you and WELL DONE..!! 👍
Wow that looked a painful one! Good watch though, thanks Scott.
You deserve a medal)))
Lol, can't beat one of Scott's gigs. Hours and hours on a cramped sweaty coach with no toilet, getting dropped off at construction sites. I believe special forces use that service to test the pain threshold of the squaddies. If they can survive that and still function, Afghanistan is a doddle!
Thank you for this video and this nice watch 😊
My first visit to your site. Thanks, I enjoyed it and now that I’m 76 and my travelling days are over I shall use this as a substitute. This actual journey is one I don’t regret missing. I look forward to further adventures.
Absolutely fantastic journey and informative vlog. Thank you was a pleasure to watch 😊
My sister once took a bus from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada to Vancouver, BC. (3014 km - 1872 mi.). She was told she'd only have one overnight on the bus; turned out to be two. She was bagged by the time she got to her destination.
I have taken this exact journey only the other way round same bus too. Great fun altogether. Spent 6 hours at the Serbian-Hungarian border at the height of summer. Arrived into London only 6 hours late. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Drivers were great. Even had the smoking driver take us into London.
It takes a brave man to undertake such a journey! That one's crossed of my list, thanks for taking one for the team.😅
Another 'above and beyond the call of duty' job Scott, hopefully the rest of your trip is in more comfort and provides more for us to watch.
Well done Scott
Incredible sacrifice to bring us this video. With a better bus, including toilets, it would have been tempting. But not as described in this video so thanx for the warning. Great video and one of the better ones.
Yes because using a toilet inside the bus after others used it for 50 hours will be better. That's why there are stops
Thanks for your great work, Scott! Your videos are so wholesome and like this one is so meditative, just love them, keep them coming please :)
I found your channel and subscribed. Loved this long bus journey video. Your style is great - you just get on with it. Too many travel KZheadrs love the sound of their own voice and take too long getting to the point. Your pace was perfect. Keep up the good work, sir. I'll work my way through the rest of your videos now.
Love the 'Rest and be thankful' comment.
Great video Scott, very interesting watch, even I'm not in a hurry to attempt this one!
Brave man, what an epic journey! 😱
Last time I was at Bercy, I watched a chap casing peoples luggage outside in the park. The irony is, my grandson had left his back pack on a bench inside the bus station and it was still there after 90 minutes.
Hot soft drink = Ribena. I was confined to a cruise ship cabin for 8 nights with COVID. I drank gallons of the stuff as my altered taste buds temporarily turned me against tea. Plus it was very soothing.
Great video, Scott. Sort of "the poor man's Orient Express" . . . such evocative-named places. And I LOVE that the bus driver was on the gaspers. That's how bus drivers should be. :-) I GREATLY enjoyed your journey vicariously! Thank You!
Thumbs up Scott its always very impressive and puts a smile on my face the way you took your viewers along with you on your travel! greets from holland
What an epic journey a feat of true courage. 🏆
As a driver, the drivers room on the ferry is quite clean and airy. It’s bottomless drinks hot and cold. Food is mediocre and part subsidy £5.99 - £7.99 depending on what you choose. I’m on the Dover crossing next week, coach driving double man to Andorra. What an absolute gem of the Pyrenees
This looks like an interesting trip and watch!!
Unbelievable dedication! Especially to still be in such a good mood after all that :)
Respect. I applaud your commitment to the journey!
You should get some kind of award for doing this trip. ‘Numpty Of The Year’??!! 😂😂
Numb bum of the year you mean!
Amazing Scott, sounds like you got the most skilled and lawful Bulgarian coach driver they could find.
What can i say as an international Truck Driver ,you a brave man!!
Congrats to you for achieving that long-time bus ride from London to Sofia
You absolutely smashed the £2 bus fare.
Quality 😂
I bet your hotel bed felt fabulous after this trip!
wow. the journeys you undertake for us viewers is amazing thank you for this one. ps my backside feels sore just watching this.
Don't know how you did that journey. Respect!
How much did you pay for that journey? There's no way it's cheap enough compared to flights to be worth it with the lack of food, drinks, power and bathroom.
You can look online - it's 250 Bulgarian currency, about £100 which might make sense if its peak time, you are very time-rich, have lots of bags, and take into account cost of travel to the airport
Really who would take the coach from London to Sofia? They are definitely not in their right mind! In 1979 I and my friends took train from Prague to Varna Bulgaria. We will never forget that two days nightmare journey, no drink no food and the toilets I leave it to anyone 's imagination 😮😢
Do you have photos of that unforgettable trip ?
The degree of civilization of the communist states which didn't give you food and drinks
Bulgarian workers in UK
@@s125ish not like people who don't need to or don't want to make any effort to work
Hi from Argyll. Loved the comment about the Rest and Be Thankful. You took the words right out of my mouth lol.
Great trip you had... I actually took a coach trip from Alberta to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2015. The journey lasted 2 days and 13 hours on a Greyhound bus. Food was allowed inside the bus, and there was a washroom available. Nowadays, I don't think there are any commercial buses running that route anymore since Greyhound ceased operations about 4 years ago.
The longest coach journey I have ever taken was from Rockhampton, Qld to Perth, WA, Australia with Greyhound. That was in 1978. Little did I know then that I would end up driving for them from 1989 until 2004 before moving to the UK.
I imagine this is what hell looks like
You’re sacrifice for content is remarkable. Never ever would I enter a 50h bus journey. Especially when there is a Ryanair flight for probably the same price. I remember a school trip from Bavaria to London by bus wich got me really uncomfortable. As I’m getting older my limit is somewhere down to 3 or 4 hours
Thanks for this thoroughly enjoyed the trip.