The thing about planes is that at least they're fast. Driving the same distance you can fly takes much longer. The trip from Seattle to Denver by vehicle? About 21 hours. The same distance by plane? Two and a half hours. But the time is just one con with traveling by bus. The legroom is seriously lacking (even worse than on planes). And, there seems to be something about buses that attracts both creepy people who stare and very annoying and sometimes smelly folk who sit right next to you and disrupt your slumber with their loud cell-phone conversations and stench. The worst are overnight buses, popular among backpackers in Asia, South America and elsewhere. It's an appealing concept. You have limited time to travel so why not get through a 14-hour bus ride while you sleep (not to mention the money you'll save forgoing a hotel for the night). But the problem is you don't actually sleep because the bus is a) probably too hot or too cold, b) slamming you against the window every time it turns a corner, c) stopping at rest stops several times (which involves chatter and bright lights being turned on), d) blasting some awful movie or music or, more likely, e) all of the above.