I took the opportunity to ride Vonlane Bus from Houston to Dallas on a Saturday morning. Vonlane is an luxury (or first class) intercity bus service that travels to/from Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio Texas. This bus service consider (or promote) themselves “first class plane experience of the bus”.

This blog is a review and experience in riding Vonlane from Houston to Dallas.

Purchasing the ticket

I bought the tickets on Vonlane’s website. The trip that I’ve purchased was from Houston to Dallas, and the cost for one way ticket was $114. Note that Houston has two Vonalne Bus Stops:

• Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Houston
• Hyatt Regency Hotel Hotel in Uptown Houston (Galleria)

On this trip, the Vonlane bus stop to Dallas will start at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Houston.

Before purchasing the ticket, you can choose a seat. The Vonlane bus has 22 seats. The bus seating arrangement is configured two to one (except the back, where there is four seats and a table in the middle). Any seats cost at $114.

I’ve chose seat 1C (front row seat by the entrance/exit door).

The Ride

The bus departs to Dallas at 9:00 a.m. in Downtown Houston at the intersection: Louisiana Street and Dallas Street (right by the Hyatt Regency Hotel). The arrival time to Dallas is 12:45 p.m.

Boarding starts 15 minutes before departure. If it is raining or the weather is unpleasant, you can wait inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel Lobby area. In the lobby area, there are small restaurants and several sofa to sit. Keep in mind that Hyatt DOES NOT announce anything. Keep track of your time.

At 9:45 a.m., the bus door opens. The bus operator and stewardess (or cabin attendant) comes out of the bus. The bus operator heads to the luggage compartment to store the luggages in the bus compartment.

While the cabin attendant will ask for your government issue identification (state ID, license or passport) for verification.

After the cabin attendant verified my identity and reminded me what seat I will be sitting on. On this journey, I will sit at seat 1C (front row seat by the door).

Seats

At my seat, there are:

• a bottle of water (complimentary)
• carry-on bin (above the seat) for carry-on items
• USB Type-A Charger located at below the arm rest
• Electrical outlet located at the wall
• Attachable tray (the bus attendant will hand out the tray)
• If sitting at the back of the bus, there is a table in the middle.

The leg room on this bus is spacious. Also, there is a leg rest in front of every seat.

Journey to Dallas

Departing

At 9:00 a.m., the bus closes the door and pulls away from the bus stop. Three minutes later, the cabin attendant grabs the microphone and welcomes everyone on the bus. She introduces herself and the bus operator. After introducing herself, she played the Vonlane Safety Video.

After the video, she offered passengers if they want a blanket.

Breakfast and Snacks

Twenty minutes after departure, the cabin attendant offers a cookie and later she brought a snack basket. In that basket, there are chips, peanuts, cookies, granola bar or candies.

After the snacks, the bus attendant returns and takes a note of the drinks and breakfast. Vonlane offers coffee, soft drinks, and beer/wine (extra cost). On this journey, I asked for sparkling water.

For breakfast, I had Quaker Oatmeal. Other option for breakfast were fruit bowl and yogurt. If this trip were to be noon or afternoon, the bus attendant would offer sandwich or salad.

Restroom

There is one restroom that is located at the back of the bus. The restroom was clean and modern.

Arriving to Dallas

The bus arrived to Double Tree Hotel at Love Field Airport (Dallas, Texas) around 12:45 p.m.

After the bus stopped, the bus operator and bus attendant exit the bus first. The bus operator when to the luggage compartment to bring out the luggages. While the bus attendant thank each passenger for riding Vonlane and she handed out a chocolate mint.

Transit Options

Houston, Texas

In Houston, Texas, the largest public transportation is Houston METRO. The Vonlane Bus Stop in Downtown Houston has numerous of options to travel around Houston. In Downtown Houston, patron can use METRORail (all rail lines), METRO Bus, Uber, Lyft or taxi. The nearest station to Vonlane is Main Street Square (METRORail Red Line stops at that station). The second nearest station is Theater District (METRORail Green and Purple Line stops at that station).

METRORail Red Line goes to Texas Medical Center (TMC), Midtown, NRG Stadium, Museum District, Rice University, Hermann Park, Houston Community College, Houston Zoo, University of Houston-Downtown, Houston’s north side.

METRORail Purple Line goes to southeast Houston, University of Houston and Texas Southern University.

Dallas, Texas

In Dallas, Texas, the largest public transportation in that city is called Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). DART is known to have the largest light rail line in North America. The Vonlane Bus Stop in Dallas is located at Double Tree Hotel at Love Field Airport. At that stop, the nearest DART Rail Station is Inwood/Love Field Station (DART Rail Green and Orange Lines stops at that station). However, the walk to that station is far. The distance between the hotel and to the station is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) and the walk will take around 24 minutes. The only option to travel to Downtown/Uptown Dallas is using Uber/Lyft.

DART Rail Orange Line goes to DFW Airport, Downtown Dallas, Victory Plaza, Uptown Dallas and SMU (via a shuttle)

DART Rail Green Line goes Downtown Dallas, Victory Plaza, Fair Park (State Fair of Texas) and northwest Dallas (you can also transfer to Denton County Transportation Authority A-train to Denton, Texas).

My Opinion

The ride between Houston to Dallas was AWESOME! I’ve really enjoyed the ride! I rather travel Vonlane than taking a plane to Dallas (or other major cities in Texas). I might take Vonlane again to Austin in the near future.

• Crew
  • The bus operator and cabinet attendant were professional and friendly.
• Seating
  • Seating was comfortable and the leg room is spacious! Me being comfortable, I felt that the trip was quick.
• Food
  • The food was okay. Although, Vonlane allows you to bring your own food onboard the bus.
• Restroom
  • The restroom was spotless and modern. Although the restroom is a little bumpy during the ride.
• WiFi
  • The WiFi is decent and goes up to 7 megabytes a second. It is good for browsing and working. However, it is not recommended to stream 4K videos.
• Vibes
  • Inside the bus is a little dark with dark blue neon lights on the ceiling. The noise level of this bus was low (most people hardly talked loud in the bus).
• Transit Options
  • Houston: Vonlane Bus Stop is near to Houston METRORail and METRO Bus.
  • Dallas: The distance from the Vonalne Bus Stop and DART Rail Station is too far. Unfortunately, I do not recommend transferring to DART Rail if going to Downtown or around the Dallas area. I took Uber to Downtown Dallas.