Bus Alternatives in Central Europe

I found the best info on how to get from one city to another is the country specific RS guide. For each city, there is a section that provides options to get to more common/popular cities. Rome2Rio also is great as a first brush of varying options. It will give you estimates of time and cost for various travel modes. I haven't and wouldn't purchase from Rome2Rio, however. A good option for Bavaria is the Bayern ticket. (which includes some areas on or close to the border, e.g. Salzburg) All else equal, I find train travel more comfortable.

We traveled extensively in central and Eastern Europe last June. Most of our transfers was on buses. The train routes were not direct travel and the times were inconvenient. Choose train or bus for travel which ever works. Train and bus stations tend to be next to one another. The buses were comfortable. Some even had free coffee.

CK Shuttle: I used this service to travel from Cesky Krumlov to Vienna last fall (2018.) Communication with the company was excellent. The driver was on time and friendly. Everything about it was efficient. As with any shuttle, you're sharing with other passengers at other hotels, so depending on the pickup/drop-off order, you may be on the shuttle a shorter or longer time.

FlixBus: I have only taken one FlixBus, this fall from Wrocław to Prague. The departure was delayed about 20 minutes, but made up some of that time en route. The bus was clean and seats were roomy. Luggage storage is under the bus. Smaller articles have some space in overhead racks. The biggest issue with my route was the lack of bathrooms on the bus, and none of us could locate a bathroom at our very quick (with the bus driver trying to make up time) mid-way stop on the 4.5-ish hour journey. I would bet that was not what was intended.

Thanks so far....rome2rio tends to be my starting point and the source of these alternatives. CKShuttle/Bean Shuttle look attractive since they stop for potty breaks and you have some conversational "tour guide" component to them that would not be available otherwise. Convenient pickup-drop off also seems attractive. Is EU Shuttle affiliated with CK Shuttle?

CKShuttle/Bean Shuttle look attractive since they stop for potty breaks
On the journey from Cesky Krumlov, we stopped at a McDonald's for a rest break.

and you have some conversational "tour guide" component to them that would not be available otherwise.
Our shuttle driver didn't offer any "tour guide" type commentary.

Convenient pickup-drop off also seems attractive.
I chose hotel pickup and drop-off. An option for central pickup and drop-off was also available, as I recall. I was the last pickup but also nearly the last drop-off, so there is additional time required for that.

Is EU Shuttle affiliated with CK Shuttle?
I am seeing different websites and email address. If they are affiliated, it's not apparent to me. I believe I read reviews for both companies and went with CK Shuttle.

I'll join in and also recommend CKShuttle. We used this service in September from Vienna>Cesky Krumlov and Cesky Krumlov>Prague. As previously mentioned the driver made a 15 min. rest stop at McDonalds. The overall experience was comfortable, door to door, affordable, efficient and on time. I would gladly recommend this great ground transportation. www.ckshuttle.cz

Hello again....a related question: Does anyone have experience with DayTrip, a private transfer service?

I'm thinking Salzburg to Oberammergau with stops in Hallstatt and maybe Innsbruck?

Thom, I have no personal experience with DayTrip, but my 4 cousins used them in 2018. They were traveling in Central Europe. They stopped at various preferred stops along the way. They recommended this service.