bus restrooms

Most buses on the Rick Steves tour will have a bathroom. Tour members are discouraged from using the bus bathroom unless it's an emergency. The bus bathroom is tiny, much smaller than airplane bathrooms. The driver cannot empty the holding tank frequently and it can get smelly on the bus. However, if you have a real emergency and must use the bus bathroom, please do so. You can also discreetly ask the guide how long until the next rest stop to gauge your ability to wait or not.

Jut like long distance coaches in the US, they have all had toilets. We are all adults and know what an emergency is. I have seen people use them while we were in the road, and no one admonished them and no one paid any attention. They are small and tight and you are bumping along only a few inches above the road service, so yeah its not very comfortable, but it's there for a reason.

Men are asked to sit down or it could turn into a heck of a mess.

Also, going #2 is strongly discouraged for obvious reasons.

Try to avoid sitting near the toilet. We learned this lesson the hard way.

We had someone use the bus restroom a few years back, and applauded when they got out. It was all in good fun!

What Mary said. Believe me, the rest stops are frequent enough that you will be fine. You won't want to use the bus restroom, trust me! 😄

Hi, I was on the Best of the Adriatic tour, and in the “Physical Demands” for that tour, it lists “Travel on a bus without a toilet (rest stops every two hours).” I don’t think other tours list that criteria, and yes, the bus did not have an emergency toilet.

My hint may help you: caffeine really affects my need to go to the bathroom in the morning, but I need to drink two cups consistently in the morning to avoid a headache. I brought along the Nescafe sticks of coffee and a silicone cup, so I had my first cup of coffee in my hotel room (sometimes just the hottest water from the sink) immediately after waking up. Then I would have my second later on with breakfast. Having that buffer hour between cups really helped! And, our tour guide & bus driver were very consistent with stopping at least every two hours and having a toilet near the stop.

It is EU regulations that mandate the frequent stops, for the drivers safety.

I was on the Bulgaria tour last fall and someone spoke to our guide about needing a toilet before the next scheduled stop. The bus took a detour and found a gas station. It was a very limited facility so we were encouraged to use the facilities only if absolutely necessary in order to stay on schedule for our next stop. I’ve been on several tours and this is the only time this has been an issue.

Even on the InterBus coach going all the way across Sicily, from Palermo to Siracusa, the bus stopped halfway at a highway services rest area for 20 minutes.
We were very impressed, having worried beforehand about a 3 and a half hour trip!