Guy in the hostel kitchen in Lisbon told me to book buses the day before, not weeks out
I was making pasta in the hostel kitchen in Lisbon two weeks ago and this guy from Ireland mentioned he never books buses more than a day ahead. He said booking early locks you into a schedule, and last minute seats on Flixbus or Rede Expressos often drop to 5 euros when the bus isn't full. I tried it for my Porto run and paid 4.50 instead of the 19 euros I would have paid a month out. Has anyone else found that waiting actually works better for buses in Europe, or did I just get lucky?
He said booking early "locks you into a schedule" but that's the whole point of a schedule. If you wait, you're the one stuck hoping a cheap seat is left, and on a full route that 4.50 turns into 30 or a night in a bus station. I've done the wait and see thing on Milan to Florence and got burned when every bus was sold out and the train was 50 euros. It works when you're flexible and alone in low season, sure, but acting like it always works is a stretch. You got a good deal on one run, that's not a rule.