It's Okay to Eat Ice Cream Twice a Day and Other Savvy Travel Tips

2. Buswise, Don't Listen to The Guy Who Runs the 'Tourist Information' Desk - There's Almost Always More Than One Bus Company Going Where You Want To Go
In most countries there are competing bus companies with overlapping routes. Sometimes, tour operators don't believe you are willing to travel on the buses that the local people use, so they'll only tell you about the once-a-day (or once-a-week) luxury motor coaches plying the route to your destination. (See Subrule b)

Other tourist 'information' guides get kickbacks from a bus company whenever they refer a customer so they won't tell you about competitors.

You can avoid this arrangement by getting yourself to the closest long-distance bus station in town. Competing companies will have windows with schedules and prices (the lowest possible) listed. Chances are, there's a bus leaving soon for your destination, and even if there isn't, there's probably a great cheap restaurant near the station where you can wait. I had a delicious flan near Mexico City's south station once while waiting for a bus to Acapulco. Bus drivers like to eat well. It's one of the solaces of the job.

Subrule b: Unless You're Addicted to Freezing Air-Con, Windows That Won't Open, Meeting Only People From Where You're From, and Insipid, Uninformed Tour Guides, Avoid Luxury Motor Coaches Everywhere, Always
This one's kind of self-explanatory.