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Bus to Des Moines, IA

Bus stations and stops in Des Moines, IA

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61

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From $8.48

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Frequently asked questions

Buses to Des Moines start at just $7.98, depending on your starting location. To secure the most budget-friendly options, ensure you book early and consider traveling on weekdays and during off-peak hours for the cheapest deals!
The best way to buy bus tickets to Des Moines is through the Greyhound website or the free Greyhound app. With just a few clicks, you can easily book your bus trip and choose your preferred seating. You can pay for your bus to Des Moines using a variety of payment methods, including debit and credit cards. For more information on payment methods, please visit the payment methods page. Looking for a cheap ticket to Des Moines? Make sure to book in advance and consider traveling during weekdays and peak-off times to get the best deals!
Onboard services available on Greyhound buses to Des Moines include free Wi-Fi for all passengers, personal power outlets near every seat, reclining leather seats with footrests, extra legroom, overhead storage, an on-board restroom, and eco-friendly technology to reduce impact on the environment.
You can use your Greyhound bus ticket to Des Moines by either presenting the PDF with a QR code when booked online or by accessing it directly in the app if purchased within the app. Simply show your ticket to the bus driver at boarding and they will scan it to validate your travel.
With Greyhound and FlixBus, you can easily reach 61 destinations from Des Moines, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Iowa City.
Not sure about where to catch the bus in Des Moines? Don't worry, Greyhound has got you covered. We've listed all the stops in Des Moines on the map on this page.
Yes, you can track your bus to Des Moines using the Greyhound app or by visiting the bus tracker. This will give you real-time information on the location and status of your bus.
Going to Des Moines by bus is easy with Greyhound, with 61 different rides to choose from. You can check the bus schedule once you select your departure city, destination city, and desired trip date.
Yes, you can reserve your preferred seat on most of the buses to Des Moines. All customers will be assigned a seat, but you have the option to choose your preferred one. If available, you’ll see the option when you add the passenger name to your booking. If you’d like to choose your seat, a small fee will be charged and will vary based on the route you are taking. Please visit our guide on seat reservations for more information.
When traveling by bus to Des Moines with Greyhound, you are allowed to bring one carry-on bag with you (maximum 25 lbs, 16x12x7 inches). The first bag that you store under the bus is free, and if you have a Flexible fare, the second bag stored under the bus is also free. For more information about our luggage policies and how to book extra baggage, please visit our dedicated baggage page.
Greyhound buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts to assist passengers using wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Each bus has space for two passengers with these devices. It's recommended to book your bus ticket to Des Moines in advance to ensure a spot. If you'd like to transfer to a regular seat, our drivers will stow your device for you. Service animals are also welcome on board our buses. For further details on accessibility and service animal policies, please check this link.

Bus to Des Moines

Des Moines is Iowa's state capital and largest city, sitting at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in the centre of the state. It's a working city of about 215,000 in the metro area, with the gold-domed State Capitol rising over downtown, the Iowa State Fair every August, the Des Moines Art Center and a downtown that has rebuilt steadily around the rivers and the East Village. The bus to Des Moines drops you on the east side of the city at the East Euclid Avenue terminal, with the State Capitol grounds, the East Village, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the central business district all reachable by short rideshare. People come for the Iowa State Capitol and the surrounding cultural complex, for the Des Moines Art Center, for the Iowa State Fair in August, for the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and for the political pilgrimage that comes with every presidential primary cycle. A Des Moines bus ticket lands you a short rideshare from the State Capitol grounds.

Greyhound stops in Des Moines

Des Moines has one Greyhound stop: the Des Moines terminal at 1641 East Euclid Avenue, on the east side of the city. As a full terminal it has indoor seating, restrooms and the basic shelter you'd expect, with onboard Wi-Fi and seat reservations available for boarding from this location.

The East Euclid Avenue location sits east of the central downtown and the State Capitol grounds. From here it's a short rideshare into the central downtown — the State Capitol, the East Village, the Court Avenue district, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the Western Gateway are all a few minutes away. Plan to arrive in good time so you can find your platform and get checked in.

If you're being met, the parking area is straightforward and rideshare drivers know the location. The most useful first move after arrival is a rideshare into the East Village or the Court Avenue district, where the central restaurants, bars and walkable downtown blocks are concentrated. Have your ticket ready on your phone or printed for boarding.

Getting around Des Moines after your bus to Des Moines arrives

Des Moines's central downtown is more walkable than the Iowa metro footprint suggests. Once you're in the central blocks, walking covers the State Capitol grounds, the East Village restaurants and shops, the central business district along Locust and Walnut, the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and the Des Moines River walking paths.

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority — known as DART — runs the local public-transport network with city buses across the metro and a hub at the DART Central Station on Cherry Street. Useful routes connect downtown to Drake University, the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Clive and West Des Moines. The D-Line is a free downtown shuttle that runs the central blocks of the central business district. Service runs through the day on weekdays and lighter on weekends. Rideshare runs reliably across the metro and is the realistic option for evening trips and for the Iowa State Fair.

For the wider region — the Iowa State Fair in mid-August, the John Wayne Birthplace in Winterset southwest of the city, the Madison County covered bridges, the Iowa Motor Speedway in Newton — a rental car is the practical option. Cycling is also viable on the long Des Moines River Greenbelt and the High Trestle Trail running northeast toward Madrid. The Iowa High Trestle Bridge — the rail-trail bridge with the curving steel sculpture lit at night — is a striking destination on the trail.

Top things to do in Des Moines

  • The Iowa State Capitol on East Locust Street, the gold-domed 1886 building set on a hill overlooking downtown, with free guided tours, a strong run of historic interiors and a panoramic view of the city from the lower observation level.
  • The Des Moines Art Center, on Grand Avenue, with the Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei and Richard Meier wings, and a permanent collection that runs from European modernism to contemporary American art. Free entry.
  • The Pappajohn Sculpture Park in the Western Gateway, with twenty-eight large-scale sculptures by Henry Moore, Louise Bourgeois, Yoshitomo Nara, Jaume Plensa, Mark di Suvero, Olafur Eliasson and others. Free entry, open year-round.
  • The Iowa State Fair, in mid-August at the State Fairgrounds on the east side of the city. The fair runs eleven days with the famous Butter Cow, the political pilgrimage stops at the Iowa Pork Tent, the rides, livestock shows and live music.
  • The East Village, the historic neighbourhood east of the State Capitol with restored brick commercial buildings, restaurants, bars, independent shops and a strong run of weekend events.
  • The State Historical Museum of Iowa, in the Capitol complex on East Grand Avenue, with strong galleries on Iowa history, the Native peoples of the Plains and the modern state. Free entry.
  • Court Avenue Entertainment District, the central downtown blocks of Court Avenue with restaurants, bars, music venues and a steady weekend life.
  • The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, on the north riverfront, with a tropical conservatory and themed outdoor gardens.
  • The High Trestle Trail and the High Trestle Bridge, the rail-trail running northeast from Ankeny to Madrid with the long curving bridge sculpture at the centre. Lit at night and worth the drive out for a dusk visit.
  • Living History Farms in nearby Urbandale, with three working farm sites — an 1700s Ioway Indian farm, an 1850s pioneer farm and a 1900 horse-powered farm — plus an 1875 town with a working blacksmith and general store.
  • The John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park (the same park noted above) is matched by the Western Gateway, the central-downtown park strip.
  • Principal Park, the home of the Iowa Cubs Triple-A baseball team on the south riverfront with views of the Capitol from the bleachers.
  • The Salisbury House and Gardens, the 1928 stone-and-half-timber English manor in the Salisbury House Historic District, with a strong art and rare-book collection.
  • The Sherman Hill Historic District, west of downtown, with restored late-19th-century Victorian and Queen Anne residences along Cottage Grove Avenue.

Neighbourhoods to explore in Des Moines

The East Village is the central historic neighbourhood east of the State Capitol with the restaurants and walkable shops. The Court Avenue District in the central downtown has the bar and restaurant cluster. The Western Gateway, with the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, has been rebuilt as a working downtown destination.

Sherman Hill west of downtown has the Victorian residential streetscape preserved. The Drake neighbourhood north and west of downtown has the small Drake University campus and a strong cluster of restaurants on University Avenue. West Des Moines and Valley Junction further west have separate small downtowns, with the Valley Junction Saturday morning farmers market a regional draw. Each district reads quite differently, and a long day can take in the central core, the East Village and Sherman Hill on foot.

Best time to visit Des Moines

Late spring through early autumn is the long, generous window. From late April into June the parks come in, the rivers run full, and the temperature sits in a pleasant range for walking the central blocks. The headline late-summer event is the Iowa State Fair in mid-August, which fills the city with state and national visitors for eleven days.

July and August are warm and humid — afternoons regularly in the 80s and into the 90s — but the long evenings stretch out late and the Iowa State Fair brings the city's cultural calendar to a peak. Plan walking and outdoor sightseeing for early morning, lean into the air-conditioned Des Moines Art Center in the afternoon, and respect the late-day thunderstorms when they roll in.

September and October bring the Iowa fall — colour through the river bluffs and the surrounding parks, comfortable walking weather, and the start of the political season that runs through the presidential primary cycles. Winter is real Iowa cold. From December through February temperatures regularly drop into the 20s and below, with serious cold snaps and occasional snow events. The State Capitol, the Des Moines Art Center, the Salisbury House and the long-running East Village restaurants all stay full pace.

Des Moines's identity is shaped by the political calendar — the Iowa caucuses every four years pull the national political class through the city, and the state's role as the first caucus stop gives residents an unusually direct relationship with presidential campaigns. The Iowa State Fair in August is the warm-weather mirror of the same culture: a working civic event where the state checks in with itself and where political candidates, livestock judges and corn-dog stands all share the same midway. Walk the State Fairgrounds in mid-August or the East Village in early February and you'll see two versions of the same Iowa civic rhythm. Use the search bar on this page to check schedules and book bus tickets to Des Moines when your dates are firm.

Planning Your Greyhound Bus Trip to Des Moines?

You're in the right place! Get all the details you need to arrange your bus journey to Des Moines! You can board the Greyhound at Des Moines. You can easily find the location of the stop(s) on the map available on this page. Traveling to or departing from Des Moines can cost you as little as $7.98. If you're on the hunt for a cheap ticket to Des Moines, remember to book early. Traveling on weekdays or during non-peak hours can also lead you to some of the most budget-friendly fares available! With 61 destinations linked to Des Moines, Greyhound provides you with multiple options for planning your bus trip.

Why travel to Des Moines with Greyhound

When you choose Greyhound, you're promised a comfy seat and free Wi-Fi throughout your journey. Stay connected and entertained while we safely drive you to your destination! Enjoy a comfy bus trip to Des Moines with our onboard facilities like free Wi-Fi and power outlets. Choose your favorite seat while booking and travel with peace of mind rest easy knowing your ticket covers one carry-on and one checked bag.

How to book your bus ticket to Des Moines

Booking a ticket with Greyhound is a breeze: on this website or on the free Greyhound App, you can complete your booking in a few clicks. When purchasing your ticket to Des Moines online, you can choose between different secured online payment methods, such as credit and debit cards. Alternatively, you can pay in cash at a sales point.