Transportation

There are many ways to get from A to B these days and this guide will detail all of them for you so you know exactly what to choose for your trip!  

This page will focus on the ways you can get from your home city to your destination as well as the methods of transportation available to travel between multiple destinations on the same trip.  

If you’re looking for information on how to get around locally when you’re already at your destination, check out the Guide to Getting Around.  

*Make sure to read to the end of this page if you don’t know what transportation options are available to get to your destination as I share a tool that I like to use when I’m in the same situation.*

These are the main ways that you will be getting to your destinations in your travels:

– When you’re traveling to another country, most of the time you will be flying.  Flying is so easy and cheap these days that flying within destinations in the same country will also likely be part of your itinerary!  I’ve even taken commercial flights that were less than 30 minutes in duration! (In the Canary Islands in Spain, in case you were curious).  

Check out the Guide to Flights to find out everything you need to know about booking flights.

– Rail travel has been around since the 19th Century and with the current developments in high-speed railways, train travel is becoming more and more viable for long distances.  Most countries in the world have a rail network, but some are more developed than others.  Train travel is best for distances too short to fly, but too long to drive and is perfect for regions like Europe and East Asia.  

Check out the Guide to Train Travel for more information!

– And if you’re in a part of the world where the rail network isn’t very well-developed or you’re just looking for a more inexpensive short to medium length transportation option, buses should definitely be on your radar.  There are even long-distance buses that you could take should you really want to conserve your budget.  

Find out everything you need to know about buses in the Guide to Bus Travel.

Here are some other ways you might be getting around on your trip:

– Traveling by boat has been around since the stone age and if you’re going to a destination with one or more island visits, there’s a very good chance that you will be taking a ferry to get around.  Greece is one destination that comes to mind, but there are many others that have islands you may want to visit that can only be reached by boat.  

If your destination requires crossing water, make sure to check out the Guide to Ferry Travel.

– Another way of getting around which is becoming more and more popular these days is ridesharing (not to be confused with Ride-Hailing).  If you don’t mind getting in the car with a stranger as they go from point A to B, it can be a fun and inexpensive way to travel!  I’ve done it myself many times in Europe and I’ve noticed it start to pick up a little bit in North America as well.  

If you want to know more, check out the Guide to Ridesharing.

– And finally, the cheapest way to travel is to hitchhike since it’s free!  Most have heard of the practice, but not that many people have done it.  However, it’s been around since the automobile has existed and is now a universal practice so it can be an option on any trip.  It has many similarities to ridesharing, but also many differences and it’s important to be well-informed to make sure you do it right.  

Learn everything you need to know in the Guide to Hitchhiking.

And if you have no idea how to get from point A to point B or just don’t know what transportation options are available for your trip, I recommend using Rome2rio.com to help figure it out!  Rome2Rio will show you all the transportation methods available between any two cities in the world.  Use it for reference and then come back here to find out how to book your transportation!