If you are not a fan of air travel or travelling a shorter distance, other options in terms of transport can be quite handy. I absolutely love Ferry rides and would go for them instead of planes especially for going between islands in places like Greece or Croatia.
Plane, Train, Car, Ferry or Bus?
Not every country is the same and you don’t know what the infrastructure is like and what your best option in terms of transport is. Luckily there is some help to hand. I love Rome2Rio! It shows all different options in going from Point A to Point B with estimated cost associated with each option. Give it a try; you will love it as well!
Train
Train service is very country dependent and while you can get a good idea about train costs and book tickets online throughout most of the developed world, it can be an absolutely harrowing experience; Pakistan has a ridiculously bad train system for instance. There are other countries that don’t ever bother like Iceland and then there are some that turn it into a dream through a fairytale like Switzerland or Scotland.
The first point to check trains within UK is Trainline UK. This is also good for trains to and from airport. A lot of times a few minutes extra of travelling will save you a lot by not taking express trains to and from airports.
Tip: If you like using trains especially in UK, getting a railcard will save you tons of money.
For Europe I use Trainline EU. It has good detail and will pass you on to the specific websites for train ticket bookings. It also gives you the option to print tickets and price comparison wise it is an excellent tool.
If you are travelling within Europe Euro Rail Pass is the best option. You can get it here and based on your travelling needs it can save you a lot especially for last minute travelling and it is valid in more than 30 countries.
If you are using this option The RailPlanner App is very useful, you can get it here.
Then you have country specific apps that you can search and usually every city has it’s own public transport app as well that includes different options. Citymapper is amazing and includes a lot of different cities.
Car Hires and Car Pooling
I am one of those people who grew up with a chauffer (Not bragging, it is pretty common for us and not expensive at all!) and didn’t bother learning how to drive. I live in London which is not a car friendly place at all especially in Central London and I am waiting for the self driving cars (Hurry the f*** up all you tech companies!)
The best source of Car hire that I use the most is SkyScanner Car Hire. It provides very good results and you have loads of filters to get the exact car you need around the world.
Tip: I would recommend not paying the full price unless you are booking with the car provider. If you book in advance through an agency and they go bust, the car provider might not honour the booking and you will have to pay again. Something I learnt recently when this happened to us.
Car Pooling on the other hand is an amazing thing. I have used it at so many occasions and made some good friends while travelling with them. BlaBlaCar is the best app for this. It is the Airbnb version of Car Pooling. Highly recommended!
Ferries
I absolutely love ferries! It is so beautiful to travel through the velvety waves and clear skies above an ocean. I find travelling on ferries incredibly calming like being cradled in a mother’s womb. (my aww moment!).
The best tool for this is Direct Ferries. It is the best site that provides all options and operators with good comparisons. I have always found the results very reliable. In some cases you might have to go to the provider directly but most of the times you can book directly.
Bus
My least favourite mode of travelling by far! Buses are slow, annoying and you have to sit without a lot of room for movement. You have to bear the trafiic on top of that and I only use buses when I don’t have any other option at all. To make things complicated the busses in every country are very different and in most cases you can’t buy tickets in advance.
On the flip side bus tickets are cheaper than all other modes if you don’t mind sitting forever!
There are a lot of comparison websites and the two I normally use are GoEuro & CheckMyBus, later one is my favourite.