Transportation

After reaching your destination the next set of decisons are around moving around. An independent traveler will spend a lot of time organizing transportation to get to the next destination. Many options exist. Your research will tell you about the best options for each country. Decisions about which options are most suitable for you will include an assessment of the comfort, price, schedule and locations served. Your travel guide and online discussion forums are best resources to get an overview of the information before you arrive.

For example, In Europe I prefer to take trains and they are frequent and the same price as the bus. If I have long trips I can take an overnight train and book a sleeper. In Africa I take the bus as trains are few . In fact buses are few and most transport especially short duration transport is on the back of a truck. In Asia the bus system is fast, efficient and frequent and cheap. However, if I am going long durations I will look at the overnight train. In India and China the train is my favorite transportation.

Lets take a look at the options

Trains

As noted above in some countries buses run more frequently and are faster than trains. I prefer train travel for long trips. Also, in some countries I prefer train travel to bus travel. For example, India and China and Egypt have a great train system. Europe also is a great place to travel by train. The train is often the same price as the bus and much more comfortable. Take a look at Seat61 for information about train travel around the world.

Buses

Night Buses

Back Packer Buses

Mini Buses

Shared Taxis

Car Rental

Flying