Different ways of traveling to your destination – popular and unexpected

When you’ve chosen a place you want to go to, maybe you’ve even checked out some things to do there and where you’d like to stay. But now it’s time to figure out a way of traveling to your destination.

There are so many different ways to travel that you can get confused of which one is the best.

Of course, if the place is on the other side of the world there’s really not too many choices – most probably you’ll have to fly.

But what if it’s closer by and you have a choice of driving or flying? Or maybe even taking a train? A bus?

See? Confusing!

So let’s explore the pros and cons of some of them here.

Flying

I’m pretty sure this is one of the most popular ways of traveling, especially if you don’t have tons of time available. An airplane will take you places fast and it will often get you to destinations that would be hard to reach otherwise. And it’s probably the first way of getting to the destination you check when starting to plan your vacation!

Like, when we traveled around Chile (and South America), we mostly flew everywhere. For example, we went from Santiago to Easter Island, back to Santiago, then to Atacama, back to Santiago, and then on to Patagonia. The flights let us enjoy the destinations for longer, as they are quite far from one another.

Of course, flying gets inconvenient when you’d like to take a lot of stuff with you. Luggage space is almost always limited, and it can rack up the price of the ticket as well.

And in some places there are no airports available at all or they are still rather far from your destination. In the same Patagonia, we had to fly to Punta Arenas and then drive for some 5 hours to Torres del Paine. But still, it was faster to fly and then drive than just drive.

Pros

It’s the fastest way to get from a point A to the point B

A versatile mode of transportation that can take you almost anywhere

Cons

You will need a different kind of transport to get around in your destination

Sometimes there are no airports available, or the airport is rather far from the city

There’s limited luggage space

Driving a car

One of my favorite ways to travel, honestly, is just driving the car to the destination. This way, you can pretty much just pack what you’d like and don’t have to worry about things like lithium-ion batteries and liquids.

Plus, you have quite a lot of control over how the journey goes. For example, there’s no problem just stopping somewhere and enjoying the views on the way. And you can just leave earlier or later if you wish.

Of course, there are some minuses to using a car as your means of travel. First of all, it usually takes longer than flying and can end up being more expensive than flying. Second, it is not exactly comfortable to sit in the car for long periods of time.

Pros

Pack what you want

Almost complete control of the journey

Cons

 Probably will take longer than flying

Can end up more expensive

Not too comfortable

RVing

One of the different ways of traveling that is a bucket list item for me is to RV in Iceland so that we could see all of the incredible views at different times of the day.

It gives you the almost-comfort of home on the road and let’s you stop almost anywhere for a night. Of course, though, you need to go to RV parks as well to clean things like toilets and stuff out and fill up water. But still, much more freedom than needing to stay in a hotel.

Another good thing is that you don’t have to rely on places like restaurants being open in these weird times. RVing is similar to camping, with the exception that you actually can cook inside when the weather is not good. Plus, you always have a toilet available which is definitely a huge thing.

On the other hand, it can become quite costly to rent an RV. Among other things, they consume more fuel, many use propane for things like fridges, hot water, and stoves which you then have to refill. Many companies add different extra fees, such as environmental, sewage dumping, and generator use. And the camping sites pretty often cost close to budget hotel rooms.

Speaking of parking and driving, it takes longer to drive an RV than a normal car as it’s slower and quite often you have to pay higher tolls. Plus, many parking lots don’t allow you to park RVs, so it might become a problem as well. Depending on the size of your RV, it might even be troublesome to park near shopping centres.

Pros

A house on wheels

Toilet and kitchen available always

Good for road trips

More freedom to change travel plans

Cons

Can get expensive – more expensive than a road trip in a small car

Limitations on parking and driving

Dealing with sewage

Small space means clutter and less privacy

Bus

Taking a bus is a convenient way of getting from one spot to the other if you don’t want to drive by yourself.

Honestly, I prefer different ways of travelling than a bus. The one time I went long distances with a bus – from Latvia to Tatry – it was an incredibly bad experience. To be completely fair, though, we were travelling through the night on a not-night bus, so it pretty much wasn’t possible to sleep there.

I know that there are buses in which the seats can be made into actual beds! My cousin took one such from Latvia to France and was completely satisfied.

Anyways, buses, especially night buses, are quite a good way to travel long distances rather cheaply. Quite a few people use different types of buses all over the world, including Patagonia. So, to each their own.

Pros

You don’t have to drive by yourself

Available all around the world

Can save time by traveling at night

Compared to other different ways of travelling, cheap

Cons

Can take longer to travel long distances

Can be quite uncomfortable

Not the best if you suffer from motion sickness

No overseas travel in a bus

Train

Trains are another great way of traveling. They are quite similar to buses but offer more comfort.

The seats are generally bigger with larger gaps between rows, there are quite often tables available, and you can even have private rooms and sleeper-rooms for traveling at night.

We traveled all around Japan with Shinkansen and let me tell you, it was amazing. Of course, Shinkansens are a bit different than “normal” trains, but even the “normal” ones offer more comfort than buses.

On trains, it’s even possible to reach incredible remote places. A journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway is definitely on my bucket list.

Pros

Comfortable

More space than buses

Can be very fast

No need to drive by yourself

Generally doesn’t create motion sickness since there’s less movement

Cons

Only land travel possible

Doesn’t go everywhere

Occasionally, can get quite expensive

Ship

One of the different ways of traveling for those of you that don’t suffer from motion sickness (like yours truly here) is by ships. And it’s not just cruises, although I must admit traveling around the world on a luxury cruise ship sounds amazing.  

There are ferries that connect different countries. For example, in Europe, you can go from Germany to Italy or Latvia, Latvia to Sweden, and not even naming all of the different routes through the Mediterranean Sea…

And it’s not just close distances (which even I might be able to endure). If you have 2 weeks to spare on traveling, you can even go across the Atlantic.

And one of the best ways to get to Antarctica? Boat.

Pretty much, if you don’t feel like flying, world travel by a ship is possible.

Pros

Can go pretty much anywhere

Travel in comfort and luxury if you wish

On many ships you can take your car with you

Cons

Not the best option if you have motion sickness

A slow way to travel

Can be expensive

Different ways of traveling that you probably haven’t thought of

Now that we’ve covered the usual different ways of traveling, let’s check out some more unusual ones.

A freighter (cargo) boat

Yes, it’s not just the usual ferries and cruises that you can take. It’s actually possible to travel by cargo ships. There are not a lot of passengers aboard and even less amenities available, but it’s a very different way of traveling that is rather affordable.

Bicycle

If you have the energy and physical shape for it, why not just bike through the country or even the continent? Go where it’s not possible to go by a car, see what few other people see.

Of course, it would take a loooot of time to travel extensively, but if you’re up to it, it would definitely make an amazing story and it would be an amazing memory.

Private jet

Do you have a bunch of dispensable money available? Why not rent a private jet to where you want to go?

Get the ultimate VIP experience and control every aspect of your journey, from when to depart to what you want to eat and drink!

Of course, it will cost you a pretty buck, but it’s definitely a special way to travel.

Terra bus

If you’re going to Canada, you might want to consider taking a snow coach deep in the Canadian wild. Specifically designed to withstand the climate and go on ice and snow, these beasts will let you explore the Icefields Parkway and Athabasca Glacier. Could be quite a cool experience, especially if you’re an adventure traveller!

Hitchhiking

If you’re an adventurous person that doesn’t mind a bit of risk, why not try hitchhiking? Travelling this way allows you to meet a lot of people and learn some things only the locals know about the place.

My classmate from university actually joined a hitchhiking competition once! That’s awesome, right?

In conclusion about different ways of traveling to your destination

Traveling by itself is an amazing thing to do. You get to see new places, meet new people, and experience new cultures.

Why not make it even more interesting by trying out different ways of traveling to your destination?

How many of these types of transport have you tried? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

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