Amazing Gap Year Travel Hacks and Killer Apps: Rome2Rio
Say you want to go from Beijing to Shanghai, and aren’t sure about your options or the prices. Get it all here in one place.
There are a lot of travel aggregator websites out there that will sell you ways to get from one place to the next, but my heart goes out to the site/app that will tell me ALL my options between two locations.
Rome2Rio joins my list of super-helpful (and free) apps and sites, because it shows you a number of ways to travel between cities that you might have never considered, especially if you are in a foreign destinations, and don’t know the physical landscape and geography.
Is there an airport there? How much would a flight cost?
Is there a bus that will take me there? How much does it cost? What is the schedule?
Is there a train that will take me there? How much does it cost? What is the schedule?
What about a ferry?
What if I went by car?
Rome2Rio gives you all those answers at one time and saves you a lot of energy.
The first time I used it I was in France, and going to Switzerland. Rome2Rio was like “Hey Girl, do you want to fly, take a bus, take a train, carpool, these are all the ways you can get there - and here the prices for the different travel methods as well.” A one-stop shop providing travel options and prices? Yes Please.
Rome2Rio aggregates all the travel methods in the region and tells you what your options are. I’ve used it in South Africa, Mexico, most of Europe, Vietnam and it’s always come through for me.
This is a great way to see what transportation options you haven’t been considering, and whether what you would have left on the table would be cheaper or more efficient.
In Europe most of my consideration between taking a bus to a location vs. taking a train was based on price and length of trip. Through Rome2Rio I found out a few times there wasn’t much of a difference in the price of the bus or the train I wanted to take, but there was a significant difference in time.
I’ve also found it the other way too, price differences of $100 or more, for a difference in trip length of less than an hour.
Rome2Rio is my go to app/website for figuring out which travel option to choose. I don’t usually purchase my tickets through them, I like to buy directly from the issuer, but I do love that it lays out so many options for me.
Here’s an example of another search, this time from Hanoi to Da Nang.
Check out Rome2Rio and keep your options open to new different ways to move about a region. You’ll be surprised by the possibilities out there.