How to arrange transport for overland routes and expedition travel

Update (October 2026): This guide has been reviewed and updated with current information about transport booking platforms, international railway passes, ferry reservations, and practical risks when combining different transport services. The main principles of arranging essential transportation remain the same, but routes, booking conditions, and operator coverage can change. Always verify critical connections before finalizing your itinerary.

The transportation is one of the most important components of a trip. There are various types of transportation, by land, by air, by sea, and by various vehicles- from airplanes and trains to bicycles and tuk-tuk. While some of the transportation movements are just optional, without a need to buy tickets in advance or to make reservations, others are crucial for our travel. And here we will focus on these crucial movements that we can call basic transportation.

What is basic transportation?

Shortly, this is the transportation that fixes your trip. Let’s say that you live in Europe or North America, and you want to go on a trip to Japan. You plan to explore Japan for two weeks. But first, you have to arrive in Japan, to enter the country from a certain point. Usually, this point is the capital Tokyo.

So, you have to arrange your trip to Tokyo, and in modern times it is almost only by air (unless you join a cruise that is arranged properly, so you can have these two weeks to explore the country).

In most cases, you have to buy your air ticket in advance. Yes, it is possible to buy it on the same day, but it would be much more expensive, or there would not be any free seats. So, you buy your ticket for a certain date, and if you back to your home after your Japan trip, your ticket should be a two-way ticket.

Fixation of a trip

Once you buy your two-ways ticket, your trip is fixed between certain dates. Everything you do in Japan should be placed within this period. This air transportation is your basic trip. If it fails, the whole of your trip can fail too.

Then, you plan your trip between the dates of arrival and departure. If you want to visit many places, you have to arrange your transport between the points. And you have to do it in such a way that you can enjoy enough time for every destination and to back to Tokyo on time.

Domestic transportation

Some of the trip sections can be easily arranged- you don’t need to buy tickets in advance- just go to the bus station and take the first available bus. This is when there are enough buses for the day (for example- every 20-30 min), so if you miss one bus, just wait for the next.

But in other cases, there can be only one or two buses per day, and if you miss it for some reason (arrive late, or no free seats), the whole next part of the trip has to be changed and adjusted accordingly, and sometimes it can seriously harm the whole trip. In such cases, you’d better buy a ticket in advance if possible. If you can’t do it, you have to plan your itinerary in а flexible way, so that an adjustment would not affect the rest of the trip.

This is basic transportation. And since it is crucial for your trip, it has to be planned carefully in advance. Yes, some people prefer just to go traveling without any plan, “following the wind”. It looks romantic, but unfortunately, in our modern world, there are too many obstacles for such a travel style, unless you have unlimited time to wander, you have enough money (for buying expensive air tickets at the last moment), or you have enough luck.

By air, by land, or by sea

I personally don’t like air travel. Not because I am afraid to fly. It is because for me not only the final destination is important, but also the way there. For me, it would be much more exciting if the world was like in the 19th century. You want to travel from Europe to Indonesia, and your only options are a ship (around Africa), or on land- on the first newly built railways, on foot, by horse, or by boat on rivers.

Such a trip would be very long, like an exciting expedition. On my way, I would watch how the whole geography gradually changes from Europe to the tropics of Indonesia. I would see all the countries in the middle, their culture and nature, and their people.

While in the past times, travelers were only thousands (and almost all of them were traders or on military expeditions), today they are tens, even hundreds of millions. But only a few of them would travel 100% on land, depending on the distance, on their time, money, local conditions, and even their bravery.

So, modern transportation is developed to serve the rest of the travelers- those who need to get to a certain distant destination quickly. That’s why the best and most developed way to travel to remote destinations is by air.

Travel by air

Traveling by air is used mainly for basic transportation, and for fixation of the trip. The main advantage of it is the speed- you need no more than 2-3 days to travel around the Earth by air. And the best use of fights is to go to a starting point of a route and to leave from its ending point if this route is too far from your home.

Pros:

• It is fast. If you are focused only on the country you want to explore, and your time is limited, you can skip the distance between your home and the country that you are going to explore.

Cons:

• It is expensive (but for long-distance usually cheaper than traveling on land).
• You can see too little of everything between the departure and arrival points.

So, traveling by air is the best option for starting and ending your trip, if it is too far. But definitely not the best, if you want to use it for domestic flights unless your goal is only the destinations and you are not interested in what is between them.

Travel by train

Railway transport can be very useful and exciting too. It is the fastest way to travel on land. Also, it is relatively comfortable- if you travel on a long-distance trip, you usually book a sleeping carriage. So, you have a bed to sleep in, you can sit, you can even walk inside the train.

Pros:

• This is the fastest on-land type of transportation. And the modern bullet trains can reach almost half of the speed of airplanes.
• For long-distance, you can sleep, sit or walk, not just caught on a seat.
• It is cheaper than flights.

Cons:

• It is still slower than flights.
• It is not very comfortable for some people, and sometimes not so clean.

Trains are also good as basic transportation if the country or other land (province, area) that you are going to explore is not too far, and of course, if it is on the same continent (except between Europe and Asia). They are also good for domestic transportation.

For short-distance trips, you usually don’t need to buy tickets in advance (however, in some countries, in certain seasons or days you need them!), but for long-distance and international railway trips you have to arrange them earlier.

Traveling by bus

Buses are some of the most commonly used public transport. They are a bit slower than the trains (I mean, a bit slower than the slow trains, and much slower than the bullet trains), and also they are less comfortable. Besides, they seldom travel on long-distance trips. But on the other side, there are more paved roads in the world than railways, and there are many destinations that are not reachable by plane or by train.

Pros:

• By bus, you can reach more destinations than by train or by plane.

Cons:

• Usually, you can’t use buses for too long-distance trips.
• They are less comfortable than trains.

Anyway, buses can be used as basic transportation, but mainly for the routes between the points inside a country (land or area) that you are going to explore. And as I mentioned above- some routes are highly saturated with buses, so you don’t need to buy a ticket in advance, but there can be only one or two buses for other routes that are crucial for your itinerary. In this case, you’d better buy a ticket in advance.

Traveling by car

Traveling by car is a great way of transportation too, but mainly for domestic routes, unless you make a long-distance expedition type of journey like “from coast to coast in the USA”, or “from London to Vladivostok by car”. In this case, you normally would use your own car.

But usually, you use car transportation for traveling between points of a domestic route. In other words, you arrive by plane or by train to a starting point of a country (land/area), rent a car from there, and travel on the whole route by this car, until you reach the ending point and return the car. This becomes more complicated when the route is not a domestic loop but a long one-way journey with your own transport, because the car, motorcycle, bicycle, campervan or boat still needs a clear ending plan when the route continues beyond the vehicle’s natural range.

Pros:

• It gives you full independence- you decide where to go, how fast to go, and where to stop for a rest.
• Driving a car makes it not so crucial for your journey- you don’t need to worry about schedules, but only for the other transportation that you would use after your return the car.
• It gives you privacy.

Cons:

• It is still too slow for very long-distance trips, and if you do it anyway, you should have a very long holiday.
• You have more responsibility- safe driving, keeping the car without damage, etc.

In some countries, your foreign driving license or International Driving Permit may not be sufficient to drive legally. However, certain countries offer temporary local driving permits for eligible foreign visitors, so hiring a local driver is not necessarily the only option. Always check the country’s actual requirements and the rental company’s conditions before booking. Hiring a local driver can still be a good alternative, especially in unfamiliar or difficult regions. Although it may cost more and reduce your independence, an experienced local driver can also help you discover places and routes that you might otherwise miss.

Finally, the price depends on how many people are in the car, so they can share all the expenses- rent, fuel, toll fees, parking, etc. On longer overland routes, these expenses expand into a wider route budget that may also include ferries, borders, accommodation, repairs, vehicle shipping, storage and uncertainty.

Traveling by ferry

Ferries provide transportation across seas, lakes, and rivers. They are especially important for connecting islands with the mainland, traveling between islands in an archipelago, and crossing sea gaps between neighboring countries. Some ferry routes are short and frequent, almost like local buses, while others involve overnight or longer international journeys. On busy routes, particularly when traveling with a car, motorcycle, or campervan, booking in advance is often necessary. Smaller local ferries may still allow you to arrive at the port and buy a ticket shortly before departure. Always check the actual schedule, vehicle restrictions, seasonal operation, and booking conditions before depending on a ferry as essential transportation.

Pros:

• The basic, fastest and safest way to travel between islands, or between the mainland and an island.

Cons:

• Not always comfortable, especially for people with seasickness.

Other types of basic transportation

In general- the ways of transport described above are the most common to use for basic transportation. Besides them, many other ways are much slower, but sometimes very exciting and exotic- bicycle, motorcycle, tuk-tuk, tricycle, jeepney, horse riding, etc.

Some adventurous explorers use motorcycles or bicycles for long-distance journeys, and that’s great, but obviously, they are a minority. Most of the travelers would use these vehicles for local, domestic travel, and usually (except jeepneys and tricycles that are used like local buses), they would not be used as basic transportation. You just find such a vehicle, enjoy it nearby, then return it, and that’s all.

On the bodies of water- seas, lakes, and rivers, there are various kinds of private boats- mainly for basic domestic or just local optional transportation. Other types of transport that can be used for long-distance sea voyages are yachts, science, military, and cargo ships. They can be great basic transportation, but it is very difficult to book a trip with them unless you are in these circles. When a route combines roads, rivers, lakes, ferries, islands or sea gaps, transport planning becomes a question of crossing land and water independently, not only choosing one basic transport type. When the water section becomes a serious sea or ocean passage, the problem expands into independent sea travel by boat, where the route depends on vessel type, legal entry points, maritime zones, weather windows, cost, safety and onboard realities.

Among the other types of transport, I would also mention the public city buses, sightseeing buses, city taxis (Uber, Grab, or another service), and metro. But as they are used only within a city, they are not basic transportation too. The most important thing about them is to be careful to not miss your important flight, train or bus due to traffic jams or other obstacles.

Basic transportation resources

As you can see, some of the basic transportation types of travel require booking in advance. Certain websites offer such a service. Some websites are global and for all types of transportation, other websites are local, or only for flights, for trains, for ferries, or for buses.

Finally, you can book tickets from the websites of the local companies. This can be convenient, but if you have to compare the prices and other conditions, you have to open many companies’ websites. Much more convenient would be to open a global website and compare the prices there, then you can still check if the price is the same on a local company’s website.

Global websites for all main types of transport

These are websites for the whole world, and for every type of transportation. Let’s see the most popular ones.

12Go

This is a great website that is focused mainly on destinations in Asia, but in fact, you can find transport options for the whole world. You can compare prices between flights, and between different types of transport, where available- flights, trains, buses, and ferries.

Check your transport on 12Go!

Bookaway

Bookaway is another great website that provides an even better quality of choices, compared to 12Go. It again presents options for every kind of bookable transportation. The main problem is that it currently doesn’t include all the countries in the world, but only some of them, mainly in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. And in some of these countries, it focuses only on some popular resorts. However, it is a fast-developing platform and its range is quickly growing.

Check your transport on Bookaway!

CheapOair

This is a good platform for flights searching. Here you can find a lot of options with a comparison between different air companies. The website is well-arranged, easy, and convenient for searching. In addition, it also provides a search for hotels, car rentals, and packages.

Check your transport on CheapOair!

Trip.com

Trip.com is one of the most comprehensive international travel booking platforms. It offers flights, trains, hotels, rental cars, attractions, and various other travel services, depending on the destination. The platform belongs to Trip.com Group, an international travel company with roots in China and principal executive offices in Singapore. It is particularly useful for comparing transportation and accommodation options in Asia, although its services cover many destinations worldwide.

Check your transport on Trip.com!

Aviasales

Aviasales is a Russian transportation platform, providing results about flights and hotels. It can find even more flights than CheapOair since it includes more air companies. Its main website is in Russian, but they have an English version too, and their partner for flight search is Jetradar, again only in English. In general, the quality of their service is good. 

Check your transport on Jetradar!

Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is an international travel booking platform particularly known for finding flight combinations, including separate tickets from airlines that don’t have direct booking agreements. These self-transfer itineraries can sometimes reduce costs, but they also involve additional risks. If your first flight is delayed, the next airline may not be responsible for a missed connection. You may also need to collect your luggage, pass through immigration, and check in again. Kiwi.com offers various disruption-protection services, but their conditions should be checked carefully before purchasing. For essential transport connections, always compare the overall price and risk with a single through-ticket booked directly through an airline.

Check your transport on Kiwi.com!

Momondo

Momondo is another great transportation search platform that offers results about flights, trains, rental cars, as well as hotels and tour packages. It ranges the whole world, including a rich number of companies and properties. In Momondo you can also read more information about various destinations that the platform can find transportation to.

Check your transport on Momondo!

Cheapflights

This is another excellent transportation search platform, including not only searching for flights, but also hotels, rental cars, and combinations of these. As its name suggests, it first shows the cheapest flight options. And again, it provides a lot of choices, since it works with more than 300 partners (air companies, hotels, travel platforms, etc.).

Check your transport on Cheap Flights!

Rental Car platforms

Most of the above platforms offer rental cars, but there are specialized platforms that are focused primarily on this type of travel, and the options that they provide are much richer. So, let’s take a look at the best ones.

Rental Cars

Rentalcars is one of the major international car rental comparison platforms, offering vehicles from different suppliers in many countries. The available choices and rental conditions depend on the destination. In some countries, foreign visitors may need a locally recognized driving permit, an International Driving Permit, or a temporary national authorization. Therefore, before booking, always verify both the country’s legal driving requirements and the rental company’s conditions, especially for cross-border travel or driving on unpaved roads.

Check for a car on Rental Cars!

Other rental car platforms

There are a lot of other rental car search platforms that can provide a lot of choices, but usually less than Rental Cars. However, the good quality ones provide good quality cars and services, excluding options that could ruin your trip. Here are the best of them:

Auto Europe Avis

Car Rental 8 Hertz

Sixt Zipcar

AirportRentalCars Budget

Discover Cars Economy Bookings

Now, let’s see some local transportation websites that provide transportation options in a particular area.

Local transportation websites

These platforms are focused on a specific country, continent, or area. For example- there are transportation platforms only for Europe, only for the USA, only for China, or only for Malaysia (and partially some neighboring countries in Southeast Asia). There are a lot of local platforms, but let’s see some examples below.

Eurail

Eurail offers railway passes that allow flexible train travel across participating European countries. The Eurail Global Pass covers a network of railway operators in 33 countries, but it doesn’t include every train or railway line in Europe. Some high-speed, international, and overnight services require separate seat reservations or additional fees. Another important detail is that Eurail passes are intended for travelers who live outside Europe. Residents of European countries generally use Interrail instead. Before buying a pass, compare its total cost, including reservations, with ordinary train tickets for your planned itinerary.

Check for a railway pass on Eurail!

Rail Europe

If you anyway prefer just to buy a normal train ticket from station A to station B around Europe, Rail Europe is a better choice. Also, Rail Europe includes more cities and railway stations- not only in Europe but even in the Asian part of Russia and Turkey.

Check for your railway ticket in Rail Europe!

First Choice

First Choice is a British holiday booking platform focused mainly on package holidays and flight-and-hotel combinations from the UK. It offers a wide range of holiday destinations, with options to include transfers, baggage, and other travel services. It is particularly useful for travelers looking for a combined holiday booking rather than arranging every transport and accommodation component separately.

Check for your flights and tours with First Choice!

FlixBus

FlixBus is a major long-distance bus booking platform, with an extensive network across Europe and services in several other regions of the world, including North America and India. It offers domestic and international bus connections, although the available routes depend on the country. It is particularly useful for comparing affordable long-distance bus journeys, but check the exact departure point, baggage conditions, and whether your route involves a connection between different services.

Check for your bus ticket in Flixbus!

Japan Rail

The Japan Rail Pass is a nationwide railway pass for eligible foreign visitors, allowing travel on many services operated by Japan Railways (JR). However, it doesn’t cover every railway company or every train without additional charges. In particular, traveling on Nozomi and Mizuho Shinkansen services requires a special supplementary ticket. Since the pass can be relatively expensive, compare its price with individual train tickets and regional rail passes before buying. It can be useful for itineraries involving several long-distance journeys, but it is not automatically the cheapest option for every trip.

Check for your railway pass on Japan Rail Pass!

Bus Online Ticket

This is the best transportation platform for Malaysia and Singapore. From here, you can book your bus, train, tour, or packages of on-land transportation combined with a hotel or ferry to a nearby island. It also includes the nearby key destinations in Thailand that are connected to Malaysia.

Check for your bus in Malaysia and Singapore!

Qunar

Finally, Qunar is one of China’s major domestic travel booking platforms. It provides information and booking options for flights, hotels, trains, and various other transportation and tourist services. Its main interface is designed primarily for Chinese-speaking users, so foreign visitors who don’t understand Chinese may need a translation tool. However, the ability to complete a booking can also depend on accepted identity documents, payment methods, and the particular service provider. For travelers who prefer an English-language interface, Trip.com may be a more convenient alternative, although the available options are not always identical.

Check for your transportation in China!

These are only examples of local transportation platforms. But if you go to a new country and don’t know their local platforms for transportation, you can always use the global platforms. Again, basic transportation is very important, so these platforms can help you arrange your tickets without the need to go to a travel company, railway station or other places, but just from home.

Practical routes:
For concrete overland and ferry connections between real places, see my dedicated
Transportation Guides hub.

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Krasen and Ying Ying

Hi, we are Krasen and Ying Ying. Krasen is from Bulgaria, and Ying Ying is from China. We are passionate about geography and history, and we believe that the best way to experience it is by exploring the Earth in reality, not in a school, and not virtually.

So, we created this blog Journey Beyond the Horizon, where we share geographical knowledge, travel guides and tips how to experience it when you explore our planet, and a lot of inspiration.

And we wish you a happy journey, not just virtually, but most of all- in reality.

Enjoy!

Krasen and Ying Ying

Hi, we are Krasen and Ying Ying. Krasen is from Bulgaria, and Ying Ying is from China. We are passionate about geography and history, and we believe that the best way to experience it is by exploring the Earth in reality, not in a school, and not virtually. So, we created this blog Journey Beyond the Horizon, where we share geographical knowledge, travel guides and tips how to experience it when you explore our planet, and a lot of inspiration. And we wish you a happy journey, not just virtually, but most of all- in reality. Enjoy!