Skip the TSA Line: Where to Find Travel by Bus, Train, and Boat

Every year without If it fails, the United States faces at least one major disruption to air travel due to severe weather, a government shutdown, software outages, power outages — you name it.

Currently, the partial government shutdown means that thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have not been paid for several weeks, prompting many to stop working or quit. This meant that long security queues – more than three hours of waiting – led to chaos at airports across the country. It is unclear how long this chaos will last, so it is worth considering other options.

Flights are also expensive and have a high impact on the environment. If you can take a bus, train or ferry to your destination, why wouldn’t you? These travel search apps help you find routes and prices so you can compare them and make the best decision.

Andrew

Best for buses and trains in the US and Canada

In the US and Canada, Wanderu is my preferred search aggregator for traveling by bus or train (it works in Europe and the UK too). Wanderu is your classic travel aggregator, looking up timetables and fares across multiple bus and train operators, including Amtrak, BestBus, Flixbus, Greyhound, OrBus, Peter Pan, RedCoach, Vamoose, and others.

You can see price comparisons at a glance, as well as fare upgrade options, departure and arrival times, and the location of each bus and train station, so you can sometimes save a lot of time by choosing one point over another. Filters help you narrow down your results based on your preferences, and you can book directly from the app.

Umeo

Compares trains, buses and flights with excellent summaries

If you’re not sure whether to travel by road or air, head to Umeå. Type your departure point, destination and date you want to travel, and Omio will find routes by plane, bus and train. A brief summary at the top of the search results tells you the lowest price and how long each mode of transportation will take, so you can make an informed decision quickly. Omio also shows whether the price will be higher or lower if you travel on a different day of the same week, if dates are flexible.

Rome2Rio

Includes comparison to driving

Rome2Rio compares prices and travel times by bus, train, flying and driving yourself, based on estimated fuel costs. It works well for trips in the US and Canada. Rome2Rio promotes itself as a worldwide travel destination, although Europe and the UK seem like the place to be. Elsewhere, take a “trust, but verify” approach, and this app will take you places.

Ferrell

Compares buses, trains and flights

Virail is similar to Omio, comparing travel options by train, bus and flight, with a neat summary of prices at the top of search results, although it lacks a total travel time. To do this, you have to scroll through the results. To book a ticket, Virail sends you to other websites, and you may have to perform additional actions to reserve your seat. It works reasonably well in the US and Canada (in testing, it faltered a bit in Mexico), and works well for travel in Europe and the UK.

Vivanoda

Includes flight and carpool

Vivanoda (website only, no app) is similar to Omio, comparing all your options for getting between two points — including flights, ferries, and carpool/rideshare options where applicable. The site operates outside the EU and seems to work slightly better for travel in Europe and the UK than in the US and Canada, where there are some glitches. (No direct flight has been found between San Francisco and Vancouver, for example, although there is more than one daily flight.)

Seat 61

The best old school site for worldwide trains and buses information

Seat61, also known as The Man in Seat 61 (website only), has an old-school look and some of the best and most reliable information about bus and rail travel around the world. Mark Smith, who runs the site, tells you exactly where in the world he knows about train and bus connections: The site lists all the countries it covers on the left-hand side, everywhere from Albania to Zimbabwe. It shares schedules, prices, and even photos, though its site isn’t a search aggregator, and you’ll have to go elsewhere to book. However, it is an excellent resource.