Every year, without fail, the United States is experiencing at least one major disruption to air travel due to severe weather, government shutdowns, software crashesOr power outages– you name it.
Currently, a partial government shutdown means thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have not been paid for several weeks, prompting many of them to call out of work or resign. This led to long lines for security checks – more than three hours of waiting – leading to chaos at airports across the country. There’s no telling how long this mess will last, so it’s worth thinking about other options.
Thefts are also costly and harmful to the environment. If you can take a bus, train or ferry to reach your destination, why not? These travel search apps help you find routes and prices so you can compare them and make the best decision.
Wanderu
Ideal for buses and trains in the United States and Canada
In the United States and Canada, Wanderu is my go-to search aggregator for bus or train travel (it also works in Europe and the UK). Wanderu is your classic travel aggregator, searching schedules and prices for multiple bus and train operators, including Amtrak, BestBus, Flixbus, Greyhound, OurBus, Peter Pan, RedCoach, Vamoose and others.
You see price comparisons at a glance, as well as higher class fare options, departure and arrival times and the location of each bus and train station, because sometimes you can 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.
Omi
Compares trains, buses and flights with excellent summaries
If you are unsure whether you want to travel by land or air, go to Omi. Enter your starting point, destination and date you want to travel, and Omio finds flight, bus and train routes. A concise summary at the top of the search results shows you the lowest fare and time required for each mode of transportation, so you can quickly make an informed decision. Omio also shows whether the fare will be higher or lower if you travel on a different day in the same week, in case your dates are flexible.
Rome2Rio
Includes comparison for driving
Rome2Rio compares prices and times for bus, train, plane and car travel, based on estimated fuel costs. This works quite well for travel within the United States and Canada. Rome2Rio bills itself as being aimed at worldwide travel, although Europe and the UK seem to be its sweet spot. Elsewhere, take the “trust, but verify” approach, and this app will take you on a journey.
Turn
Compare buses, trains and flights
Turn is similar to Omio, comparing train, bus and plane travel options, with a neat summary of prices at the top of search results, although it lacks the total journey time. To do this, you need to scroll through the results. To book a ticket, Virail directs you to other websites and you may need to take additional steps to reserve your place. It works reasonably well in the US and Canada (in testing it stumbled a bit in Mexico) and is good for travel in Europe and the UK.
Vivanoda
Includes flight and rideshare
Vivanoda (website only, no app) is similar to Omio, comparing all your options for getting between two points and includes flights, ferries and rideshare/share options where available. The site operates outside the European Union and appears to work slightly better for travel in Europe and the United Kingdom than in the United States and Canada, where it has some shortcomings. (He couldn’t find a direct flight from San Francisco to Vancouver, for example, even though there are more than one a day.)
Seat 61
Best old-fashioned site for worldwide train and bus information
Seat61also known as The Man in Seat 61 (website only), has an old-school look and some of the best and most reliable information on travel by bus and train all over the world. Mark Smith, who runs the site, tells you exactly where in the world he knows the train and bus lines: the site lists all the countries it covers on the left-hand side, everywhere in the world from Albania to Zimbabwe. He shares times, prices and even includes photos, although his site is not a search aggregator and you have to go elsewhere to book. That said, it’s a great resource.