Getting From Here to There Anywhere in the World with Rome2Rio

Route your adventure and plan for the unknown costs...all in one place

Happy Tuesday, Travel Friends! IT’S SPRING!

The weather is getting warm and I bet you’re starting to dream of sandy beaches or bucket list getaways, aren’t you? I know I am. The world has finally opened up again and I’m ready to go! BUT gas prices…BUT increased airline ticket prices…BUT increased food costs. Will we ever catch a break? It doesn’t seem like it. That’s why it’s more important than ever to plan waaaaayyy ahead for your next holiday. Forward thinking is increasingly becoming the only way to go on a low, low budget. So today, I’m going to share with you yet another tool to add to your tool belt that will help you save money when planning your next big adventure story.

I’ve have talked a lot about frequent flyer mileage travel and I’ll continue to teach you the ins and outs of that. I 100% believe this continues to be the best way to assure a lifestyle of traveling again and again. But today, I want to sidestep the mileage game and share with you where I always start when planning my next adventure and how this step almost always dictates where I will and WON’T travel next.

Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio.com has been around for quite a few years. I really loved them in their early days, before they partnered with Expedia. They are still great for my purposes, but I have to admit that I long for the day when all good things aren’t swallowed up by big companies. That being said, I don’t endorse Rome2Rio’s hotels or tickets because they tend to just be linked to Expedia or some other big brand that you can find anywhere else on the web. Still, Rome2Rio is my FAVORITE when it comes to transporting myself from point A to point B all around the world. This is why I always start with Rome2Rio.com and the Rome2Rio app.

Note: Rome2Rio works great all over the world, even the US. It won’t be as beneficial to US travel simply because here in the states we typically have two modes of travel; by air and by personal car. Rome2Rio is perfect for international travel because there are so many other forms of transportation between cities and countries to choose from and so many moving pieces to figure out when traveling abroad. When you need to know things like the route, options and cost of getting from country to country or museum to museum without a car of your own, Rome2Rio is very accurate and helpful.

My Example

I’m going to share how I use Rome2Rio by giving you my most current personal story.

Today I am dreaming of Seville, Spain. It’s been high on my list for a while, but Seville happens to be a location that I always have trouble finding frequent flyer flights or affordable airline tickets. SO my question today is, what city can I fly into that is close to Seville and then how can I get to Seville from there? Second, how can I get back home, if not from Seville? Enter Rome2Rio.com. By using this website as my travel planning playground, I can search and imagine all kinds of travel itineraries that I never would have thought.

Let’s get started…

By typing in “Seville” and scrolling out on the map, I can see all the other locations close by. Then I can start Google searching flights from Denver to nearby cities, instead. It turns out that my AA frequent flyer miles can get me into Lisbon, Portugal, for 22,500 miles in February 2023 and for only $52.60 in taxes and fees. (for you, you might find a cheap flight instead of using miles) Portugal sounds nice. How about I start there? It’s not so far. Next, I’ll use Rome2Rio to map me from a three night stay in Lisbon to Seville, Spain.

I see that I can take a train, bus, rideshare, rental car or flight from Lisbon to Seville. Rome2Rio tells me how long each mode of transportation will take and how much money each will cost. I think I’ll choose the train/bus option this time because I really want to see the countryside and I LOVE European trains. I’ll get to Seville in 6 hours for about $41 and can purchase tickets directly from the Rome2Rio site if I want. Typically I purchase train tickets from another site called seat61.com, but as far as money planning goes, now I know how much it will cost me to get to Seville and I can iron out the details later.

Note: Both rideshare and flying within Europe is amazingly cheap, too. I could rideshare for 5 hours and $26 or fly for 4 hours and $28. Yes! Fly from one country to another for $28? It’s real. Come on America! See why European travel can be so inexpensive if you can just get across the pond for “almost free?”

After 4 days in Seville, I need to find a route home. Why not go crazy and let’s just try a whole new continent! I’m going to see what it would look like to travel home through Marrakech, Morocco.

On Rome2Rio, Seville to Marrakech is a 4 hour flight for approximately $28. My frequent flyer miles offer me a 3 night stay in Marrakech and then 22,500 miles on a frequent flyer ticket home with taxes and fees of $98.37. Pretty good, huh?

Now I have a tentative plan. Because of Rome2Rio, I have a really good idea of how much money this holiday will cost. I just have to start the process of booking each leg of flights, hotels and in-country transportation OR I can go back to the drawing board and imagine a totally different route, if I so choose.

Here’s the total Rome2Rio lets me know to expect if I do choose Lisbon/Sevilla/Marrakech

If I can find a flight to Lisbon for cheap (which I did with miles for $52.60) then it will cost $45 or less to travel Lisbon to Seville. After a few days in Seville I can either take a bus for $1 or a taxi for $14 from the city center of Seville to the airport (also found on Rome2Rio). My flight to Marrakech will cost about $30 or maybe a bit more. To and from airports in Marrakech costs about $10 each way by taxi and it costs $98.37 for me to fly home (again, with miles). Now all I need are a few great hotels or Airbnb’s and I have a really great template to “guesstimate” this entire 3 COUNTRY European and African holiday.

1. Flight DEN to Lisbon $52.60

2. Hotel Lisbon 3 nights (approx $90/night)

3. Transport Lisbon - Seville $45

4. Hotel Seville 3 nights (approx $90/night)

5. Transport to Seville airport $1-$14

6. Flight to Morocco - $30

7. Transport in Marrakech - $20

8. Airbnb Marrakech 3 nights (approx $70/night)

9. Flight to DEN $98.37

Total $1009.97

*Add 25% for the best-guess-price of this trip, plus food and attractions

Grand Total for 9 nights on 2 continents = $1262.46 plus food and attractions

With Rome2Rio.com, now I have a good starting place in which I can morph, reimagine and configure my next getaway without getting surprised along the way. The possibilities are endless. I can drop Lisbon, start in Morocco or add a night to Seville with this handy tool.

As for me, I’ll probably go back to the drawing board with this particular trip. I try really hard to keep all my solo trips under $1000, so I’ll most likely cut Morocco or Lisbon or maybe even start in a completely new place all together to make my Spain dream come true. Still, it was fun dreaming. One day we shall meet, Seville!

I hope you have fun playing around on Rome2rio.com today!

Happy Travels,

Amy