How do you like getting to your long distance destination poll!

[Metalhead]

I do not mind planes or trains, but I would rather have another root canal than to ride a Greyhound bus again.

 

[DaisyRose]

I get uncomfortable traveling because the adjustment to a new place can be overwhelming. I would like to try and travel in the future and see how it goes. It might be better for me.

 

[Kisa the tea]

Teleportation.

 

[DaisyRose]

Teleportation.

Instant transmission!

https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Instant_Transmission

 

[VictorR]

Planes and Trains.

That being said, aside from the Washington-Philadephia-NYC-Boston and Toronto-Montreal-Quebec routes, trains are generally not that great for intercity travel in North America - frequency and speeds are often lacking.

 

[Princess Viola]

Trains, 100% trains even though I haven't travelled more than like 45 miles by train.

Like I don't mind planes, buses, or other forms of transport like that but I absolutely love and am a bit obsessed with trains and rail transport and if I was given the option (and I didn't have to like get somewhere by a specific date), I would take the train for any long distance trip any time. They're just so comfortable and relaxing to ride. Don't have to worry about traffic and you're not cramped like you are on a plane. Of course, if I was on a long distance train ride, I'd have to book some form of private room on Amtrak rather than just coach class. I've heard the coach seats are very comfortable, but I just couldn't imagine sleeping in one surrounded by all the other passengers. I need my privacy.

I also hate cars and don't even have my license. I hate the car-centric infrastructure we have in this country where you basically need to have a car to go anywhere at all. It's terrible, I do not trust other cars at all and that's why I don't drive. I also hate living in one of the most car-centric areas in the country.

Invest more money into public transport like trains and buses please.

 

[Metalhead]

I want to win the lottery so I can do a cross country road trip in a luxurious stretch limo, making it rain Benjamins on gay male strippers in the back seat through the red states, with tinted windows that make sure nobody knows what I am doing.

 

[Misery]

I guess it depends on just how long it is.

Generally I take my car everywhere. As soon as I cant do that, that's when the problems start.

I hate flying, because I've zero control over anything. And of course you cant exactly be like "well gee, I need a break, let's pull over at this upcoming rest stop and get out for awhile" when you're on a plane.

And as for the bus, well...

Ever play Final Fantasy 6? Ya know Kefka, the villain from that game? My only bus experience consisted of a 5 or so hour bus ride with a friend of mine, and this guy sat next to us and started talking to my friend, and by "started talking" I mean "ranted about Kefka for 5 straight hours somehow".

Yes, that actually happened. It was my first time travelling to Iowa. I made sure that every single time after that was by my car.

That wasnt the dumbest travel experience I've ever had, but it's up there.


And then there's trains.

No. Just no.

My previous house was located very close to some tracks, which I had to cross at least once most days, and those trains just LOVED to do this hilarious little activity called "come to a complete stop right freaking there and sit there for awhile so nobody can get through and we all have to turn around and go entirely around the train".

I never figured out why they did this. And no, there's no train station there. It didnt really make sense.

Gotta say though, years of that gave me a bit of a dislike of the things.

 

[Au Naturel]

Trains, 100% trains even though I haven't travelled more than like 45 miles by train.

Like I don't mind planes, buses, or other forms of transport like that but I absolutely love and am a bit obsessed with trains and rail transport and if I was given the option (and I didn't have to like get somewhere by a specific date), I would take the train for any long distance trip any time. They're just so comfortable and relaxing to ride. Don't have to worry about traffic and you're not cramped like you are on a plane. Of course, if I was on a long distance train ride, I'd have to book some form of private room on Amtrak rather than just coach class. I've heard the coach seats are very comfortable, but I just couldn't imagine sleeping in one surrounded by all the other passengers. I need my privacy.

I also hate cars and don't even have my license. I hate the car-centric infrastructure we have in this country where you basically need to have a car to go anywhere at all. It's terrible, I do not trust other cars at all and that's why I don't drive. I also hate living in one of the most car-centric areas in the country.

Invest more money into public transport like trains and buses please.

Amtrack has some lovely routes up and down the west coast. If you aren't on a really popular route, Amtrack really lacks options. They'll put you on a bus instead.

 

[Au Naturel]

I want to win the lottery so I can do a cross country road trip in a luxurious stretch limo, making it rain Benjamins on gay male strippers in the back seat through the red states, with tinted windows that make sure nobody knows what I am doing.

Don't forget the drag show when passing through a state trying to pass laws against them.

 

[Georgia Galaxy]

I'm not necessarily used to travelling long distances, but I ~enjoy~ the thrill of being somewhere else

 

[Gerontius]

TRAINS. Let me pack my boxes & get on a train, so the engineer & the dispatchers can do all the driving and I can actually enjoy my vacation instead of having to do everything a train driver does plus steer when I'm driving the car.

@Princess Viola, I think I can agree with you on the car-centric stuff; I loved cars until I ended up having to rely on one & I think I'd love to give that thing a Kentucky tune-up --push it off the edge of a holler or a ravine and let trees grow up through it.

@Metalhead I suppose there is someone out there in some circle of Catholic Hell who is going to scream at me if I share this story but the only carload of gay guys I know who went across the U.S. making it rain $100 bills in a car, were one of my friends & some of his buddies--about five enterprising fellows of the lavender persuasion, stuck in a clapped-out Ford crossing a huge chunk of the Midwest. The car was a 1914 touring and I do not think it even had the electric starting & lighting circuit on it. The pictures I saw showed everyone crammed in that thing with arms & legs & heads all stuck out of the sides of the car where the windows would've been (a touring car hasn't got any windows of course.) I guess being gay or being really good friends was the only way to make that kind of close quarters tolerable for all those miles. All I can say is, more power to them for keeping on the road, and the pictures were hilarious.

As for the $100 bills, I can about guarantee you that none of those fellows ever bought a car that actually worked.

 

[Shevek]

My favourite mode of transport is bike touring with camping in nice weather. I've done some air travel, but not lately. The small planes were fun- half the time, I got a front seat. I don't know why it was available so often. The 747 really should have had a front wnidow on the passenger deck promenade.
I've done some pretty epic car trips, and now I have a car that gets great mileage and is totally fitted out for preparing my usual food, and sleeping, etc, but I still can't sleep well enough after a day's travel even at home.

 

[Jeff T]

My own vehicles. I love having the freedom change my route at a whim, to camp or stay at an old 'motorcourt' motel. To go offroading/camping/whatever in the mega-acreage public lands here in the western states (1/3 to 2/3 of total land area).
But when traveling to a RHD country, then it's airplanes and trains. I'd be a hazard to others driving in an RHD country.

 

[Luca]

Travel is actually one of my special interests, and I travel frequently. But I’m picky about how I get places.

I drive a lot. I’m embarrassed to say how many miles my car has on it and how much I spend on gas.

I hate planes, although I used them a lot before the pandemic. Not so much anymore, which is a relief.
I have a phobia of plane crashes, and the worst part about planes is that you can’t get off. You’re trapped for the entirety of the flight.
I don’t sleep on overnight flights because I’m scared.

I feel very uncomfortable on public transportation, especially since it’s not that safe where I live, for two reasons: unreliable trains and buses that often break down or are super late, and also creepy or malicious people hanging out in train and bus stations, who sometimes follow and harass women or rob people.
The commuter trains here are much safer (they do break down sometimes though) but they are expensive. It’s $10 one way into the city from my location. I live near a commuter train station but I hardly ever use it.
They are good if you want to go into the city without looking for parking or if you want to drink, and if you want to get to a neighboring state faster than driving (I believe they only go to one other state though, and only to a specific city, they’re not widespread like the Amtrak trains.)

I don’t like Greyhound/Peter Pan type buses either, coincidentally I was telling someone a story about that recently.

Taxis, limos, and rideshares are expensive, and I’m also apprehensive about using them by myself. I’m not very trusting of strangers to begin with and I really don’t want to get in someone’s car if I’ve never met them. I know it’s supposed to be regulated but terrible things have still happened to people.

I don’t mind Acela/Amtrak trains, although the first time I went on one by myself, I was not expecting it to be as fast as it was and I was kind of terrified.
Nothing is really preventing me from using them again though. But the range is also kind of limited like VictorR mentioned.

Cruise ships are an absolute no unless it’s like a two hour dinner cruise or something. They are almost as terrifying as planes.
Also, same issue as planes. You can’t get off.

I don’t know how to drive an RV or a motorcycle, and don’t have access to either at the moment, but that might be kind of interesting to try.
I own a van but not an RV.

I live right across the street from a ferry port, and it’s the only form of public transportation here that I like. I love being on boats anyway but it’s much safer and more reliable than the subway trains or the buses.

So for long distance travel, if it isn’t somewhere I can get in a car, I would prefer a ferry, or an Acela train. I hate flying on planes unless I absolutely have to.

This thread has just revealed a bunch of my phobias lol

 

[Raggamuffin]

Never been a big fan of travel. Funny really, most people are expecting me to be travelling all over the place in my van. In reality I'll still be quite local. It's more about the freedom of my own space, than the freedom of the open road and travelling all over the country, or Europe.

Personally being far from home always made me feel unsettled. Being abroad even moreso. If I do have to travel it'll invariably be in my car. I am wanting to go for my bike license. Probably stick with a 125cc again. Pair that with obtaining the 7.5t license and then I can uprate my van, have a 125cc bike mounted on the back. Job done.

I don't like boats, open water or air travel. I know man has been doing it for a long time - but I don't think we belong in the air or water. Of course most of what I buy and own means that air and water travel is a necessity, but not for me. I guess driving on the roads is dangerous too. I'm a careful driver though. But flying and water travel unnerve me a lot.

I don't mind trains, except for the price. I hate the Underground though. The smell, the heat, the crowds. London just makes me feel unnerved in general. Plus, there's a 50/50 chance on the underground of getting on a train going the opposite direction. Now a 50/50 chance means decent odds, but I can guarantee you I'm over 70% likely to go the wrong way.

Ed

 

[Bolletje]

Airplanes. I do like traveling by train, but trains around here are usually very full, and toilets are few, dirty and sometimes completely out of order. Can’t book a train seat, so sometimes have ended up standing for hours and almost passing out. In an ideal world where I could just sit in my own small train compartment with access to proper toilets, I would travel everywhere by train.
(Yes, toilets are very important to me during travel, I have IBS and travel anxiety is a major trigger).

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I don't travel much, though it is fun at the right times. I find I need to prepare myself for the change in routine, not to mention how long I have to travel, and how I'll get there (such as expressways instead of calmer roads). I almost always drive. I don't like planes because they're very boring and stifling, and I feel like I always end up next to someone who is sick, or can't stop talking while I try to read, or both. Also, they're kind of like a lot of concerts, to me: long travel to get there; lots of waiting; stuck too close to people; and minimal pleasure. I like the idea, but not so much the reality.

When I do travel, it is almost always to get away. I tend to avoid crowded destinations or tourist spots. I like finding odd little towns or small cities to explore, to see how people really live (or lived) and study unusual things. For example, I once drove a few hours to my state's second largest city, by size, not population. I never heard of this place, but was curious based on this piece of trivia. It was interesting to see the differences in their culture, though it wasn't all that far. I also spent a lot of time in a big, national forest there. It was very fun.

 

[Au Naturel]

My own vehicles. I love having the freedom change my route at a whim, to camp or stay at an old 'motorcourt' motel. To go offroading/camping/whatever in the mega-acreage public lands here in the western states (1/3 to 2/3 of total land area).
But when traveling to a RHD country, then it's airplanes and trains. I'd be a hazard to others driving in an RHD country.

Freedom and discovery are what road trips are all about.

 

[Rodafina]

Spaceship.

Otherwise hot air balloon.

Last choice, lovely road trip in my own car, by myself.