Trains vs Road Trips: Why our family often chooses rails over roads while overseas

Road trips have an undeniable pull for our family. There’s just nothing lie the freedom that come from a wide open road and a full tank of gas, with nothing but adventure on the schedule.

In the US, we usually spend as much time camping across the country as we do visiting with family and friends. And overseas, we’ve had some pretty great road trips too, including a self-drive safari in Kruger, and seeking out hidden waterfalls in the Philippines!

But when we’re traveling in places where we don’t feel comfortable driving ourselves, where it isn’t legally possible to drive as a visitor, or where trains are how locals get around too, it’s hard to deny that trains are the better option.

What Driving Actually Costs You

The classic road trip promises freedom: go at your own pace, stop whenever something catches your eye, pack the car with everything you might need. That’s real, and it’s part of why we love it, in the right places.

But it’s also only half the story, especially somewhere unfamiliar. Long drives can mean navigating unfamiliar road rules, bumping into language barriers at gas stations, and the very real chance that Google Maps will take you down a dirt road you weren’t ready for.

What Changes When You Take the Train

Trains, on the other hand, gives the responsibility for getting there over to someone else and changes the whole shape of a trip. There’s no traffic to get stuck in, no navigation stress in a place where you don’t know the roads, no detours to find gas. You get to watch the landscape instead of the road.

For families, this matters more than it might seem. Kids can move around, play, or just watch the world go by instead of staying strapped in for hours. Everyone gets more of the trip back, and there’s a lot less “are we there yet.”

High-speed rail has made this even more practical in many parts of the world. The China high-speed rail network is a good example: it connects huge distances at a speed and comfort level that would be impossible to match by car. In places like this, trains aren’t a fallback, they’re how everyone travels, locals included, and that’s part of what makes them such an easy choice for us too.

The Practical Upsides

Trains often make better use of your time. Overnight routes let you cover long distances while you sleep, cutting both travel time and a night’s hotel cost. Daytime routes with Wi-Fi and power outlets mean you can actually get things done while in transit, or just read and plan your next stop.

Trains generally use less energy and produce fewer emissions per passenger than cars or planes, too, which is a nice bonus. Plus, train stations tend to sit right in the middle of city centers, unlike most airports. Step off the train and you’re often a short walk or a quick metro ride from your hotel and the sights you came to see!

Journeys Where the Train Is the Whole Point

Some routes are worth taking specifically because they’re on rails. Amtrak’s California Zephyr through the American West, or The Ghan crossing Australia coast to coast, aren’t just transportation. They’re the entire experience. You watch a landscape and culture shift gradually in a way flying skips entirely, and usually pick up a few good conversations with strangers along the way.

It’s not that we’ve entirely traded road trips for trains. It’s that we’ve learned to read each destination for what actually makes sense there, whether that’s a rental car and an open highway or a window seat with someone else doing the driving.