Whenever you go somewhere, it is rare that you will be staying in the same spot the entire time. Whether that is transporting from your accommodation to the beach, to the airport, or to another town nearby, you will need to get from point A to point B. As an overall resource, Rome2Rio.com is a great option to compare/contrast the different ways of getting around, both public and private.

Public Transport

Busses, ferries, and trains are often available depending on the city/country you are in. Despite taking more time than private options, they are almost always cheaper. However, one thing to keep in mind is that there are almost always both public and private options for busses, boats, and trains. One will usually be significantly less expensive. Public transportation usually only takes cash as payment as well, especially in developing countries. In Central America, chicken busses are the classic public commute options, with everyone (and their pets) being squished into a retired school bus to get around the city.

Private Transport

Many private transport options exist, but they are often more expensive. Taking an uber, a taxi, or a chartered bus or boat will up the price, but may provide you with more comfort than public transport would.

Another option for private transport is renting a car, which will be discussed in an additional inquiry post.

On their blog, Nomadic Matt has some super cool visuals of how far different cities are from each other and the different lengths of time based on the transportation options. On this Central America post, they have a grid of the flight time vs. the bus time. This allows you to consider this and then consider the cost difference for the two of them (we know flights are almost always more expensive).