Camels, gondolas, tuk-tuks: Overrated (and underrated) ways to get around

A tick for LA, which actually has a good rail system, and a thumbs down for camel travel. Read on for Traveller’s pick of the transport stars, and others that are still getting there.

Overrated

Jet-ski/Jet-boat tours

Jet-ski tours… you probably ran over 15 turtles without even knowing it.Credit: Justin McManus

Unless you’re 14 or under, you’ll take a jet-boat or jet-ski tour and think: why? Your ears are still ringing, your clothes smell of fuel and there’s salt crusted deep in your ears. And the wake you create helps destroy fragile native habitat in the stunning surrounds you’ve paid to come and see on holiday. You probably ran over 15 turtles without even knowing it.

Kuranda Scenic Railway, Cairns, Qld

This attraction in Far North Queensland takes you in vintage carriages from Cairns to Kuranda on the tablelands, but the two-hour trip only fleetingly delivers on scenery, as you climb amid trees for much of the time. Kuranda, meanwhile, is filled with car parks and souvenir shops. See ksr.com.au

Camel rides

Camel riding: on paper it’s romantic, in real life? Give it a miss.Credit: Getty Images

You’re excited to take a camel ride, imagining a romantic sunset experience or the opportunity to channel your inner-Lawrence of Arabia. Instead, you lurch atop a stinky, unhappy beast over which you have little control, constantly worried about being tossed onto the sand, and so uncomfortable – if not seasick – that you can’t wait for it to end.

Tuk-tuk rides, Bangkok, Thailand

Tuk-tuks… now just novelty transport.Credit: Getty Images

Tuk-tuks once provided a genuine local experience and white-knuckle ride as you careered through Bangkok traffic, inhaling fumes, tipping around corners, and grinning at other passing passengers. But tuk-tuks have mostly gone, and those that remain are overpriced tourist traps more likely to deliver you to the driver’s cousin’s shop than your requested destination.

Underground, London, UK

Yes, it’s famous, you feel as if you’re travelling around the Monopoly board, and the route map is an unbeatable design icon. But stations are tired and grubby, trains frequently delayed and overcrowded, and you don’t see anything. Clamber to the upper deck of a double-decker bus – another transport classic – and admire streetscapes instead. See tfl.gov.uk

Gondola rides, Venice, Italy

A 30-minute jaunt down Venice’s canals can cost as much as $130.Credit: iStock

By all means spend €80 ($130) on a 30-minute gondola ride down smelly back canals lined by peeling palazzi, where you push past other gondolas full of bemused tourists, and get photographed by people on passing bridges. Or spend €9.50 for 75-minutes on a vaporetto (water bus) past major sights, and be wowed. See visitvenezia.eu

Large cruise ships in Antarctica

Incredibly beautiful, incredibly fragile: Antarctica is especially vulnerable to cruise tourism, with the threat of fuel spills and the inadvertent introduction of foreign flora and fauna to the White Continent. If your ship has more than 500 passengers, you aren’t allowed to disembark onto the continent anyway, so what’s the point? Go see an iceberg or glacier in southern Chile.

Mountain biking

Embrace the real prospect of falling – at best onto rock-hard ground, at worst into the abyss.Credit: iStock

Summer alpine resorts are magnificent: hiking in wildflower-strewn meadows, floating down rivers on lilos, chair-lifting to the summit to absorb the views. But there’s one activity, mountain biking, that’s in a word, terrifying. The unnatural pitch over handlebars. Skidding in gravel. The real prospect of falling – at best onto rock-hard ground, at worst into the abyss. No sir.

Early cruise disembarkation

Surely the worst part of a cruise is the morning of disembarkation. Unceremoniously booted out of cabins at what feels like dawn’s crack (usually around 8am) so that stewards can prepare for incoming guests, it takes all the fun out of farewell celebrations the night before. Can we agree to push back check-out and check-in times?

Underrated

Los Angeles public transport

Rail in Los Angeles has begun to flourish.Credit: iStock

People assume getting around the City of Angels involves being stuck in traffic on sprawling freeways – but why not zip through neighbourhoods by rail for a mere $US1.75 fare? Centred on the Downtown, LA Metro Rail’s network of underground trains and light rail vehicles reaches popular places such as Santa Monica and Hollywood – with a station connecting to LAX’s new “people mover” shuttle coming soon. See metro.net

Grab ride-share

Grab, South-East-Asia’s version of Uber, takes the stress out of getting around.Credit: Getty Images

Grab, South-East-Asia’s version of Uber, makes zipping around cities easier and stress-free. Available in 500 cities across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam, the app connects passengers not only with private taxis, but also with budget options like tuk-tuks. Pre-paying by card negates the need for cash, while fixed fares eliminate price gouging by dodgy operators. See grab.com

Price guarantees

Gotta love certainty in an uncertain world. Google Flights offers a price guarantee on select itineraries that are found on their search engine and booked on an airline or travel agency’s website. Google Flights will monitor the price until your departure: if it drops, they’ll refund the difference. Genius-level Booking.com customers may be eligible for price-drop credits for use on future reservations if the price of a booked hotel goes down.

Lime electric scooters

Skip the traffic jams… Lime scooters.Credit: Scott McNaughton

Bring out your inner-teen or skip the traffic jams and save the tread on your shoes by taking a scooter instead. Nothing beats the jump-on, jump-off simplicity of hiring a scooter using an app that works in countries all over the world. Just find a scooter and ride until you’ve had enough – then just park and sign off.

Citymapper app

Now covering all of Europe, the US and Canada, Sydney and Melbourne, key cities in Asia and a few in the rest of the world, Citymapper is the next-generation helper to getting around. It’s particularly good for using public transport, telling you when, and where, your next bus, train or tram is for your destination. Directions are clear with also lots of walking and cycling routes.

New Zealand trains

Tranz Alpine Scenic Train line from Christchurch to Greymouth – spectacular scenery.

Travellers often take short flights between New Zealand’s major cities, but why not catch the train? Designed with international visitors in mind, carriages on the three long-distance passenger routes (linking Auckland, Wellington, Picton, Christchurch and Greymouth via ferry across Cook Strait) have lots of window space for sightseeing, good food, and friendly service. There’s even an open-sided carriage for taking those perfect scenic photos. See greatjourneysnz.com

Ride Istanbul’s ferries

A ferry ride on the Bosphorus… magical.Credit: Getty Images

Crossing the Bosphorus Strait by ferry is one of the world’s best cheap thrills. With Istanbul straddling two continents, you can hop from Asia to Europe with a simple wind-in-your-hair ride for just a few bucks. Head out onto the water at sunset and the journey becomes even more magical.

High-speed Italian trains

Frecciarossa at Roma Termini.Credit: Getty Images

Reaching speeds of up to 400km/h, Italy’s Frecciarossa trains are so fast, comfortable and reliable, you could be forgiven for thinking you’re on the famously efficient Swiss rail network. More than 120 daily connections, from the north to the south of “the boot”, makes it easy to explore Italy by rail. See italiarail.com

Free city walking tours
There’s never a better start to a visit to an unknown city than a walking tour that gives you an idea of the layout, how to get around, where the highlights are and how the locals view them. And even better, when it’s free. Of course, you’re asked at the end for a donation, but that’s a magical guarantee that it’s got to be good.

Bike tours

Bikes & Hikes LA shows you 56 kilometres of LA in five hours.

Big global cities notorious for traffic are a breeze on a bicycle tour. In fact, the bigger the city, the better the bike tour. When there’s no traffic to consider you won’t believe how much you’ll see in a few hours. Bikes & Hikes LA shows you 56 kilometres of LA in five hours, Fat Tire Tours show you 40 kilometres of London in half a day (consider an e-Bike).

This train nerd rules

The Man in Seat 61, aka Mark Smith, knows what he’s talking about when it comes to trains and timetables as he formerly managed several English train stations and helped regulate rail fares. While seat61.com isn’t the slickest website around, it’s in a class of its own when it comes to providing ultra-detailed train information, especially for Europe.

Contributors: Ben Groundwater, Belinda Jackson, Brian Johnston, Katrina Lobley, Kristie Kellahan, Rob McFarland, Julie Miller, Tim Richards, Sue Williams