Outside of my current hometown of Los Angeles, California, most major cities throughout the world have decent transportation. Of course, as you get further away from large cities, the public transportation services get somewhat more limited. Nonetheless, people in a lot of countries outside of the United States depend on personal autos a whole lot less than most Americans. This means that even though you may be traveling to remote areas, you might still be able to find frugal, reliable public transportation.

Trains especially are a viable and economical method of transport in many non-US countries (with AmTrak often being the only game in town, train options within the US are generally not as attractive). Depending on the countries you are visiting, be sure to check on the availability of a rail pass before you leave the United States. Passes, like the famous Eurail Pass, allow more or less unlimited travel within a designated country or group of countries, for one low price.

The rail passes are often only available to foreign tourists and cannot be purchased once you get to your destination, so be sure to do research and buy before you leave. Below are some of the rail passes we've found. I'm sure there are others. A good search engine like Google.com can help you find what you need in the country you plan on visiting.

• Eurail Pass (website also has info on passes within individual European countries) -- www.eurail.com
• Japan Rail Pass -- http://www.jreast.co.jp/jrp/
• Norway Rail Pass -- http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/norway_railpass.htm
• North American Rail Pass (Canada) -- http://www.viarail.ca/en.econ.cart.amno.html
• India Rail Pass -- http://www.india-travel.com/indrail.htm

You might also check on the availability of bus passes in your destination country. Often the same business entity will run train and bus services and one pass will allow you travel on both systems.

Needless to say, there are many different train and bus passes available, each with its own restrictions. Some can be purchased once you get to your destination, but you'll often get a better deal if you purchased your pass at home, so it pays to do preliminary research on the net. Again, check all the restrictions carefully before buying.

You can also often get bus and rail passes for travel within a certain city. Again, some restrictions, such as not being able to travel during rush hours, may apply to passes. Check the travel offices at major train and bus stations for details of available travel passes.

Backpacker Tours

Many countries also offer "backpacker tours." Find out information about them at a local tourist office or at local youth hostels. How the "tours" work is that you purchase a ticket for a certain amount of time (say 1 week), the tour company has a bus or van that makes a certain route, hitting areas of tourist interest. During the length of your ticket, you can pretty much hop on and off the bus as you wish, spending as much or as little time at each stop as you like (depending on the route the bus may come by once or more per day, or sometimes less frequently). Backpacker tours and youth hostels often attract the same crowd, so there will most often be economical hostels lodgings at stops along the tour's route.

Local Sightseeing Tours

Many major tourist destination cities have sightseeing bus tours available. A lot of independent minded travelers dismiss these bus tours, which usually come complete with a narrator/guide pointing out the important points of interest, as for the tourists who aren't adventurous to explore on their own. While the tours are great for those types of tourists, they can also be a cheap way for a frugal traveler to cover a lot of ground.

The local bus tours often operate much like the backpacker tours mentioned above, but on a smaller scale. Instead of covering a route that takes you through an entire country, the local tour covers a circular route throughout a single city. You're still allowed to get on and off the bus at each stop and stay as long or as little as you like - the bus keeps going and you always know another one will come along in a half hour or so (check the schedules before buying tickets). Especially if you plan on cramming a lot of sight-seeing into a day or two, the price of the tour, which includes the all day transportation options, is often cheaper than paying for individual bus or train tickets each time you want to see something new. It's certainly less expensive than taxis and you are being dropped off at all of the city's important points of interest.

Fabulous Travel Recommends

For tips on adventurous eating the world over, plus information on unique customs and dining etiquette, be sure to check out Richard Sterling's fabulous book The Fearless Diner. Click for more information or to order through Amazon.com.