For backpackers doing multi-city trips across trains, buses, ferries, and sometimes rideshares, the best platforms usually fall into two buckets:

1. Trip planners / route discovery
2. Booking platforms / fare comparison

Here are the strongest options by use case:

Best all-around route planners

1. Rome2Rio

Best for: Seeing how to get anywhere, fast
Why it’s good:

• Shows combinations of train, bus, ferry, flight, car
• Great for multi-city inspiration and rough planning
• Useful when you don’t know which transport mode exists between two places

Limitations:

• It’s better for route discovery than exact planning
• Booking links can be inconsistent
• Timetables and prices are not always fully reliable

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2. Omio

Best for: Comparing and booking intercity transport in Europe and beyond
Why it’s good:

• Combines trains, buses, and some ferries/flights
• Clean interface for multi-leg travel
• Good for comparing price vs speed

Limitations:

• Coverage is strongest in Europe
• Sometimes not the cheapest compared with booking direct

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3. 12Go

Best for: Southeast Asia and long-distance bus/ferry/train combos
Why it’s good:

• Excellent for places like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia
• Strong on bus + ferry + train combinations
• Very backpacker-friendly

Limitations:

• Coverage varies by country
• Not always the lowest price, but very convenient

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Best for trains

4. Rail Planner / Eurail app

Best for: Eurail/Interrail pass users
Why it’s good:

• Great for planning rail journeys in Europe
• Helpful for pass reservations and schedules

Limitations:

• Best only if you’re using a rail pass
• Not ideal as a full multimodal planner

5. Trainline

Best for: European train booking and comparison
Why it’s good:

• Easy to use
• Good for many European rail networks
• Helpful for seat reservations and ticket storage

Limitations:

• Mostly train-focused
• Not comprehensive for buses/ferries

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Best for buses

6. FlixBus

Best for: Cheap long-distance buses in Europe and beyond
Why it’s good:

• One of the largest low-cost coach networks
• Good for budget backpacking
• Often integrates smoothly with urban hubs

Limitations:

• You’re booking one operator, not comparing all bus options

7. Busbud

Best for: Cross-operator bus comparison
Why it’s good:

• Compares buses from multiple providers
• Useful in North America, Europe, Latin America, and elsewhere
• Good fallback when other planners don’t show bus options clearly

Limitations:

• Coverage varies by region
• Sometimes less accurate than local operator sites

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Best for ferries

8. Direct ferry operator sites

Best for: Final booking
Why it’s good:

• Ferries are often best booked directly
• Better for baggage rules, boarding info, and schedule changes

Common ferry aggregators:

• Direct Ferries
• Ferryhopper (especially Greece and nearby islands)
• 12Go in Asia

Limitations:

• Aggregators can miss some local routes

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Best for flexible backpacking itinerary planning

9. Google Maps + saved places

Best for: General trip structuring and logistics
Why it’s good:

• Easy to map multi-city routes
• Useful for travel time estimates and nearby connections
• Great when paired with a transport planner

Limitations:

• Not a full intercity booking tool
• Public transport coverage varies by country

10. Wanderlog

Best for: Organizing a backpacking route across cities
Why it’s good:

• Great for building a multi-stop itinerary
• Lets you save places, notes, and route order
• Good for collaborative trip planning

Limitations:

• Not a transport booking platform
• Best used alongside Rome2Rio/Omio/12Go

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Best platform by region

Europe

• Rome2Rio for discovery
• Omio for booking/comparison
• Trainline for trains
• FlixBus for budget buses
• Ferryhopper for islands

Southeast Asia

• 12Go is usually the top choice
• Rome2Rio for checking possible connections
• Direct operator sites for final booking when available

Latin America

• Busbud
• Rome2Rio
• Local bus operator websites

Worldwide trip planning

• Rome2Rio + Google Maps + Wanderlog
• Then book with Omio, 12Go, Trainline, Busbud, or direct operator sites depending on region

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Best practical setup for backpackers

If you want the simplest reliable workflow:

1. Use Rome2Rio to find possible routes
2. Use Omio / 12Go / Trainline / Busbud to compare and book
3. Use Google Maps or Wanderlog to organize your itinerary
4. Book ferries directly when possible
5. Check operator websites for the final timetable before traveling

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My top 5 picks overall

If I had to narrow it down:

1. Rome2Rio — best for route discovery
2. Omio — best general booking app for Europe
3. 12Go — best for backpacking in Southeast Asia
4. Trainline — best for European trains
5. Wanderlog — best for itinerary organization

If you want, I can also give you:

• a region-by-region shortlist
• the best apps for budget backpackers
• or a sample workflow for planning a 2–4 week multi-country trip