Every day hundreds of people travel from one place to another. They travel to work, to school, or on business. Many people travel for pleasure and travelling has recently become one of the most popular hobbies.
There are two ways of travelling: one is using our own means of transport and the other is to rely on the public transportation services. People and goods can be transported by land, by air or by water.
The main fact that speaks for water transport are the relatively small costs. That is why rivers, seas, and oceans are continuosly being filled with new cargo and passenger vessels. The advantage is that one can take almost as much luggage as one likes. In general not many people have the courage to board a ship because although the trip is inexpensive they can still become sea-sick.
When people travel a long distance they usually travel by air. Travelling by air is exciting, fast, comfortable, relatively, safe but rather expensive. When people choose to travel by plane they usually go or telephone to the airlines or travel agency to get information about flights as well as about reservations and cost of air tickets. It is also usual to confirm the flight at least a week before travelling. At the airport the passengers travelling with international or intercontinental airlines have to show their flight tickets and passports. The passengers must also go through the customs. For air traffic safety both people and luggage have to be checked and metal objects have to be detected.
In such countries as the U.S.A., where the people have to travel long distances to get from one place to another, travelling by air become has become quite common. There are several hundred American airlines, all of them private. They include the most popular and
biggest airline companies such as Pan American, Trans World Airlines, Delta and others.
Travelling by train is the most common form of travelling. Trains are cheap, less polluting, safe but not very clean and comfortable. This refers especially to slow trains which stop at every station. It can also be an advantage as the people have enough time to enjoy countryside. Fast trains and through trains are more comfortable for long distances.
Speaking about the train travel in Europe we should not forget to mention the building of the Channel Tunnel which was open. Direct trains link England with other European cities within 8 to 15 hours.
Coaches are buses for long distance travelling. They are fast, comfortable and the prices of tickets are quite resonable.
Many people consider car the most comfortable means of the travelling and seeing places. Others think it is just a necessity because it is quicker than public transport. But for many people motoring is a pleasure. They enjoy driving a car at a high speed and do not think of the dangers of fast driving. It concerns especially the young drivers who contribute much to the accident rate which is very high. The people's opinions on cars differ quite a lot. They range from ositive to negative ones: The cars are comfortable and quick. They are not safe and rather expensive.
Many young people of all countries of the world like travelling by bike. Some go to school by bike others prefer cycling as a sport or a hobby.
Hitch-hiking is a very special type of travelling. Mostly it is used by young people who are not afraid of taking a risk.
When going abroad we must get necessary documents. First of all a valid passport and a visa (to some countries we still need visa). Besides, we must change money to hard currency in a bank or at an exchange-office. We should knoe foreign languages because it is important for making ourselves understood. Most people all around the world speak English and in Europe German can be used as a world language as well.
In our state there are many state and private travel agencies. Through travel agencies people have their trips, tickets and accomodation reserved.
We can arrange various kinds of trips, e.g.:
cultural trips to well-known historic places (Egypt, Rome, Athens)
recreation stays in various mountains or seaside resorts
beautiful nature in the mountains
Some people prefers package tour because they need not worry about anything, everything is arranged for them.
Around 267 million passengers a year use 5,500 buses on 6,500 km bus routes in London. The busiest place for bus traffic is Trafalgar Square. There are three types of buses: red double-deckers, quick single deck Red Arrow buses, and Green line buses which connect the City with many places in the London area. For fast transport we can go by the Underground. There are also five airports in London. The most important are Heathrow and Gatwick.