The 15 Countries With the Best Transportation

While it’s more likely a traveler planning a vacation will look at the availability of flights rather than the density of paved roads, being able to get around in a country is equally important.

In the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, countries are ranked on their attractiveness for tourists based on 14 categories, including ground and port infrastructure. The report measures countries on the quality of their ports, roads and railroads; the density of both their paved roads and total number of roads; and the efficiency of their ground transport.

Related: The best country in the world for a vacation

With the proliferation of companies like Uber and Lyft, in many cities it’s easier than ever to hail a cab, but across many of the top destinations in this category there’s no need. For anyone who’s ever purchased a Eurail pass on a semester abroad, it won’t come as a surprise that many of the countries with the best railroad density — that is, the most miles of railroad per square mile of country — are in Western Europe. But the best countries for ground travel don't stop there.

These are the 15 countries where it's easiest to get around.

Ground Transportation

There are many different ways to get around the globe: by land, by sea, and by air. And when it comes to ground transportation, Travel + Leisure can help you navigate the diverse (and sometimes complicated) systems.

After all, travelers can explore by foot or by bike; by car, van, or camper; by train — be it luxury travel like the luxurious Orient Express, or more mundane methods like the public subway — by bus, tram, streetcar; by funicular or by cable car; by golf cart or by Segway; by horse or by camel; even hopping in an Uber or hailing a classic New York City yellow cab.

Ground transportation touches just about everything the ground itself does. Travelers can now hail a taxi in Paris created exclusively for women, but should know that your Uber app won’t be of use during trips to London, where the ride-sharing company recently lost its license to operate.

Sometimes, ground transportation isn’t just about getting around — it’s also the main attraction. In Chicago, visitors can explore the underground Pedway tunnels beneath the downtown Loop, and learn about new plans to revitalize them.

And while it may not seem as luxurious as cruising or flying, ground transportation can still be impressive. On Travel + Leisure, for example, you can read about two 23-year-olds who took an old fashioned, but now relatively rare, route across the United States: by hitchhiking.

And while nothing is as basic or low-tech as taking a hike, ground transportation can be seriously forward-thinking and futuristic, too. Here, you can puzzle out the implications of Elon Musk’s proposed high-speed Hyperloop route from New York City to Washington, D.C., which promises a 29-minute inter-city commute.

Though flying is (usually) faster, ground transportation gets you places no plane can: whether it’s a motorbike on the back roads of Bali or a bucket list trek to the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Get the most useful tips on traveling by cars, buses, trains, bikes, and good old fashioned feet here at Travel + Leisure.