Rome2Rio Review: Free Routes Across 10 Million Places, Owned by Omio Since 2019

Rome2Rio is a free travel planner that answers one question better than almost anything else: how do I get from here to there? Type in Seville and Tangier, or a hotel in Kyoto and a temple in the hills, and it lays out every combination of train, bus, ferry, flight, taxi and walking it knows about, with rough times and prices. We like it for its sheer reach (more than 10 million locations) and for the way it stitches different modes into a single journey you might never have thought of.

It is a planner, not a travel agent, and its estimates can be optimistic. Here is our Rome2Rio review: what it does well, where it trips up, how booking and refunds really work and how it compares with Omio and Google Maps.

Offer detail	What you get
Promo Code	None needed. Rome2Rio has no paid plan and no promo codes
Welcome offer	Unlimited free route searches on the website and the iOS and Android apps
Who qualifies	Anyone; no account needed to search
Key terms	Ticket prices, terms and refunds are set by the partner you book with, not Rome2Rio
How to claim	Search on rome2rio.com or in the app, then follow a booking link if you want to buy

Rome2Rio at a glance

• Owner: Rome2rio Pty Ltd, part of the Omio Group since 2019
• Launched: 2011 (some reports say 2010), in Melbourne, Australia
• Platforms: web, iPhone, iPad and Android
• Free plan: yes; the whole service is free, supported by ads and booking partners
• Paid from: no paid tier
• Offline use: no dedicated offline mode
• Ratings: App Store (UK) 4.6/5 from 281 ratings; Google Play 4.6/5 from 6.49k reviews

Our verdict

Rome2Rio is the best first search for an awkward journey. It shows options that rail sites and flight engines miss, such as a bus to a ferry port and a boat across, and it costs nothing. But treat its times and fares as a sketch, not a timetable. Check the operator’s own site before you commit, book directly where you can, and do not expect Rome2Rio to sort out a refund for you.

Pros

• Completely free, with no account needed
• Huge coverage: 10 million+ locations, 240+ countries and territories, 20,000+ operators
• Combines modes in one route (train plus ferry plus bus), which few rivals do
• Gives a budget figure for the whole journey at a glance
• App privacy label says the data it collects is not linked to you

Cons

• Times and prices are estimates and are sometimes well off, especially taxis and rural buses
• No offline mode
• Bookings go through partners, so refunds and problems are not Rome2Rio’s to fix
• Ads on the site and in the app
• Google Play listing says collected data cannot be deleted

What Rome2Rio does and who it is for

Rome2Rio searches door to door between any two points: cities, airports, hotels, street addresses or landmarks. It then compares routes by cost, speed and convenience. According to its App Store listing, nearly half of its results combine more than one type of transport.

A few times it earns its keep:

• You are in Naples and fancy two nights on an island. Rome2Rio can line up the hydrofoil to Capri, the ferry to Ischia and the bus and boat combination to Procida in one screen, with rough journey times for each.
• You have a flight into Porto and a wedding in a village two hours inland. It suggests train to the nearest town, then a bus or taxi for the last stretch, so you can see whether hiring a car is worth it.
• You are planning a slow trip from London to Morocco without flying. It strings together Eurostar, Spanish trains and the Tarifa ferry, which no single booking site will do.

It suits independent travellers, interrailers and anyone planning a multi-stop holiday. Commuters looking for which bus is due in four minutes are better off with a city app such as Citymapper.

Is Rome2Rio free? Free vs paid features

Yes, entirely. There is no subscription, no premium tier and no in-app purchase on the UK App Store. Searches are unlimited, and you do not need an account. Rome2Rio pays its way through advertising on the site and app, and through partners such as FlixBus, Trenitalia, Renfe, SNCF, Amtrak and Japan Rail, whose booking pages it links to.

Rome2Rio price: what you actually pay

What	UK price	US$	€
Rome2Rio app and website	Free	Free	Free
Route searches	Free, unlimited	Free	Free
Tickets	Set by the operator or booking partner	Varies	Varies

The cheapest way to pay for the journey itself: use Rome2Rio to find the route, then compare the price on the operator’s own website. Booking direct with Trenitalia, Renfe or a ferry line often gives you the clearest terms if plans change. When DailyStoke looked at user complaints, most of the money problems came from assuming the estimate shown was the final fare.

Rome2Rio features that matter

Coverage. Rome2Rio says it covers 10 million+ locations in 240+ countries and territories, using data from 20,000+ transport operators. The app is available in 24 languages.

Whole-journey estimates. Each route shows a total time and an estimated price range. Useful for budgeting, but these are indicative. One Trustpilot reviewer was told a taxi to the Amber Fort near Jaipur would take 15 minutes and cost $3; it took over four hours and cost about $16.

Maps and step lists. Every option opens into a map and a list of legs, with operator names, so you can go and check each one.

Booking links. Where tickets are sold online, Rome2Rio sends you to a partner. Its own replies on Trustpilot confirm that the partner handles the booking and that partner sites may show different options from Rome2Rio’s results.

Trip planning. You can save routes and share a journey with travel companions, handy for group trips.

Offline. There is no offline mode. Screenshot your routes before you lose signal, or pick up a travel eSIM so you can check on the move.

Is Rome2Rio safe? Privacy and bookings

Rome2Rio is a legitimate company: an Australian business founded in Melbourne and bought by Omio, the Berlin-based travel booking platform, in October 2019. Rome2Rio is still run as a separate brand.

On privacy, its UK App Store label lists coarse location, search history, a user ID, usage data and crash data, all marked as not linked to you and used for analytics, personalisation and app functions. On Google Play, the developer says app activity and performance data may be shared with third parties, data is encrypted in transit, and data cannot be deleted. We found no published regulator action against Rome2Rio.

The bigger safety point is about money. Rome2Rio does not run transport or take your payment for partner tickets. If a bus does not turn up or you need a refund, you deal with the ticket seller named on your confirmation, as Rome2Rio itself tells unhappy reviewers. Check that seller’s terms and consider travel insurance for pricier trips.

What users say about Rome2Rio

Ratings are good but drawn from smaller numbers than you might expect for such a well-known name: 4.6 out of 5 from 281 ratings on the UK App Store, 4.6 from about 6,490 reviews on Google Play, and a Trustpilot TrustScore of 3.1 from 1,086 reviews (74% of them five stars).

The fans are grateful. Evanora M wrote on the UK App Store in January 2019: “It literally saved my friend and I from being stranded in Spain on a remote tramline.” On Trustpilot in August 2026, Mr T W called it “A really good service for finding out travel options.”

The complaints are about accuracy. James on Google Play, December 2023: “Nearly every journey has been wrong, either buses that don’t exist, always incorrect durations”. And Ulric, on Trustpilot in July 2026, after that Amber Fort taxi: “It claims 15 minutes and $3. In actual fact it cost Rs.950 ($16) and took over FOUR hours.”

How to get started with Rome2Rio

1. Open rome2rio.com or download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Type your starting point and destination. Addresses, hotels and landmarks work as well as city names.
3. Scan the options, sorted by time and price, and tap one to see each leg on a map.
4. Note the operators for each leg and check their own timetables and fares.
5. Book through the partner link or direct with the operator.

Cancelling: there is no Rome2Rio subscription to cancel. To change or cancel a ticket, contact the company you bought it from, using the details on your confirmation email.

Rome2Rio vs Omio vs Google Maps

	Rome2Rio	Omio	Google Maps
Free plan	Yes, all of it	Free to search; you pay for tickets	Yes
Paid from	No paid tier	Ticket prices only	Free
Best for	Planning unusual, multi-mode routes worldwide	Booking trains, buses and flights in one place	Getting around once you arrive
Offline	No	Not a maps app	Downloadable offline maps
App Store rating (UK)	4.6 (281)	4.8 (51k)	4.7 (978k)

Pick Rome2Rio when you are working out whether a journey is possible and which combinations exist.

Pick Omio, Rome2Rio’s sister company, when you know the route and want to book trains, buses and flights in one checkout.

Pick Google Maps for local transit, walking and driving directions, and offline maps in places with patchy signal.

Rome2Rio alternatives

• Omio: compares and sells train, bus and flight tickets, mostly across Europe.
• Trainline: the go-to for UK and European rail bookings, with split-ticket savings in Britain.
• Google Maps: transit directions in most cities and offline maps.
• The Man in Seat 61: a free website with step-by-step rail and ferry guides written by a former railwayman.
• Citymapper: for getting round once you have arrived. See our Citymapper review.

Rome2Rio FAQs

Is Rome2Rio free?
Yes. Searches are free and unlimited, with no account or subscription. Tickets are paid for with the operator or booking partner.

Is Rome2Rio accurate?
Good for an overview, less reliable on exact times and prices. Check each leg with the operator before you travel, especially taxis and rural buses.

Can you book tickets on Rome2Rio?
You can follow links to partners such as FlixBus, Trenitalia and SNCF. The partner handles the booking and payment.

Is Rome2Rio safe and legit?
Yes. It is an Australian company owned by Omio since 2019. Problems with a ticket go to the seller, not Rome2Rio.

Does Rome2Rio work offline?
No. Save screenshots of your route or use offline maps in another app.

How do I get a refund from Rome2Rio?
Rome2Rio does not sell transport itself. Ask the ticket provider named on your booking confirmation.

Who owns Rome2Rio?
The Omio Group, which bought it in 2019 and runs it as a separate brand.

Visit Rome2Rio

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