When I first studied abroad in Europe in the summer of 2019, I knew I wanted to travel all across Europe. As such, booking some of my inter-Europe travels with a company known as Omio. Since that summer, I've gone on 35+ trips with Omio, spread across 5 years. In this post, I'll be giving you my complete and honest Omio review based on those experiences and telling you everything you need to know about the company!
Disclaimer: All of these thoughts and experiences are my own. I was not paid, compensated, or asked in any way to provide this Omio review!
Also, some links may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more info, see my disclosure policy.
For those who don't know, Omio is an independent transportation search engine platform that aims to make booking transportation between destinations easier.
It does this by providing a simple way to compare the prices and routes of various transportation options between destinations in Europe, Canada, and the US.
And you may be thinking -- here we go again, it's another transportation search platform...You'd be right. It is another transportation option.
But, unlike other transportation platforms, Omio is pretty comprehensive. It lets you explore several different transportation routes at once and doesn't focus just on one mode of transportation.
Instead, it shows you several (buses, trains, flights, etc.), which I think it's super convenient. But, more on that in my full review! ??
In this very tech-savvy world, full of AI and an endless number of apps, there are quite a few different third-party search engines.
Some are great and actually make life easier, while others are complete and utter scams that result in you having to file a fraud charge with your bank -- yup, been there. Done that. Do not want to do it again.
Needless to say, it's becoming increasingly important to do your due diligence, and you deserve a bit of praise for going the extra Google search to make sure you aren't going to get screwed over. ??
Anyways, the answer is Yes -- Omio is a legitimate company.
It was originally established in 2013 in Berlin as a small start-up company called GoEuro. As you can likely tell by the name, the company initially focused on travel within Europe.
However, over the years, the company has grown tremendously and now serves destinations beyond Europe. Thus, the name changed to Omio, which is the name I've always known it as.
Similar to Omio being a legit company, I believe Omio is very trustworthy.
If you recall, in the introduction, I mentioned that I have booked 35+ transit journeys with Omio spread across many trips to Europe.
The reason I've continued to use them for over half a decade is because they are a trustworthy company that is able to deliver.
Every single time, I've booked with them, I've always seen my ticket show up immediately. Sometimes a ticket is issued by the actual provider, such as FlixBus, Alsa, or SNCF. Other times, you literally just use the QR code ticket within the app.
Either way, I've always received my ticket after booking, so from my many experiences with the platform, Omio is a trustworthy company.
? ?? Check out or sign up for Omio here
Before I talk about my Omio review, I want to quickly preface it by mentioning that I've only used Omio in Europe.
The reason is that I've never really had the need to use the platform in the US or Canada. In the United States, I have my own car, and public transportation options aren't exactly fantastic.
And then I've only been to Canada once -- to go to Montreal for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and to go to Calgary, so I could visit a friend and explore Banff National Park.
The two destinations aren't particularly suitable for public transportation unless you're planning on taking a trans-Canada train trip, but those are pretty pricey...
Anyways, I wanted to be fully transparent that my review is based on my experiences in Europe. Alright, now it's time to dive into my full review.
I'll start off with my Omio train review, then move on to my Omio buses review, and finish off my review with general complaints and benefits!
For the most part, I've had excellent experiences booking train travel with them.
As I talked about earlier, I normally book my ticket, and the ticket shows up immediately in the app. Then, on the day of departure, I head to the station that's listed on my ticket, making sure to arrive at least 20 - 30 minutes before departure.
Once I'm there, I just check the train number on my ticket against the departure board and head to the platform number that pops up.
Sometimes, I've had to scan the QR code on my ticket when going through a turn style on the platform prior to boarding the train. Other times, you board the train, and a ticket officer may or may not come to check your ticket.
Regardless, I've never had my ticket not go through. It has always shown up as valid for ticket officers, and for me, that's all I care about :)
And with the number of partners Omio works with, there's usually a pretty decent range of train routes. Sometimes, I'll see 20+ different routes between two destinations on one day, and sometimes there are only a couple of routes. It just depends.
Either way, my Omio train review is a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. I'll explain in the complaints section why it's not perfect.
With regards to booking buses with Omio, I've got quite a bit of experience doing that as well! This is because, in the smaller towns or cities that are more mountainous, buses are usually the only public transportation option available.
So in my experience, I've never had an issue with using or booking buses with Omio. Most of the time, I've booked a bus ride on Omio with FlixBus or BlaBlaCar, which I was surprised to discover the latter show up as a bright pinkish/red bus lol.
Again, the ticket shows up in your app immediately after booking. But unlike the trains, you will always have to show your ticket prior to getting on the bus.
The driver will usually have a printout with all the passenger names on a piece of paper and then scan the QR code on your ticket with his phone. Afterward, they will mostly never ask to see your ticket again! So, it's pretty chill.
That said, my one piece of advice is to always arrive 30 minutes early because small bus stations are easy to miss. I nearly missed my bus once in Milan because I couldn't find the bus station fast enough.
Also, another pro tip... the buses should have a paper on their windshield that says the final destination. And if you're lucky, it'll list out the stops it'll make (in case you're not headed to the bus's final destination!
So yeah, my Omio buses review is a 5/5! I've never had any issues specifically with Omio... just issues caused by myself LOL.
? ?? Check out or sign up for Omio here
No company is perfect and Omio isn't an exception...
My biggest issue with Omio is its customer service. I've only had to reach out to them once, but it wasn't exactly stellar.
For context, I was in Zagreb and was supposed to head to Vienna. However, the day before I left, I received a lengthy email in German, which I don't speak.
Luckily, I have a friend who does speak German, so she translated the email. In short, it said that my train route had been canceled due to construction and no alternatives were provided...
Not sure how to proceed, I called Omio's customer support to see what my options were. Unsurprisingly, I was on hold for 25+ minutes, which really isn't terrible. But, they weren't exactly helpful. They told me to go to the train station and ask for alternative routes.
And then when I inquired about a refund since the service I purchased wasn't being provided, they said I had to fill out a form and mail it in...Considering I didn't have easy access to a printer at the time, this was pretty annoying.
Not to mention, my housing in Zagreb was up since I was planning on leaving for Vienna. So, I had no housing or transportation out of Zagreb ??.
Yeah, as you can imagine, it was a stressful time.
So, the following day (since I had called in late in the evening), I made my way to the train station early in the morning.
The lady at the train station said there were no affordable routes to Vienna and I was pretty much sh*t out of luck. As a result, I scheduled new transportation with Omio to Budapest, which proved to be such a fun place to visit.
Oh and as for the refund, I never filed the refund form. To me, it was too much of a hassle since the turnaround time was weeks and the money lost wasn't terribly significant.
So yeah, this is the one time that I've been pretty frustrated Omio.
Getting to spontaneously visit Budapest was honestly awesome | Taken from Buda Castle ????
From my perspective, I wish they had notified me through the app so I could hopefully understand the message in English. I also wish the refund process were easier.
But, considering this was the only time I've had a significant issue with Omio out of 35+ trips, I've continued to use the company. And since that particular incident, I've probably gone on about 10 trips with them.
So, yes it was frustrating, but it wasn't the end of the world. And the process might be easier now since it's been over a year since my incident.
Aside from the issue above, there are some small problems I've encountered.
One is that sometimes, Omio will occasionally show no routes available because it isn't able to connect to a partner platform. For example, I've seen it show no routes between Biarritz and Montpellier, two cities in France because it couldn't connect to SNCF (a train company).
Literally, a notification popped up saying it was having trouble connecting, so there were no routes available.
While this wasn't an issue for me since I checked back the next day and the issue was fixed, I could see this being stressful if you're doing some last-minute bookings.
When I looked at the 10:40 am ticket, the total price ended up being $86.68 USD | Taken directly from the Omio website.
And then my other minor complaint is that the price you see listed on the ticket is not what you pay.
This is honestly a huge gripe I have with most airlines and especially Airbnb. The price listed is not what you actually pay.
There are always hidden taxes and fees... and unfortunately, Omio is no different as there is a small service fee, but I'll touch on that more in the next section.
Despite the downsides and my complaints about Omio, there are quite a few advantages worth praising.
In my opinion, the biggest advantage of using Omio is that it's super convenient for comparisons. Personally, I loathe comparing different modes of transportation because it's such a pain in the you know what.
For example, let's say you want to compare trains and bus routes. If you were using FlixBus and SNCF (French Train company), you would have to open new tabs for each mode of transportation.
Depending on how many companies and modes of transportation you plan on comparing, you could have 5+ tabs open, which can be pretty annoying to switch between.
As you can see above, they have routes between Paris and Lyon available for trains, buses, and flights. Notice the different companies that offer transport! | Taken directly from the Omio Website.
And if you're trying to compare prices for different dates, you would have to manually change the dates within each tab. Add the lag time between loading results for different dates, and you could easily spend 30+ minutes trying to figure out which route works for you.
In the past, I've spent hours trying to map out routes in the past, and it sucks. It's a necessary evil sometimes, but honestly, Omio allows me to significantly speed up the process compared to if I were literally looking up the individual companies.
And another bit that's nice about Omio is that they even tell you which route is the fastest, which one is the cheapest, and how many transfers there are.
This along with the platform's speed in loading makes it so much easier to quickly compare tons of routes between destinations.
Another lovely feature of Omio is that they provide helpful visuals. Whenever you click a route, it will show you a simple visual of your transportation route.
The visual isn't exact by any means since they literally draw straight lines between different segments of the route.
But, seeing where you're starting, where you would be transferring (if you have any), and where your final destination is on an interactive map is such an underrated feature.
The map on the right shows the rough route for the 11:36 am departure from Paris to Nice. As you can see, there's a transfer in the seaport city of Marseille. | Taken directly from the Omio Website
Like I genuinely wish more platforms introduced this feature because it makes planning multi-stop trips so much easier.
And... I've realized how much geography really isn't a strong suit. Most people know of the Croatian capital of Zagreb or the French Space capital of Toulouse, but they don't actually know where the cities are.
Having a little map to show you your journey prior just helps puts things into perspective.
While it's no secret that service fees suck, they are all part of being a sustainable business. So like most booking platforms, you can expect to pay for a service with Omio.
The good news is that I've found that the service fees for Omio are pretty minimal. In my experience, when I've only booked a ticket for myself, the service fee has always been less than $5.
This is pretty good in comparison to other companies. For example, I know StudentUniverse, my go-to company for booking flights, has everyone pay a $25 non-refundable service fee. It's a lot, but the discounts through that platform are usually $100+, so I don't really mind.
Taken directly from the Omio Website
Either way, I'm thankful that Omio has pretty minimal service fees. And it's worth mentioning that this service fee is not a flat fee.
The service fee amount will depend on the actual company you end up purchasing your with (i.e. SBB or OUIGO) and the number of tickets you need.
For example, I just booked train tickets from Basel to Interlaken in Switzerland through Omio for my friend and me. The service fee was ?7 euros for one way and ?10 if we purchased a round trip ticket. So it just depends.
Ok, this may seem odd to include as a perk or advantage but I'm a fan of it LOL. Sometimes you'll have the option of purchasing different classes of tickets, usually for trains and flights.
Depending on the ticket class you purchase, your ticket may be refundable, semi-refundable, or completely refundable. And sometimes the tickets can be exchanged if they aren't refundable.
Naturally, though, the policies differ for practically every route, so I can't guarantee there's always going to be a refundable option.
But, it's nice that they often give you lots of choices and make it really easy to tell what your ticket does and does not include.
At the beginning of this post, I explained that Omio displays transportation routes for various destinations in Europe, the United States, and Canada.
What I didn't mention is that they often provide routes to even small towns.
For those who aren't super confident buying tickets in person, perhaps because of a language barrier or simply want to secure their tickets ahead of time, being able to arrange transportation ahead of time is really nice.
For instance, if you want to day trip from Krakow to Zakopane, Poland to enjoy the incredible thermal pools, you can use Omio to buy a bus ticket.
Or, maybe you're in Munich and looking to get out of the city for a bit. You can buy a train ticket to the German fairytale town of Tubingen without having to figure out how to actually buy a ticket with the literal train provider.
Obviously, there won't always be routes to every town on the map, but I do think Omio has a pretty wide reach in terms of destinations. So, I like to use Omio as my starting point when researching and planning out my travels.
Along with a user-friendly desktop platform, Omio has a really user-friendly mobile app! Yay for my fellow technologically challenged people!
But seriously, I think the app is super convenient and awesome.
For one, once you make your account with Omio and sign into your account on the app, any tickets you purchase automatically populate in your upcoming trips section.
This is great because it means that you don't have to worry about keeping track of tickets for individual companies. Whether you're buying a ticket with CroatiaBus or TGV, they all show up in one place on the app.
Similarly, having your tickets available on the app means that you likely won't have to print them!
I say "likely" because there was one time when I booked a ticket to visit Andorra from Toulouse, and it said I had to print my ticket.
So, if you book your travels last minute, it can be challenging and stressful to find a place to print them. But, 98% of the time, I'd say you won't need to print them -- at least that's been my experience.
And, a nice little touch is that they have a big icon/picture in the corner that shows what mode of transportation you'll be using.
As someone who does pretty lengthy trips in Europe (5+ weeks usually), I normally have quite a few bookings. Thus, it's hard to keep track of whether I'm going by train or bus, and the app just keeps things tidy!
They even show you all your past trips in your "archived" trips, which is fun for when you have the travel blues and want to skip down memory lane or remember how to go to a place.
Last, but not least, I'm a big fan of the Omio app because it's so easy and intuitive to use. Because if you're like me, you probably considered some other transportation platforms for getting around Europe.
The ones I've tried out are Eurail and Trainline. I bought a Eurail pass when I was studying abroad in Paris summer of 2019, and it was just not worth it.
There were so many rules with seat reservations and sometimes specific tickets for routes were even more expensive than if I just bought them independently.
Thus, I found my Eurail pass to be too much of a hassle than it was worth and mostly relied on Omio for my inter-Europe travels.
Another perk is that Omio is available in multiple languages and has 1000+ partners. I don't know about you, but I can't name more than like 8 different train and bus companies, let alone 1000+.
Being able to see and evaluate all the different transportation options for a wide array of companies, all at once makes life so much easier.
And of course, as I mentioned in the previous section, the app is also user-friendly and helpful. Like there's truly nothing I'd change about it. So, kudos to the software engineers on that!
? ?? Check out or sign up for Omio here
If you're looking for an easy way navigating to travel Europe and possibly around Canada and the United States, then yes, I'd check out Omio.
As you can tell from my Omio review, I've had a pretty positive experience with them, save for my one incident in Zagreb... But, aside from that, I think Omio has quite a lot of benefits, especially for those planning on doing a lot of inter-Europe travel.
And assuming your route isn't completely derailed like mine was, you'll likely have no issues. I mean out of 35+ trips, there's only been one issue -- that's a pretty high success rate if you ask me ??.
So, if you're someone looking for an easy way to plan your travels around Europe, I'd say to make an account with Omio and check out what they can offer. I mean you literally have nothing to lose.
Worst case scenario, you end up booking with another company... But, at least test out the platform to see if it makes traveling planning less stressful. And, who knows, you may see that Omio actually offers the cheapest and most efficient option.
Either way, I think it's worth testing out.
And to sweeten the deal, you can use the link below to check out the platform. If you find something worth booking, you'll receive $11 off your first trip. And everyone loves saving money right!?
? ?? Check out or sign up for Omio here
If you've read my Omio review and decided to give them a shot and book some travels on the platform, here are a few tips that I've picked up over the years! They will hopefully save you money and make your experience with Omio even better!
First, be sure to carefully check your departure and arrival points. Different companies may offer services to different parts of the city.
I know that sounds obvious, but I learned the hard way the importance of checking my departure and arrival points.
It's not fun when you have to walk 40+ minutes with a giant ole suitcase to your housing, especially when you discover there was an option that would've dropped me off about 10 minutes away from my housing.
To hopefully avoid this, you have a couple of options. Option 1 is to dole out money on an Uber or Lyft -- a wonderful option for the non-budget traveler.
Option 2 is to do damage control lol. I do this by opening Google Maps, figuring out my housing situation, and trying to get an arrival/departure stop near or within comfortable walking distance of my housing accommodations!
Non-stop routes and routes that are close to my housing accommodations are the ones I like to prioritize! And unless you're traveling on a super tight budget and have to take the cheapest transportation option, I recommend you do the same :)
Your feet will thank you if you're able to decrease the distance you have to walk! Oh, and you'll want to factor in how long you think it'll take you to get from your housing to the departure point, especially for those early-morning tickets! ??
My second tip is to input your seat preference whenever you're given the option!
You know when you're filling out a form and try to submit it and it says you can't until all the required fields are filled? Well, Omio doesn't do that for seat preferences... LOL
This makes it kinda easy to miss this little option. In fact, I've seen Omio have you click the little drop-down in order to see the seat preference options. So, you have to pay pretty close attention if they offer it to you.
Notice that there's no fee to make a seat reservation | Taken directly from Omio Website
Also, most of the time, it doesn't cost anything because you aren't actually reserving a specific seat. It usually just gives you button options that say "window" or "aisle."
If you make a choice, they are pretty good about getting you a seat with your preference, but there's no 100% guarantee.
Either way, if you're someone who prefers being able to look out the window or have easy escape access, be sure to look out for the little seat preference section!
Something I noticed during my last major trip to Europe is that it's actually cheaper to pay in the local currency IF you have a travel credit card that waives foreign transaction fees.
Let me further explain. When you check out, it will ask you if you want to pay in your currency or the local currency. In the past, I had always opted to pay in US Dollars to avoid foreign transaction fees.
Well one day, I got curious and decided to see if the exchange rate was accurate. Turns out, they actually charge you more than the current exchange rate! It's not by much, literally like a dollar or two, but still -- I'm someone who is always looking to save money wherever I can.
Anyways, I realized that if you just opt to pay in the local currency and pay with a travel credit card, you can save a few dollars. Obviously, if you don't have a travel credit card... this little tip might not be so useful...
But, on that note, get one if you don't have a travel credit card. They are a necessity whenever you're traveling for so many reasons. But, if nothing else, get one to avoid paying unnecessary foreign transaction fees that can quickly add up to a LOT.
This is the one I've used for the last 3 years, and I love it because the perks are fantastic. Plus, the annual fee is quite pretty affordable, so if you're in the market for one, I highly recommend this one!
Plus, it has a fantastic intro offer that you can use to book those lovely Business Class seats for a tiny fraction of what they normally run for.
? Check out the travel credit card I love and recommend
In case you have some lingering questions after reading my Omio review, here are a few answers to other common questions and concerns.
Is Omio Reliable?
From my experience, Omio has been pretty reliable. As I mentioned earlier, my tickets have always been emailed to me and showed up on my account within the app immediately after purchase. The one issue I mentioned earlier is the only time I've been frustrated with the company.
Is Omio Safe to Book Through?
Yes! Omio is safe to book through as they are a legit company and trustworthy. They won't scam you of your money and if you are concerned about privacy, you can read their privacy policy.
Does Omio Charge a Fee?
Yes, Omio does charge a non-refundable service fee. This is how Omio makes its money. After you click a route, it will show up on the right side below the cost of your tickets and right above the total amount.
Can I Cancel My Ticket With Omio?
Yes. You can always cancel your ticket with Omio (or just not show up lol). Whether or not it's refundable will depend on the ticket you purchase. Sometimes, only one ticket class is offered while other times, there are multiple ticket classes with different perks. Either way, they make it fairly obvious what your ticket does and does not include.
Which Is Better: Omio vs Trainline?
Personally, I prefer Omio because the app is great and I found them first. But, I'll usually turn to Trainline whenever a route isn't available on Omio and often cross-check routes with Trainline. Then, I go with whatever route better aligns with my itinerary or whichever is cheaper.
To wrap up this extremely detailed Omio review that's probably a bit too lengthy -- Oops... Yes, Omio is a very legit company.
It is a company that I've used 35+ times, as recently as about a week ago (as of May 2023). And it's a company that I think is awesome at providing great value through its user-friendliness and convenience.
There's really not a lot to complain about, so if you're looking to book some travels through Europe, the United States, or Canada, it's worth trying out Omio. And if you don't see a route that works for you, no stress -- there are plenty of other platforms out there!
So, regardless of whether you decide to test out the platform or not, I hope my Omio review has been insightful!
And in case you've skipped to the bottom or waited until the end of this post to decide whether or not to sign up for Omio.... here's a link to check out the platform.
Again, if you choose to sign up through the link, you'll receive $11 off your first booking on the platform! So, take advantage and I wish you Happy Travels! ??
? ?? Check out or sign up for Omio here
The post Is Omio Legit? My Complete & Honest Omio Review (2023) appeared first on Global Travel Escapades.