Tucked away in Red Dead Redemption 2 is the ability to fast travel from your caravan to any place you’ve previously been to. It’s not signposted incredibly well, but we’ll show you how to get it.
Of course the scenery is so beautiful in Red Dead Redemption 2, you may never want to use fast travel. It’s a bit like riding the subway in Spider-Man PS4. Sure, there’s a fast travel option, but… why would you?
There’s even a cinematic camera mode that makes your ride in RDR2 that much more beautiful. But while it may be tempting to trigger the cinematic camera and go grab a drink, or talk to other people in the room, it’s not exactly safe. The cinematic camera won’t save you from bandits or bounty hunters, and it’ll take a few moments to get yourself into combat mode.
So, fast travel it is. Red Dead Redemption 2 has a few options, and we’ll get into those other ones as well, but the main mode of fast travel begins right at Arthur Morgan’s tent.
Arthur’s Fast Travel Map
No matter where your caravan is parked, next to Dutch’s tent will be a ledger with options to upgrade the camp. This will mostly be at your own cost.
There will be an option to upgrade Arthur’s accommodation for $325, which not only makes your sleeping area look nicer, it puts a map on the outside of your wagon. Walking up to this map is what enables fast travel to your previous destinations.
The total cost is more, though. You can’t even see this upgrade until you level up Dutch’s accommodation, for a cool $220. In theory, Dutch having a nicer living area should inspire gang members to donate more money and help out with these costs. But in our experience, the gang donates little. If you want fast travel, you’ll mostly be buying it yourself.
It’s up to you whether or not to scrounge for the necessary dollars to enable fast travel early. We found ourselves running odd jobs and looting during firefights to get the necessary funds. But you should know that later on, fast travel will come more easily.
Not too far into the game, there will be missions to rob banks, and other missions will get you the occasional ingot of gold. That’s where the real money is in Red Dead Redemption 2, and all of a sudden the cost of the fast travel upgrade becomes nothing.
Stagecoach/Taxi Coach Fast Travel
Most towns in RDR2 have stagecoaches which let you fast travel to previous locations, with two catches. The first is there’s a fee. The second is your honour needs to be at a certain level for this option to become available.
If you’re not paying attention to honour and don’t know where you stand, just check the map. If you look at a town, the icon for the stagecoach will either have a lock symbol next to it or not. If so, you’re locked out of that option.
That means people in the town have recognised you committing dishonourable acts, and people talk. You might even have a bounty on you. You can avoid this by using your mask when being dastardly, and changing your clothes once you’re far away. Or, you can chase down witnesses and intimidate them into staying silent.
Paying your bounty with enable fast travel straight away, and while these are high costs at first, later on they become chump change. Once your honour is tarnished, however, you’ll only get that back up by committing honourable deeds. Help out the citizens, assist lawmen with bringing in bounties, don’t murder… that sort of thing.
The End-of-Mission Option
The last option we’ve come across is at the end of larger, more important missions. Sometimes these will take you far away, and your companion will ask you if you’ll accompany them home.
Think carefully about whether you say yes or no, because so far we haven’t come across a reliable solution for fast travel back to your caravan. Accidentally refusing means Red Dead Redemption 2 will make you ride all the way back.
There are worse things in life, and enjoying the game’s scenery is beautiful. Sometimes you’ll want to tie up a loose end before heading back to hand in — for example, chasing down debtors for Herr Strauss. But sometimes, you just gotta go fast.
