To fast travel in Red Dead Redemption 2, buy the fast travel map upgrade for Arthur’s lodging from the Camp Ledger, then use the map at camp to jump to any town or location you have already visited. You can also ride trains and hire stagecoaches from towns, or set a waypoint and let the cinematic camera ride your horse there for you. Below we walk through each method, what it costs you, and how Red Dead Online handles fast travel differently.
This guide covers Story Mode in the current build of Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC (Steam and the Rockstar Games Launcher). PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players run the last-gen versions through backward compatibility, and as of this writing Rockstar has not announced a native current-gen version, so everything below applies there too.
Method 1: The Camp Fast Travel Map
Rockstar hides the game’s closest thing to traditional fast travel behind a camp upgrade, so many players finish Chapter 2 without knowing it exists.
- Unlock the Camp Ledger. The ledger sits next to Dutch’s tent in camp. It opens up after you donate money to the camp box early in Chapter 2, which the story nudges you toward around the “Money Lending and Other Sins” missions.
- Upgrade Dutch’s lodging first. Walk up to the ledger, press the interact prompt shown on screen, and buy the Dutch lodging upgrade. Arthur’s option does not appear until this is done.
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Buy the upgrade for Arthur’s lodging. This adds a map to Arthur’s tent. The two upgrades come to a combined cost of a little over five hundred dollars before any Honor discount; check the price shown in your ledger.
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Use the map. Walk up to the map by Arthur’s tent, interact with it, and pick a destination.
Our video at the end of this guide shows us fast traveling on PS4. The screenshots in this guide come from the same recording.
A few rules apply:
- Destinations only unlock once you have visited them. Early on, the list is short, so there is little value in buying the upgrade before you have explored.
- It is one-way. You travel from camp to a destination, not back. To return, ride, take a stagecoach, or accept the “travel back to camp” option some missions offer when they end.
- Later chapters and the Epilogue. The map becomes available at no cost in Chapter 6 and after the first part of the Epilogue. Once you own it, you can also fast travel from a campsite you pitch in the wilderness; check your camp’s interaction menu for the option.
Method 2: Trains
Trains cost less than stagecoaches. Go to a station that has a ticket clerk (the post office counter), buy a ticket to another station, and board when the train arrives. Once aboard, you can sit down and skip the journey, arriving at the other end in a short cutscene. If the train is not due yet, our guide to waiting and passing time shows how to skip ahead.
Train routes cover West Elizabeth, New Hanover and Lemoyne, with stations including Valentine, Rhodes, Saint Denis, Annesburg and Emerald Ranch, plus two small stops (Riggs Station and Wallace Station) that cannot be reached by other fast travel methods. Trains do not reach New Austin.
Method 3: Stagecoaches
Most towns have a stagecoach stop where you can pay a driver to take you to another town you have already visited. You can watch the ride or skip it. Prices scale with distance. If you would rather drive a coach yourself, our guide to backing up a wagon covers the controls.
The catch is the law. A stagecoach will not take you anywhere in a state where you have an active bounty. Pay the bounty off at a post office and the service opens up again. Our guide on how to remove a bounty explains the whole process. Stagecoaches also cannot take you back to camp.
Method 4: Let the Cinematic Camera Ride for You
This is not true fast travel, but on long rides, such as the cross-map trips in our treasure map guide, it is the next best thing.
- Open the map and set a waypoint. Launch-era control lists put the map on a hold of Options on PlayStation or Menu on Xbox (a quick press opens the pause menu instead), and on M on PC.
- Get your horse moving on a road.
- Hold the cinematic camera button: Touchpad on PlayStation, View on Xbox, V on PC by default, per the same lists. A quick press only switches between first and third person, so keep holding until the black bars appear.
- The camera switches to a letterboxed movie view, and your horse follows the route to your waypoint on its own. On PC, community key lists note you may need to tap W to get it moving.
You can put the controller down, but stay alert. Bandits, bounty hunters and predators still attack, the horse can clip traffic on busy roads, and you can ride right past a random encounter. It also builds horse bond through riding, which pairs well with our guide on how to brush your horse.
Fast Travel in Red Dead Online
Red Dead Online works differently. Every town has a fast travel post, usually where the stagecoach stop sits in Story Mode, and you pay a fee that depends on distance. Rockstar periodically makes fast travel free as part of monthly bonuses, so check the current offers on the official Red Dead Online page.
Your own camp is a destination by default. Travelling from your camp requires a fast travel post upgrade, which unlocks at a high rank, and Naturalist players can buy a separate wilderness camp travel option later in that role.
For more Red Dead Redemption 2 help, see the Red Dead guides hub. If you are coming from Rockstar’s other open world, our GTA guides hub collects everything we have written for it.
On PC, Story Mode mods can change a lot more; our list of the best RDR2 mods covers the script hooks, trainers and mission mods worth installing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you fast travel in Red Dead Redemption 2? Yes, but it has to be unlocked. Buy the Arthur’s lodging upgrade from the Camp Ledger (after Dutch’s upgrade) to get a fast travel map at camp, or use trains and stagecoaches in towns.
Why can’t I fast travel back to camp? The camp map only sends you out from camp. To get back, ride, accept the return option at the end of a mission, or use a stagecoach or train to get closer.
Why won’t the stagecoach driver take me? You most likely have a bounty in that state. Pay it off at a post office and stagecoaches in that state work again.
Is there fast travel in the Epilogue? Yes. The fast travel map becomes free after the first part of the Epilogue, and trains and stagecoaches keep working, with New Austin destinations added.
How do I make my horse ride automatically? Set a waypoint, get moving on a road, and hold the cinematic camera button (Touchpad, View or V). The horse follows the route on its own.