In this new series, I talk about various aspects of The Lord of the Rings Online. This series is meant for newcomers, but may also help veteran players find more to love about the game.
"Where is Nan Gurth, and how do I get there?" "Why do people in World Chat keep asking for a 'taxi'?" "How do I get back to Bree from here in a hurry?" These questions and more are easily answered in this entry as I discuss modes of travel in Lord of the Rings Online.
One of the first things given to you after you complete the Intro of the game is your very first Milestone. The Milestone skill is one that lets you bind to a particular location so that you can return to it by using the skill. You only get one of these for free, buy you can purchase additional Milestones from the LOTRO store for 350 Points each. There are 12 in total, including the free one.
Milestones
Stables
The most common method of travel in LOTRO is via stable ride. There are Stable-masters located all over Middle-earth, just waiting to take your coin in exchange for travel. Be prepared to be frustrated sometimes, though, as there are a few locations where the stable ride is, um... long and boring. It's nice the first time or two, because you get to watch the scenery without worrying about anything attacking you, but it gets old quickly. (I'm looking at you, Aughaire. I can't for the life of me understand why there's no fast travel to Esteldin from there! It's one of the many reasons why I don't like Angmar.) 
Also of note is that not all travel routes are available to all players. The vast majority of fast travel routes are available only to VIPs. Or, previous VIPs. Having it once unlocks these routes permanently! And one of my "bad habits" is when a new region is released I will take my main character and scout out the new stable locations to speed up my progression when I eventually quest in that area. Sometimes the stables are gated behind Reputation with various factions, but don't worry your pretty little head about that just yet.Maps
The next most common method of travel is through the use of maps. These are consumable items that are obtained in many different ways. They can be purchased from the LOTRO Store, be dropped as loot, be given as a Quest reward, or auto-bestowed when you accept a Festival announcement quest. (If you don't end up with a back-stockpile of maps to the various Festival locations, are you even LOTRO-ing?) Unless you're in a pinch, I don't recommend purchasing maps from the Store since they're consumed on use. It's easier to use other means to get near to where you need to be and use other travel means to make up the difference.
Return Skills
The next travel option is a Return Skill. There are many of these available in the game, and most of them do not need to be purchased (though some are available for purchase). Each race has a Racial Return Skill keyed to a specific area that "makes sense" for their race:
I'm not going to judge the decisions made here, but... if an Elf starts in Celondim, wouldn't that be a good Return skill for them to have? I can understand High Elf having Rivendell since Imladris is one of their origin options. I suppose it just seems strange to me that the Racial Return skill would be to a place that's meant for higher levels -- not unlike the Beornings' Grimbeorn Lodge. I guess if we want to get nitty-gritty with the lore it probably makes the most sense to have it like this.
Now, aside from these Racial options, there are also a PILE of other Return skills that everyone can acquire through reaching required Reputation levels with various factions. Below is an example of the ones I've collected on one of my characters. There are also ways to decrease the cooldown on your Return skills via the LOTRO Store.
Mustering Horns
Sometimes, you need to get a group of people together in the same place to run content together, and it's not always convenient to wait for people who are WAY over on the other side of the map. In these cases, there are Mustering Horns that can be used. They aren't as commonly located as Stable-masters, but they have a horn which you can use to summon (one at a time) members of your Fellowship. Some of these Mustering Horns are also located next to Camp Site Fires which have special uses by Hunters and Burglars to help a Fellowship.
Class Travel Skills
Wardens are meant to be the professionals at defending locations, and as such they get Muster skills for specific locations (either auto bestowed or through faction reputation) in order to transport just themselves to those locations to fight in their defense. I never understood this very well since the skill is often granted after the Warden has leveled past the area it's in.
Captains get to purchase an item from their trainer called a Finely Carved Rallying Horn that only Captains can use. The use of the horn allows them to summon members of their Fellowship to their location.
Hunters have it best. Often called the "taxi" in LOTRO, Hunters have a large array of Guide skills they can acquire through questing and gaining reputation with factions. This allows them to take their entire Fellowship with them to these locations. Back in the day, it would cost everyone in the Fellowship a Travel Ration to take this taxi, and I'm happy to say they got rid of that requirement. The only thing that remains silly about this skill is that the animation makes it appear as if the hunter is desperately looking for a lost contact on the ground. Also, a Hunter can use the Return to Camp skill to bring themselves and their Fellowship immediately to a Camp Site Fire they have bound themselves to.Mounts
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