Did you know there is an actual fast travel option in that game? You access it from the map in your camp.

https://www.ign.com/wikis/red-dead-redemption-2/How_to_Fast_Travel

I like the mention of carriage rides too, or the taxis in GTA. Those are pretty immersive. You paid the driver and took a nap.

I didn’t learn that Red Dead Redemption 2 had a fast travel system until after my first playthrough. I completed a second playthrough shortly after and still didn’t use it. Im glad the game had the feature still because I know not everyone has 5-10 minutes to ride everywhere or are not as interested in that aspect of the game. The world was plenty compelling for me, personally, to not use it. I liberally use fast travel in other games. Sometimes I want immersion, sometimes I want to progress the story. I don’t think it’s indictive of lazy design. I really appreciate the option when I have it.

Hang around for a while and one of your followers will bring you quests to do that unlock the new stuff. They first came up to me right after I loaded in, so you may need to reload your save.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Dredge this year. Highly recommend