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So I'd like to do something a bit out of the ordinary, and I figure traveling the US by train would be right up that alley. I see that Amtrak offers tours starting near me in New York that end over in California, and cover several major cities and national parks with guided tours and accommodations. Has anyone here actually experienced one of these trips, or perhaps knows someone who has an can give me an assessment of whether it's worth it our not to give Amtrak my business?
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Jan 28, 2020 09:54
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I'm not sure about the tours, but I have taken the Empire Builder out west and back. I'd say it was a pleasant experience. It's a different and very slow way of travelling, but the views were spectacular. The economy seats were a good size so you don't feel crowded even with someone sitting next to you. I can't speak to the suite accommodations; I've heard good and bad things (price isn't worth it, however you get a personal bathroom). I'd say everyone should take the train somewhere at least once in their lifetime.
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Feb 8, 2020 17:31
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The coast starlight from LA to Portland has amazing scenery, spent so much time just staring out the window. Getting a sleeper compartment is totally worth the money imo.
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Mar 15, 2020 21:14
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Just a couple weeks ago I was looking up Amtrak on Wikipedia and thought it might be cool to someday make a complete loop across the continental United States on it
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Jun 30, 2020 23:25
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Funny, I just got laid off from a company that specializes in train tours including Amtrak. Perhaps I can answer any questions you have about a particular route. Our best selling package was anything to do with Glacier National Park and a very popular itinerary would be New York-Chicago-East Glacier Park-Seattle/Portland. The Glacier Park Lodge is literally within maybe 150 steps of the station. Alternatively, you could continue on to Whitefish for more lodging options. After Seattle, you could easily head down on the Coast Starlight to places like Portland, Seattle, SF, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Definitely do your research and book this on your own. If you want a sleeper, book early to get the Saver fares because those rates increase quickly.
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Sep 17, 2020 19:02
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If I board in Chicago for one of the long haul routes to Portland or LA, how many times can I get off and get back on a later train without having to buy a new ticket? EDIT: I'm assuming most places are not like Chicago and only get like one train a day, so knowing if I get off I understand it may be 1-2 days before another train comes. notthegoatseguy fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Nov 10, 2020 |
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Nov 10, 2020 01:35
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I’ve never done it, but you can probably just get a Rail Pass. Then take any eight rides you want within 15 days of start (or 12 in 30 days, or 18 in 45 days).
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Nov 10, 2020 02:00
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Is there any Amtrak train I can take to see the northern lights? I literally just wanna see the northern lights before I loving die and I'm running out of time here.
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Nov 27, 2020 08:58
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Grem posted:Is there any Amtrak train I can take to see the northern lights? I literally just wanna see the northern lights before I loving die and I'm running out of time here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Railroad If for some reason you don't want to fly or drive, it looks like Churchill, Canada, is the furthest north you can get by using rail without acting like a hobo (i.e. illegally jumping onto freight rail).
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Dec 1, 2020 17:38
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GexIsLight posted:The coast starlight from LA to Portland has amazing scenery, spent so much time just staring out the window. Getting a sleeper compartment is totally worth the money imo. I'm actually looking into Seattle to San Fran. Spending some time in Seattle and San Fran too. Like 1 week.
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Feb 15, 2021 04:02
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We did a 2 week Amtrak trip https://www.amtrak.com/take-the-trains-across-america-with-usa-rail-pass and it was pretty awesome. You're not supposed to be able to book specific legs ahead of time, but we planned it all out on paper and were able to work with the nice Amtrak phone lady to get tickets for each stretch. It made planning stops way easier as we knew exactly when we'd be in and out of towns.
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Apr 7, 2021 02:51
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GexIsLight posted:The coast starlight from LA to Portland has amazing scenery, spent so much time just staring out the window. Getting a sleeper compartment is totally worth the money imo.
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Apr 7, 2021 23:50
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Cicero posted:We're planning on moving to Seattle this year and it'd be cool to do the coast starlight from there to San Jose (I'm originally from the bay area), but holy poo poo it's like $1,300 one-way for a family compartment, vs <$500 to fly round trip. Blows my mind how expensive that is, I've done sleepers in Europe a couple times and while yeah it was still more expensive than flying, it wasn't that bad. Amtrak is really competitive on price when you want to take your time. If you're just shooting from A to B then pretty much anything else will be more cost effective.
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Apr 9, 2021 02:19
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I don't understand, how do they become competitive when you want to take your time? Are there super slow trains that cost less or something?
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Apr 10, 2021 00:07
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Makes no sense to me, either. Maybe they’re including hotel costs for a few nights which the train renders unnecessary?
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Apr 10, 2021 04:28
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Wrong thread
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Apr 14, 2021 01:06
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Even though this thread is dead (like US's rail system), just wanted to post that I'm taking Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago later this month for no particular reason only that I have some extra time and money to spend. I did wish I went back when they still had parlor cars, but oh well.
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Sep 2, 2021 13:06
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I rode from Boston to Chicago a few years back in coach and it killed my rear end, make sure to move around because your trip seems even longer. I took a shorter trip up to Maine this past week since Amtrak has been doing on and off sales since the start of summer along certain popular routes. It's so nice to be able to travel without going through the TSA or driving.
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Sep 2, 2021 13:49
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halokiller posted:Even though this thread is dead (like US's rail system), just wanted to post that I'm taking Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago later this month for no particular reason only that I have some extra time and money to spend. I did wish I went back when they still had parlor cars, but oh well. I can't wait until next summer. I'm taking the same route as you, but I'm getting off in MSP. It's such a gorgeous experience.
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Sep 2, 2021 15:06
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^That was my original stop, but the price difference between MSP and Chicago was negligible, I decided to extend the trip. I got a room in the sleeper car to save my rear end that would be ruined if I did that length in coach.
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Sep 2, 2021 15:18
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Heck yeah, I met some people that did a room last time I took the train. You get free meals, showers, and some other stuff I'm forgetting. I was eyeballing getting a roomette, but it's a little too rich for my blood. My traveling buddy and I are just doing coach.
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Sep 2, 2021 15:59
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Cicero posted:We're planning on moving to Seattle this year and it'd be cool to do the coast starlight from there to San Jose (I'm originally from the bay area), but holy poo poo it's like $1,300 one-way for a family compartment, vs <$500 to fly round trip. Blows my mind how expensive that is, I've done sleepers in Europe a couple times and while yeah it was still more expensive than flying, it wasn't that bad. That’s shockingly high. Last long trip I did was SF to Portland and that was $555 for two people in a private roomette
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Sep 9, 2021 18:43
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Was lucky I booked around the time they brought back traditional dining. Roomette was nice, but can definitely tell how claustrophobic it could get just sharing it with another person. At least unlike a plane, you could move around. I spent most of my idle time on the observation car than staying in the roomette. A++++ would do trip again.
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Sep 20, 2021 12:41
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I work with a lot of climate scientists who have convinced me to stay away from airplanes. The Santa Fe airport is about the same distance away as the Lamy train station, so I'm going to try to take rail whenever possible! And since the Amtrak A/T thread is closed, I'm postin' here. I've been on Amtrak maybe a dozen times in the past, once in a sleeper car. I like it. Sometimes you get a real pain in the rear end neighbor, but this is why diphenhydramine and earplugs exist. Most of the time it's been just fine. Here are the trips I have to take in 2023 so far, more will probably get added:
The only one of these trips I can't take by train is Denver. I can get to Trinidad, which is, like halfway, but then I'd have to get on a bus, which I really dislike. Since my employer will pay for me to drive, I'm doing that. The Montana trip depends on my father being down to go by train, and that's going to be a hell of a long trip, with either three long-haul routes, or two routes connecting in Chicago. --- I just finished booking the trip to Minneapolis. Amtrak's web site won't show any results, because it involves a 24-hour stay in Chicago, but it can be done! I planned out what I thought would work, then called and spoke to an agent to make sure it made sense. I'm all booked now, with two overnight stays at the Chicago Holiday Inn going and returning. A co-worker assures me it will be perfectly safe to walk the three blocks from Union Station at 3:00PM. Here's the itenerary: Day 1 13:02 : Depart Lamy (LMY) Day 2 14:40 : Arrive Chicago (CHI) [Overnight at Holiday Inn] Day 3 15:05 : Depart Chicago (CHI) Day 3 22:56: Arrive Minneapolis (MSP) Day 7 08:50 : Depart MSP Day 7 16:45 : Arrive CHI [overnight at Holiday Inn] Day 8 14:30 : Depart CHI Day 9 13:54 : Arrive LMY The 24-hour layovers are probably going to save my rear end, because these long-haul routes get delayed all the time. [Insert tirade about malicious freight rail]. This trip is going to put about 10kg of CO₂ into the atmosphere, including the hotel stay. Taking an airplane would use 172kg of CO₂. The price for travel winds up being almost exactly the same, when counting the hotel stay. If I had a friend's house in Chicago to crash at, I'd come out $400 ahead. Unfortunately, my company's travel office doesn't see things this way. I have to prove the train is cheaper than air, and I can't use any difference on any other expenses. So I'm going to have to eat the hotel cost. Next up: figuring out if any options exist for getting dad a place to sleep near Glacier. My guess is no, everything is booked solid, and we'll have to drive as we originally planned. We already have a reservation at a KOA, so all's not lost. But I feel like his knees would like the train better. Wish me luck!
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Mar 8, 2023 00:51
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Let us know how the KOA stays are like, if you don't mind doing a trip report. I don't think I've ever stayed at private campgrounds, and traveling by train with periodic campground stays sounds pretty exciting to me.
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Apr 24, 2023 23:31
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In a BYOB thread, I was talking about getting my bike onto the train. Figured I should follow up here since it's less "LOL butts" and more actual travel advice.sb hermit posted:For a carbon-neutral future that includes electric trains, I'm surprised that you can't just check bikes into baggage cars. Hopefully that changes. So here's the situation right now in May 2023:
My Minneapolis trip starts on Friday, so I'll ask the staff on that route for their opinions about the bike thing. I can also scope stuff out like whether it's okay to sit on the top level and have an expensive bike on the bottom, or whether I can just cram the bike into the overhead storage (probably not but I'll actually measure).
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May 1, 2023 14:15
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Well, my train derailed this afternoon. Train 7 out of Chicago. There will probably be news stories about it. I have learned from this that if you're doing a multi-leg trip that requires an overnight stay to make your connection, do yourself a favor and call in to get the whole thing on a single ticket like I did. They gave me meal vouchers and a night in this swank AF hotel, no questions asked, because I could show I was only making a connection in Chicago.
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May 8, 2023 05:19
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cruft posted:Well, my train derailed this afternoon. Train 7 out of Chicago. There will probably be news stories about it. getting all my travel on a single itinerary has saved my bacon countless times because it's much easier to reschedule everything on one visit and not risk getting a flight cancelled because you wouldn't be able to meet a connection nice to hear that it's the same with trains!
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May 8, 2023 06:07
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This thread is interesting but also like... wow, not a ringing endorsement for rail travel in the USA outside of the northeast corridor. I talk to a lot of other Europeans who also think that going around the USA by train sounds like fun, then with a little bit of research it becomes.. not fun. I think expense is what usually turns people off, but the lack of reliable arrival times would really get me unless I was retired or on a round the world ticket or something. Not trying to jump in here to talk poo poo about trains "lol trains in America" specifically... trains also suck in large parts of Europe if you tried to do a similar-distanced trip. My wife had to get from Belgrade in Serbia to Timisoara in Romania last year, which is a 2.5 hour drive, vs like 7 hours by train, with service twice a day and a change, and it was not possible to even do on one ticket, I guess because the two national railway companies won't speak to one another. It was so complicated she ended up using a minibus company that does the route, despite being fairly adamantly pro-train and anti-bus/car/plane.
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May 8, 2023 11:39
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Trains do suck in America, and we could make a whole thread about the 100+ years of reasons why. I have a WFH job that lets me work on the train, so it's doable for me. Not everyone has that luxury. But for those who do, I can help you get started. It's workable, you just need to know what you're getting into. We could make another whole thread about the environmental implications of this situation. But instead I'll probably make a new A/T thread about long distance Amtrak travel for business, since I'll be doing a lot of that in the coming years.
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May 8, 2023 11:54
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I always want to take a train, but yeah, the sleeper cars are always 3x the cost of a plane. So are there specific ways to make it work? From this thread, I’m seeing: book early, book the whole thing in one ticket, talk to an agent, and be willing to sleep in the sleeping car and/or see about food vouchers. At I getting that right? Let’s say I want to tour the American South by rail. I could take the east coast down toward Florida, then over to New Orleans. How early are you supposed to book? Can you take multiple days between legs of your trip? What would the expected cost vs driving or flying be? I want to train but it’s so difficult to justify over just being somewhere in two hours for half the price
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Jul 11, 2023 00:27
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poisonpill posted:I always want to take a train, but yeah, the sleeper cars are always 3x the cost of a plane. So are there specific ways to make it work? From this thread, I’m seeing: book early, book the whole thing in one ticket, talk to an agent, and be willing to sleep in the sleeping car and/or see about food vouchers. At I getting that right? I'm not sure what the food vouchers would get you, but maybe I missed some other post about it. I sleep coach and it's okay. Not great. It can be difficult to get comfortable without encroaching on your neighbor's space, especially if you're a side-sleeper. With the trip you describe, you might want to look into the USA Rail pass. They're on sale right now for a song: $299 for 10 trips over 30 days. There are some important caveats to read about, but it might be an option for you!
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Jul 11, 2023 00:48
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I'm going to open a new thread specifically about taking Amtrak for transportation (as opposed to "enjoying the splendor of a century-old decaying passenger rail system" or whatever motivates a "train tour"), so that people who want to look out the window on their way to glaicier don't have to read about me trying to figure out Verizon dead zones or how to stage a multi-leg business trip through LA.
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Aug 14, 2023 18:11
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cruft posted:I'm going to open a new thread specifically about taking Amtrak for transportation (as opposed to "enjoying the splendor of a century-old decaying passenger rail system" or whatever motivates a "train tour"), so that people who want to look out the window on their way to glaicier don't have to read about me trying to figure out Verizon dead zones or how to stage a multi-leg business trip through LA. Sounds rad, please link here when you do
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Aug 16, 2023 18:03
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Unsinkabear posted:Sounds rad, please link here when you do https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4039342
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Aug 16, 2023 19:07
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