Western Amtrak Stop with easiest access to an airport.

[PegB]

I am toying with the idea of taking Amtrak from Washington DC to "somewhere" out west - at least Denver or Salt Lake City. And then catching a flight to Hawaii. This would be in late October or early November.

My past adventures on Amtrak make me want to have at least 24 hours slack between the train and plane.

So, I am wondering - what western amtrak stations have easy public transportation connections between Amtrak and the airport? (Easy for a 75 year old lady.)

Thanks

Peg

 

[Rail Freak]

SEATTLE!!!!

Edit: Disregard, I did'nt read your post carefully enough, sorry!

 

[TinCan782]

Burbank Bob Hope airport across the street from the station (Coast Starlight/Pacific Surfliner/Metrolink) but, I don't know if you can fly to Hawaii from there.

Edit...now that I think about it...LA Union Station. The "Flyaway" Bus to LAX airport is $8.00 one way and very frequent. The bus stops at each terminal.

http://www.lawa.org/FlyAway/content.aspx?id=10152

 

[Anderson]

Los Angeles would be my vote as well, followed by Seattle. Both have reasonably direct transit(-ish) links to the airport. So does SLC, but the train arrives at an hour unlikely to be workable with a "same-day" flight.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Chicago,,Dallas,LA,Seattle, Portland.( once Denver has the Rail link from Union Station to the Airport it will be the easiest)

You would arrive on the Train in Daylight into all these Cities, Salt Lake has an O-Dark-Thirty arrival time.

Also you could also ride the California Zephyr to Emeryville,,/Amtrak Thruway Bus to San Francisco, spend the night and take BART ( Subway) to SFO. Probably the most complicated one.

I'd look @ what Airline had the best Price and the Times you want for the Hawaii Flight.

 

[WestBerkeleyFlats]

Chicago,,Dallas,LA,Seattle, Portland.( once Denver has the Rail link from Union Station to the Airport it will be the easiest)

You would arrive on the Train in Daylight into all these Cities, Salt Lake has an O-Dark-Thirty arrival time.

Also you could also ride the California Zephyr to Emeryville,,/Amtrak Thruway Bus to San Francisco, spend the night and take BART ( Subway) to SFO. Probably the most complicated one.

I'd look @ what Airline had the best Price and the Times you want for the Hawaii Flight.

BART now has the direct link to Oakland airport so you don't have to leave the East Bay if you don't want to do so.

 

[railiner]

San Diego's airport is very close to the city....you could probably catch a flight to Hawaii from there, bus service is cheap and frequent, or it's a short taxi ride...

http://511sd.com/sd511/511Services/SDMTSRoutePDFs/992.pdf

 

[tomfuller]

There are flights from Sacramento (SMF) to Hawaii. You do have to walk about 6 blocks to catch a YOLO bus (42B) out to the airport. http://www.yolobus.com/routes/index.php/42BI have ridden the bus out to the airport to rent a car when the downtown car rentals were closed.

 

[shelzp]

Burbank California is the easiest because you only have to walk across the street between the airport and Amtrak. I'd say it's about the length of a city block in distance.

 

[Trainmans daughter]

There are flights from Sacramento (SMF) to Hawaii. You do have to walk about 6 blocks to catch a YOLO bus (42B) out to the airport. http://www.yolobus.com/routes/index.php/42BI have ridden the bus out to the airport to rent a car when the downtown car rentals were closed.

There is a Holiday Inn about a block from the train station that used to have a free shuttle to the airport. If they still provide that service, that would be ideal. Arrive on the CZ, enjoy an evening walking around Old Sac, have a good night's sleep at HI, and take the free shuttle to the airport the next morning.

 

[Asher]

Los Angeles THE FLY AWAY bus runs from Union Station about every 1/2 hr. to LAX. It's about a 25 min ride.

 

[jis]

In Denver you have the RTD SkyRide route AF that will take you to Union Station, and also the downtown bus station closer to some hotels from DIA, which runs every half hour. See http://www3.rtd-denver.com/schedules/getSchedule.action?routeId=AF

Of course once you get to Union Station you can go to a whole host of places using connecting RTD bus or LRT too.

 

[neroden]

Denver is the easiest (Skyride route AF). Bus takes you from Union Station direct to your airport terminal; you don't even cross a street. You can even get a hotel room *inside the train station*. (If you delay your trip until next fall, the airport-Union station bus will be replaced with a train.) Only warning is that the airport is the size of a city, so it can take half an hour to get from the entrance to your gate.

LA is the second easiest (Flyaway bus). Bus takes you from Union Station direct to your airport terminal; you don't even cross a street. But you'll probably have to cross a street to get to your hotel.

Burbank is very easy (walk across one street), but they may not have flights to Hawaii.

Seattle's fairly easy. You can take the "Link" train from "International District Station" to the airport. But even though King St. Station (where Amtrak arrives) is right next to International District Station, they've made it a pain to get between them: You have to take a walk across two very busy six-lane roads.

Sacramento's a decent suggestion too. I've stayed in that Holiday Inn. If they still have a shuttle to the airport, that works. The walk from Sacramento Station to the Holiday Inn is longer than it used to be, but you only have to cross one street.

San Francisco isn't bad either, but it's more complicated.

San Diego requires taking a taxi. If you're OK with that, it's easy enough.

I'd go with LA or Denver, because in both cases you can get all over town by public transportation from Union Station.

 

[Notelvis]

I agree with Neoroden - Seattle should be easier than it is. The light rail is 'close' to the train station but it involves finding the elevator to go upstairs (considering the OP's age), crossing a pair of busy streets, finding the elevator down to the 'transit tunnel' which serves as both a city bus and light rail station, and then, once at the airport, it is a longer than one would expect walk through the parking garages to actually reach the airport terminal.

Now that the light rail in Portland, OR circles closer to Union Station, I believe that public transit to the PDX (Portland) airport is better than Seattle.

 

[jis]

Now that the light rail in Portland, OR circles closer to Union Station, I believe that public transit to the PDX (Portland) airport is better than Seattle.

Having used both recently I agree with that assessment even though it does require a change to get from Portland Union Station to the airport. On the whole it involves less walking and is more user friendly.

 

[neroden]

Portland, yes, Portland is a good option too. Walk a block from Union Station, take one light rail line, change trains (involving another walk of a block) to the other light rail line which goes to the airport.

The train changes are a bit obnoxious if you're doing a same-day connection. But if you're planning to stay in a hotel in Portland, it becomes quite easy: you can take light rail from Union Station to your hotel, and from your hotel to the airport. And you have quite a lot of choices of hotels.

My revised recommendation: Los Angeles, Denver, or Portland would all be good.

 

[the_traveler]

Portland, yes, Portland is a good option too. Walk a block from Union Station, take one light rail line, change trains (involving another walk of a block) to the other light rail line which goes to the airport.

My revised recommendation: Los Angeles, Denver, or Portland would all be good.

Correction - If you board a GREEN LINE train (not a Yellow Line train), you can transfer to a RED LINE train at any stop between Rose Garden and Metro on tbe same platform! Only the Yellow Line requires that 1 block walk, since it goes a different street at Rose Garden.

 

[fairviewroad]

Portland, yes, Portland is a good option too. Walk a block from Union Station, take one light rail line, change trains (involving another walk of a block) to the other light rail line which goes to the airport.

My revised recommendation: Los Angeles, Denver, or Portland would all be good.

Correction - If you board a GREEN LINE train (not a Yellow Line train), you can transfer to a RED LINE train at any stop between Rose Garden and Metro on tbe same platform! Only the Yellow Line requires that 1 block walk, since it goes a different street at Rose Garden.

Correction to the correction:

Neither "Rose Garden" or "Metro" are the names of MAX stations.

The correct way to say that would be that "If you board a GREEN LINE train (not a Yellow Line train), you can transfer to a RED LINE train at any stop between Rose Quarter Transit Center and Gateway Transit Center on the same platform."

Many people do refer to the "Rose Quarter" station as the "Rose Garden" station, but for an out-of-town visitor this would be confusing since the basketball arena next to the station is no longer called the "Rose Garden." (It has a new corporate name which is not relevant to this discussion.)

 

[jis]

OK. That explains why I got confused when a block long walk for the transfer was mentioned, since I remember having got off one train and got on the next on at the same platform somewhere. Don;t exactly recall at what station.

 

[fairviewroad]

OK. That explains why I got confused when a block long walk for the transfer was mentioned, since I remember having got off one train and got on the next on at the same platform somewhere. Don;t exactly recall at what station.

There are 8 consecutive stations where the same-platform transfer is possible. There's no real advantage to any of them, though I suppose one could argue that the best place to make the transfer would be 82nd Avenue, which is the closest station to the airport as measured by car. That way, if the Red Line craps out while you're waiting to transfer, you'd have the shortest cab ride possible to the airport.

 

[tp49]

There are flights from Sacramento (SMF) to Hawaii. You do have to walk about 6 blocks to catch a YOLO bus (42B) out to the airport. http://www.yolobus.com/routes/index.php/42BI have ridden the bus out to the airport to rent a car when the downtown car rentals were closed.

The bus is only two blocks from the station. You can pick up the 42B on the SE corner of 5th and L Streets.

 

[calwatch]

San Diego is not a bad choice either. The 992 bus operates every 15 minutes weekdays, 30 minutes weekends to the airport from the Santa Fe station downtown, and they have racks for luggage. The airport and the train station are about two miles apart so you could catch a cab for the short distance if time was an issue.

 

[BoulderCO]

Your decision will no doubt depend upon how much time you want to spend on the train and the cost of the airline flight to Hawaii. In any case, you 24 hour advance train trip is no doubt a good idea.

If you choose Denver, I agree with the other posters. The RTD Skyride bus AF from Union Station is inexpensive ($5.50 for seniors), runs every hour and is dependable. A comfortable ride and you can access it directly from within Union Station with elevators/escalators. So quite convenient. If the Zephyr is on time, you will arrive in the AM around breakfast time, leaving plenty of time for an airport connection or for a full day and night of exploring Denver before the airport trip.

United has direct flights from Denver to Hawaii. We used this for our trip to Hawaii last summer and it was quick and convenient. But you may find lower prices is leaving from a west coast city.

Have a great trip!

 

[PegB]

Thanks for all the great info. I have (and still am) very busy downsizing and getting ready to move to a "suitable" apartment in my local old ladies asylum here in DC. By the time I get this done - I am going to need a vacation. And, a cross country train trip will be just the trick to get me ready for my annual trip to visit the grands in Hawaii.

Peg

 

[chakk]

Since the OP is 75 years old, I would not recommend that she ride the AF Skyride bus to the (Greyhound) bus station, as that can be a rather intimidately neighborhood for elderly folks.