Booking Durham Boston with overnight layover in DC as single itinerary

[dadonatrain]

I just thought of a booking question I bet folks here can answer easier than my calling Amtrak and asking.

I’m considering riding from Durham NC to Boston but without an overnight train. When I started booking on Amtrak just for curiosity it gave me Durham-Wash DC and then after a short layover in DC the overnight northeast regional WDC-Boston. I thought, what if I wanted to lay over overnight in a hotel in DC? Could I specify this and still get a single itinerary or would I have to book two separate legs and perhaps pay more that way compared with a single itinerary and the overnighter?

I looked briefly on the website for a multi city booking alternative but I didn’t see one.

 

[jiml]

I haven't tested this with Amtrak but it works with most airlines: Picking a late departure for your first leg usually forces the system to schedule the second leg the next day. In other words, in your search parameters ask for an evening (or specific later) departure for the whole itinerary. Alternately using a multi-city search with both legs filled in, then selecting a departure for the first one that will obviously misconnect with the last departure for your final destination will often achieve the same result. With airlines there is often a slight extra tax component but little change to the actual fare.

 

[dadonatrain]

Good idea but when I tried it all I got was the one Durham- WDC train of the day, so there’s no way to jigger the system the way you suggested! I guess I’d have to book two separate legs. When I explored that, it did end up costing more than the single itinerary with the overnighter. Oh well…

 

[SubwayNut]

Amtrak used to be really good at letting you do this, ARROW was programmed (assuming the fare bucket existed) to give you unlimited stopovers as long as they were less than 24 hours (you needed to be on a line with multiple trains per day).

I used to do this all the time, its one of the main reasons I was able to affordably visit so many stations for my website subwaynut.com primarily because until early 2016 Amtrak gave you 100 AGR points minimum per segment.

An example of what you're talking about was in 2012 I went on a last minute little trip from Charleston to New York (had a Southwest Airlines credit expiring that I thought was a book by expiration date, not a fly by date so a one-way flight was free, realized this a week out). I booked an Amtrak ticket home and stopped in Washington, DC for approximately 23 hours and paid like $99 for the entire ticket Charleston-DC-New York, when the DC-New York segment alone (Amtrak didn't price things so agressively lower or early morning/late evening trains back then) was $86!

At some point during COVID (when I didn't set foot on an Amtrak train for 3 1/2 years) they discontinued this multi-city ticketing trip, when the website's booking system got quite dumbed down. I was quite upset to learn about this and that my old tricks of maximizing visiting lots of stations at a mimimal cost is now dead.

 

[joelkfla]

"Multi-City" is one of the options on the dropdown menu where you select One-Way or Round-Trip. I think it still prices each segment separately, though.

If you want to cancel & rebook, any ticket can be canceled for a full refund within 24 hours of purchase.

 

[dadonatrain]

"Multi-City" is one of the options on the dropdown menu where you select One-Way or Round-Trip. I think it still prices each segment separately, though.

If you want to cancel & rebook, any ticket can be canceled for a full refund within 24 hours of purchase.

I’m not trying to pick a fight, but no it’s not. At least moments ago on my iPad, logged in as me, all I got was one way or round trip.

No pblm, though, since I was only curious when I started th8nking about this anyway.

Thx for trying to,help.

 

[zephyr17]

I’m not trying to pick a fight, but no it’s not. At least moments ago on my iPad, logged in as me, all I got was one way or round trip.

No pblm, though, since I was only curious when I started th8nking about this anyway.

Thx for trying to,help.

I got the following drop down on a Samsung Galaxy using Chrome just now:
One Way
Round Trip
Multi-City
Group Travel

 

[railiner]

I tried just now on my iPhone… if I used the Amtrak app, was only offered one way or round trip, but if I used the web site, I was offered one way, round trip, multi city, group travel, cars & hotels…

 

[zephyr17]

I tried just now on my iPhone… if I used the Amtrak app, was only offered one way or round trip, but if I used the web site, I was offered one way, round trip, multi city, group travel, cars & hotels…

Yep, used the app on my Samsung Galaxy and the app only offers One Way or Round Trip on the Android platform, too. Mobile site offers full set of choices on the Galaxy using Chrome.

Another "feature" brought to you by Amtrak's crack IT staff.

 

[dadonatrain]

Well IBD! It infuriates me that it should be dependent at all on what device or platform or app or browser we use! But we should be careful to recall (I’m sure we all can) other sites besides just Amtrak that work exactly the same fractured fragmented way! Several ways I try to use YT definitely do!

I suspect this thread has run its course.

Thx all for contributing.

 

[zephyr17]

But we should be careful to recall (I’m sure we all can) other sites besides just Amtrak that work exactly the same fractured fragmented way! Several ways I try to use YT definitely do!

Yeah, but Amtrak is a top contender for the worst UX prize. And has been high in that ranking for years.