Miami to New Orleans

[Mia Nola]

Traveling in December from Miami to New Orleans and back. Trying to figure out the best route. Do I have to go up to Washington first?

Appreciate any suggestions.

 

[pennyk]

The several times I have traveled from Orlando to New Orleans, I took train 98, Silver Meteor to Washington DC, then train 19, Crescent, from Washington DC to New Orleans. In my opinion, that is the best route. However, it is not the only route.

 

[Mia_Nola]

Thank you.

I am just reading a schedule and there is also a Silver Star that would give a shorter layover in DC. Can it work too? Amtrak website is not giving me that option for some reason.

 

[Bob Dylan]

If you want to ride a Train you can also ride from WAS to CHI ( Cap Ltd. or Cardinal) and then take the City of New Orleans to NOL.

If you have time, I suggest taking one of them to CHI,then the City to NOL,then Return on the Crescent to WAS and take a Silver Train to Florida.( Meteor has a Diner,Star is cheaper)

Otherwise there's plenty of Flights and the Long Dog( not recommended!).

 

[Mia_Nola]

Thank you for the replies.

So I cannot go from Miami to New Orleans on Silver Star followed by Crescent? Is the layover too short to make that connection?

Now I see an option of multi pass of 8 segments in 15 days.

If I go Miami to Raleigh to Greensboro to New Orleans and then Orleans to Chicago to Washington to Miami, can I use the multi pass for a trip like that? All coach class through out.

 

[cpotisch]

Thank you for the replies.

So I cannot go from Miami to New Orleans on Silver Star followed by Crescent? Is the layover too short to make that connection?

Correct, the layover is too short. You could book it as a multi-city if you really want to take the Star for some reason, but the connection will not be guaranteed. But yeah, I would recommend the shortest route - Silver Meteor to WAS and the Crescent down to NOL.

 

[jis]

If you want (and are adventurous enough) you could do the following:

Silver Star - Miami to Cary or Raleigh

Piedmont or Carolinian - Cary or Raleigh to Greensboro or Charlotte

Crescent - Greensboro or Charlotte to New Orleans

You will have to book using multi-city, and there is more than plenty of connecting time. Changing at Greensboro instead of Charlotte makes the boarding on the Crescent happen at a little less unearthly hour, and IMHO Greensboro is a much more pleasant station in a better neighborhood with reasonable restaurants and such close by, that the current Charlotte station.

Raleigh of course has a brand spanking new station with very good eateries and other places close by to spend time at while waiting for the train.

 

[Mia_Nola]

Thank you guys.

Will an 8-segment multi pass work for a trip like that, jis?

 

[jis]

Thank you guys.

Will an 8-segment multi pass work for a trip like that, jis?

I suppose it will eat up three segments. I am not very conversant on using multi-pass tickets so please check with someone more knowledgeable on that one.

 

[cpotisch]

If you want (and are adventurous enough) you could do the following:

Silver Star - Miami to Cary or Raleigh

Piedmont or Carolinian - Cary or Raleigh to Greensboro or Charlotte

Crescent - Greensboro or Charlotte to New Orleans

You will have to book using multi-city, and there is more than plenty of connecting time. Changing at Greensboro instead of Charlotte makes the boarding on the Crescent happen at a little less unearthly hour, and IMHO Greensboro is a much more pleasant station in a better neighborhood with reasonable restaurants and such close by, that the current Charlotte station.

Raleigh of course has a brand spanking new station with very good eateries and other places close by to spend time at while waiting for the train.

You actually don't need to book a multi-city to do MIA-RGH-GRO-NOL (it's the last option listed when you search for MIA-NOL), and it is the shortest route by about four hours. Of course it involves an extra transfer, but they are both guaranteed connections, so it is actually a good option in many ways.

 

[caravanman]

The pass uses up a "segment" everytime you board a new amtrak train, or an amtrak connecting bus. You have to complete all travel within the 15 days.

I would phone an agent and see if all the dates you want are still available, before buying the pass... You still need to make reservations for the trains you want with a pass, you can't just jump on when you wish...

Ed

 

[jis]

Responding to cpotisch - Oh. They must have added it recently. It was not there four months back. [emoji57]

 

[cpotisch]

Responding to cpotisch - Oh. They must have added it recently. It was not there four months back. [emoji57]

I see.

 

[Mia_Nola]

Thank you everyone.

 

[cpotisch]

Thank you everyone.

You're welcome.

Which combo do you think you'll go with?

 

[JRR]

Thank you everyone.

I'm a late comer to this but my wife and I did this trip this summer only from Deerfield Beach rather than Miami.Took the Meteor to Washington, the Crescent to New Orleans and then the CONO to Chicago, the CL to Washington and Meteor back home.

It was a great trip. During the wait in DC, we visited the Air & Space Museum, the Native American Museum, Art Museum and a couple of others. We spent an extra day in New Orleans and went to the WWII museum - a must see. We were there from 9 Am to 5 pm.

We spent a couple of days in Chicago visiting relatives before returning to Washington and home.

I note that you plan to do this by coach. At our age we are not up to it so had a Roomette for the train travel. As an added bonus, we were able to use the lounges to store our bags in Washington and Chicago.

It was worth it for us but the expense is not insignificant.

 

[cpotisch]

It is a shame that the fastest option here requires takes more than 56 hours and requires two transfers. Florida is just way too isolated in the Amtrak system. Is it correct that if the Sunset or CONO were extended to Florida, the trip would probably take around 15 hours?

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

It is a shame that the fastest option here requires takes more than 56 hours and requires two transfers. Florida is just way too isolated in the Amtrak system. Is it correct that if the Sunset or CONO were extended to Florida, the trip would probably take around 15 hours?

This schedule from 1993 would take about a day from NOL to MIA (11:00pm CT to 11:10pm ET, so about 25 hours).

http://timetables.org/full.php?group=19930502n&item=0030

The Southern Rail Commission Report had proposed service from NOL to ORL with a schedule NOL 5:00pm CT to ORL 11:30am ET. So if that trip were extended to Miami, you'd add about 6 more hours so it would be around the whole day, 25 hours).

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5302778ee4b07a6f640874ef/t/5670735bd8af10d0d84e4965/1450210139160/Gulf+Coast+Initiative+Report+2015.pdf

That's still way better than having to go all the way up to Washington DC and back down again (assuming you're trying for the shortest, fastest route).

 

[cpotisch]

This schedule from 1993 would take about a day from NOL to MIA (11:00pm CT to 11:10pm ET, so about 25 hours).

Wouldn't that be 23h 10m?

The Southern Rail Commission Report had proposed service from NOL to ORL with a schedule NOL 5:00pm CT to ORL 11:30am ET. So if that trip were extended to Miami, you'd add about 6 more hours so it would be around the whole day, 25 hours).

5:00PM CT to 11:30AM ET is 17.5 hours. So you add six hours to that and it's 23.5 hours. When I said 15 hours, I was talking about NOL-ORL, so I guess I was off by a mere 2.5 hours. Not bad by my standards.

 

[the_traveler]

Even if the SL east or CONO east was in place, it would still require a connection. It did at one time run to Miami, but in later years it was truncated to Orlando. Thus you would need to connect in ORL.

 

[bratkinson]

For me, getting extra time on the train by going to WAS on the Meteor, stash my luggage in the ClubAcela (if you take a sleeper on the Meteor or the Crescent) or baggage storage (for a fee), and spend the next 10 hours or so sightseeing in WAS.

Being December, take a chose your own destination(s) walking tour is still an option (40s-50s temperature). The US Capitol is right out the front door, as is the Post Office Museum (including a restored RPO you can walk through! - It's the building iimmediately to the right as you walk out the front door of WAS), or a wide choice of Smithsonian museums as well as others (the Holocaust Museum is definitely a worthwhile place to see https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=Kwq8W6uHMYTj_Ab5_I74Ag&q=holocaust+museum+dc&oq=holocaust&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i131l2j0l6j0i131l2.290.2147..4751...0.0..0.131.778.8j1......0....1..gws-wiz.VEeV9Rkc2wM), as are the various monuments/memorials on/near the Mall.

Or, if you're a real train nut, spend the day joyriding the WMATA subway/elevated system. I don't know if the new use it & keep it prepaid reusable/rechargeable farecard system (I forget what they call it) system is too 'dumb' to realize you rode for some period of time, doing cross-platform transfers and not going through the turnstiles, and getting off exactly where you got on. I did that a number of times 20-30 years ago. Recognize that the fares automatically deducted from your card when you exit are much higher during rush hour times...downright exorbitant in my opinion. I think it whacked me $2.50 to go from one-stop-away (NoMa-Gualldulett U) to Union Station at 8:30 AM a couple months ago after spending a night in the hotel at NoMa.

 

[JRR]

For me, getting extra time on the train by going to WAS on the Meteor, stash my luggage in the ClubAcela (if you take a sleeper on the Meteor or the Crescent) or baggage storage (for a fee), and spend the next 10 hours or so sightseeing in WAS.

Being December, take a chose your own destination(s) walking tour is still an option (40s-50s temperature). The US Capitol is right out the front door, as is the Post Office Museum (including a restored RPO you can walk through! - It's the building iimmediately to the right as you walk out the front door of WAS), or a wide choice of Smithsonian museums as well as others (the Holocaust Museum is definitely a worthwhile place to see https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=Kwq8W6uHMYTj_Ab5_I74Ag&q=holocaust+museum+dc&oq=holocaust&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i131l2j0l6j0i131l2.290.2147..4751...0.0..0.131.778.8j1......0....1..gws-wiz.VEeV9Rkc2wM), as are the various monuments/memorials on/near the Mall.

Or, if you're a real train nut, spend the day joyriding the WMATA subway/elevated system. I don't know if the new use it & keep it prepaid reusable/rechargeable farecard system (I forget what they call it) system is too 'dumb' to realize you rode for some period of time, doing cross-platform transfers and not going through the turnstiles, and getting off exactly where you got on. I did that a number of times 20-30 years ago. Recognize that the fares automatically deducted from your card when you exit are much higher during rush hour times...downright exorbitant in my opinion. I think it whacked me $2.50 to go from one-stop-away (NoMa-Gualldulett U) to Union Station at 8:30 AM a couple months ago after spending a night in the hotel at NoMa.

Totally agree that there is a lot to do while waiting for the Crescent in Wash but I would like the option to change to the SL in Orlando.

 

[jis]

You will most likely get to change to a train to NOL at ORL in the next few years. If you want to wait specifically for SL you’ll be waiting a very long time, maybe forever. [emoji57]

 

[cpotisch]

You will most likely get to to change to a train to NOL at ORL in the next few years. If you want to wait specifically for SL you’ll be waiting a very long time, maybe forever. [emoji57]

You talking about a CONO extension or some possible non-Amtrak train or what?

 

[pennyk]

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