New from NY :)

[Stellamarina]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a newbie (to Amtrak) and am from NY. My fiance put it in my head the other day that we should take a trip cross country via train. I love train rides!!! Mostly because I hate flying. When I lived in Italy I used to take the train everywhere and loved it! I even did a Rome-Paris train ride once and then flew Paris-NY (only because there were no trains to NY...sigh) :unsure:

Anyways, my question is what is the best way (to get the best experience and see the nicest scenery!) to go from NY to California (we definitely want to go to LA but I was thinking maybe go to San Francisco, rent a car and go to LA, then head back east?)? Which routes are best? I hope I'm posting in the correct place...please let me know!

Also, are there trains that stop in Las Vegas or are there only buses? And I wouldn't mind stopping of in New Orleans maybe on the way back, if possible. (NY-Miami will have to be a whole other trip! :lol: )

Any suggestions, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated. We are planning to take 2 weeks off (leaving on a saturday morning and returning to NY on sunday evening 2 weeks later to make the most of our trip!) Also, when are the best times to go? I have vacation days that I need to use up before the end of June! I'm so excited I can't stop thinking about this trip...that's how I found this website!!!

Please let me know...I'm constantly online checking for answers tee hee

Thanks in advance!

 

[the_traveler]

I'm a newbie (to Amtrak) and am from NY.

Welcome!

Where in NY - NYC or NYS? :huh: I grew up in NYS, and when you said "I'm from NY", people automatically think NYC. I lived closer to Montreal than to NYC! (I did not go to NYC - except to change trains of course! :lol: )

My fiance put it in my head the other day that we should take a trip cross country via train. I love train rides!!! Mostly because I hate flying. When I lived in Italy I used to take the train everywhere and loved it! I even did a Rome-Paris train ride once and then flew Paris-NY (only because there were no trains to NY...sigh) :unsure:
Anyways, my question is what is the best way (to get the best experience and see the nicest scenery!) to go from NY to California (we definitely want to go to LA but I was thinking maybe go to San Francisco, rent a car and go to LA, then head back east?)? Which routes are best?

I feel the same about flying. Although I don't hate flying, my last flight was in 2002.

If scenery is your goal, I would vote for the California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville (San Francisco area)! The route through the Rockies west of Denver is considered by many (myself included ) to be the most scenic train route on Amtrak! B)

Also, are there trains that stop in Las Vegas or are there only buses? And I wouldn't mind stopping of in New Orleans maybe on the way back, if possible.

Sadly, the last train route to stop at Las Vegas (NV) was the Desert Wind, which stopped running in 1997. Now, Las Vegas is only served by buses. (The Southwest Chief does serve Las Vegas, NM - but I assume you meant Las Vegas, NV! )

If you return from California on the Sunset Limited, you will go to New Orleans and need to stay at least 1 night (due to the arrival time).

 

[MrFSS]

Even though you are saying HI and you are new, I'm going to move this over to the main forum where more will see and respond, hopefully.

Welcome!

 

[Stellamarina]

Hi Traveler!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm from NYC...and you are right, most people assume NY = NYC...and that's just what I did when I wrote it!

That sucks about no train to Las Vegas! Why did they remove that route?

One night in New Orleans is fine by me! My fiance has family there so it would be a treat to see them.

Is it better to go straight from New Orleans to NYP or to stop-over in Washington? Is it the same route?

Thanks so much again!

 

[Stellamarina]

Even though you are saying HI and you are new, I'm going to move this over to the main forum where more will see and respond, hopefully.
Welcome!

Thanks MrFSS!!!!

 

[darien-l]

Welcome! I suggest the following itinerary for you:

1) New York - Chicago

Lake Shore Limited or Cardinal.

Lake Shore Limited will get you to Chicago 9 hours faster, although the Cardinal arguably has better scenery. The best scenery on the Lake Shore Limited is in the Hudson River Valley, approximately between New York City and Poughkeepsie. I would suggest that, if you've already ridden that segment on Metro North, or are otherwise familiar with the area, take the Cardinal, otherwise, consider Lake Shore Limited.

Both the Lake Shore Limited and the Cardinal arrive into Chicago at about 10 AM, and, if they arive on time, you will have a few hours to explore Chicago before your connection to California Zephyr (2 PM). Alternatively, you can schedule a stopover in Chicago for a day or two.

2) Chicago-San Francisco

The California Zephyr goes through the Rockies and the Sierras, and is one of the most beautiful train rides in the world.

3) San Francisco-Los Angeles

You mentioned renting a car for this segment, but you may want to consider Coast Starlight, which is currently the premier Amtrak train and has extra amenities like the Pacific Parlor Car specifically for sleeper passengers. The route, part of which runs along the Pacific Ocean, is also very beautiful.

4) Los Angeles-New Orleans

The train that runs this route is called the Sunset Limited. In terms of scenery, it's nothing special, but it will get you there.

5) New Orleans-New York

There is a direct train called the Crescent. It does go through Washington, so you can have a stopover there if you'd like. There is a plethora of trains between Washington and New York.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[GG-1]

Welcome! I suggest the following itinerary for you:
3) San Francisco-Los Angeles

You mentioned renting a car for this segment, but you may want to consider Coast Starlight, which is currently the premier Amtrak train and has extra amenities like the Pacific Parlor Car specifically for sleeper passengers. The route, part of which runs along the Pacific Ocean, is also very beautiful.

rip!

Aloha

While this train is my favorite train if you are riding south from San Francisco the best of the route is as you approach LA and due to the chronic lateness of the Starlight is after dark. I prefer the Starlight going northbound.

I am not sere if reversing your trip could work also due to schedules. I love the California Zephyr, The South West Chief, and the Sunset Limited. But to me the train Second to the Coast Starlight is the Empire Builder which you would enjoy in ether direction.

 

[darien-l]

Also, when are the best times to go? I have vacation days that I need to use up before the end of June!

Doing this trip in May should be very pleasant. The scenery in California will be lush and green, and the weather in LA and New Orleans not too hot.

However, understand that May is the beginning of high season for Amtrak, so you need to book your tickets as soon as possible, especially if you're planning to travel in a sleeper. If you book them online, they're fully refundable (up until 7 days before departure for sleeper tickets). Amtrak sells tickets on a bucket system, so the prices go up substantially as the train fills up. Already, you may not be able to get the lowest fares for travel in May, but with some persistence you should find something reasonable if your travel dates are flexible. It's important to try different dates when booking: train loads, and thus, prices, can vary significantly from day to day.

If price (or the hassle of trying to find the best price) is a big concern, you can try this trip in March, when you shouldn't have much difficulty finding the lowest bucket fares. On the plus side, snowy Rockies and Sierras will be spectacular!

 

[the_traveler]

Welcome! I suggest the following itinerary for you:
3) San Francisco-Los Angeles

You mentioned renting a car for this segment, but you may want to consider Coast Starlight, which is currently the premier Amtrak train and has extra amenities like the Pacific Parlor Car specifically for sleeper passengers. The route, part of which runs along the Pacific Ocean, is also very beautiful.

While this train is my favorite train if you are riding south from San Francisco the best of the route is as you approach LA and due to the chronic lateness of the Starlight is after dark. I prefer the Starlight going northbound.

I am not sere if reversing your trip could work also due to schedules.

Depending on when your trip is, and if you are lucky (as I was in October), you may see the good scenery on the Coast Starlight (CS). I got to see the sunset over the Pacific around Santa Barbara - and the CS was running about 1 hour late!

If you did reverse your route, then the best part of the scenery on the California Zephyr around Denver may be in darkness.

 

[p&sr]

1) New York - Chicago...Lake Shore Limited 2) Chicago-San Francisco...California Zephyr

3) San Francisco-Los Angeles...Coast Starlight

4) Los Angeles-New Orleans...Sunset Limited

5) New Orleans-New York...Crescent

This is a very nice loop around the country. I will be doing much the same trip myself in May, but starting in California.

There is a good way to improve the trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. That is to exit the Coast Starlight in San Luis Obispo (mid-afternoon or early evening). The town is a pleasant place to stay overnight, then catch the early morning Surfliner to Los Angeles (or San Diego!) to be sure of Daylight on the scenic coastal section (Guadalupe to Ventura).

San Diego makes a fine day excursion from Los Angeles, as well, with several trains daily in both directions, and an outstanding Light Rail ("Trolley") System around town.

San Francisco, of course, is filled with Rail attractions... the famous Cable Cars through ChinaTown and over Russian Hill, the heritage StreetCars along Market Street and the Embarcadero (to Fisherman's Wharf), the historic StreetCars (now called Light Rail), the BART system to East Bay, and the CalTrain to San Jose. Even the historic 22-inch gauge "Little Puffer" Steam Train inside the Zoo (reachable by StreetCar), if you are so inclined!

 

[Everydaymatters]

That sucks about no train to Las Vegas!

If you take the Southwest Chief out of either Chicago or LosAngeles, Amtrak has a van which picks up passengers and takes them to LasVegas. It takes about 3 hours from the Amtrak Station in Kingman, Arizona to the airport in LasVegas. There are plenty of taxis at the airport to take you to a hotel. As the van approaches LasVegas, the scene is breathtaking as you come upon the LasVegas with millions of lights.

 

[Stellamarina]

Awesome guys! Thanks so much!!! I may have to do another coast to coast to test out the Empire Builder and Southwest Chief!

Now I'm trying to figure out how to fit in Las Vegas....6 hour bus trip from LA...maybe an overnight day trip...hmmmm

March might be a good time to go since it's my fiance's bday on the 14th.

What are bucket costs? What is the lowest price you can get for a sleeper so that I can know the price range to look at?

Thanks again! I'm calling my fiance to let him know everything you guys told me!

I'm soooo excited!

 

[the_traveler]

What are bucket costs? What is the lowest price you can get for a sleeper so that I can know the price range to look at?

Amtrak prices tickets by how many are sold ("buckets") for that train on that day. So if they set 15 seats (not the actual number) in "the low bucket", once that 15th seat is sold, the 16th seat will be sold at the next fare bucket. And unlike planes, there is no "set day" for the fare to rise (such as 30 days or 14 days). Once that seat is sold, the "bucket" will rise. Thus, it may be that the train on the 15th may be in the 3rd bucket, the train on the 14th in the 1st bucket and the train on the 16th to be in the 2nd bucket. On routes with numerous trains, it may be possible to see different prices for the 9 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM trains on the same day.

You can get an idea by looking at a list (I believe it's there) in the National timetable. An easier way is to check the prices online for a few dates far out (such as 7 months, 9 months and 10 months out). Chances are they will be "low bucket".

 

[darien-l]

Now I'm trying to figure out how to fit in Las Vegas....6 hour bus trip from LA...maybe an overnight day trip...hmmmm

The good news is that there are a bazillion bus services between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, many of which provide hotel-to-hotel service and are way more comfortable than Amtrak motorcoaches, for about the same price. Here's just one out of many examples: http://www.luxbusamerica.com Of course, you can also rent a car, since you'll probably need one in the LA area anyway.

 

[darien-l]

What are bucket costs? What is the lowest price you can get for a sleeper so that I can know the price range to look at?

To get you started:

The lowest bucket rail fare between New York and Chicago on the Lakeshore Limited is now $84 per person

The lowest bucket roomette upgrade between New York and Chicago on the Lakeshore Limited is now $184 per room

Thus, the total cost of this segment should come out to $176 per person, sharing the roomette.

I got this info from amtrak.com looking at some random dates in March.

 

[GG-1]

Awesome guys! Thanks so much!!! I may have to do another coast to coast to test out the Empire Builder and Southwest Chief!
Now I'm trying to figure out how to fit in Las Vegas....6 hour bus trip from LA...maybe an overnight day trip...hmmmm

Aloha

I made a comment to a sleeper Attendant about my dread of a 6 hour bus to Vegas, her suggestion take a San Joaquin to Bakersfield, and bus from there as it is only an hour.

Hope this is correct, I haven't checked the accuracy.

 

[jackal]

I made a comment to a sleeper Attendant about my dread of a 6 hour bus to Vegas, her suggestion take a San Joaquin to Bakersfield, and bus from there as it is only an hour.
Hope this is correct, I haven't checked the accuracy.

From BFD to LAS? I scheduled my mom for LAS-BFD-HFD-PRB (first and last segments on Thruway coaches; middle one on the SJ) and, IIRC, LAS-BFD was about 5 hours. It certainly wasn't 1!

 

[p&sr]

I made a comment to a sleeper Attendant about my dread of a 6 hour bus to Vegas, her suggestion take a San Joaquin to Bakersfield, and bus from there as it is only an hour.
Hope this is correct, I haven't checked the accuracy.

Not quite. Closer to 6 hours again.

Departs Bakersfield 12:10 PM, Arrives Las Vegas 5:55 PM.

Departs Bakersfield 4:20 PM, Arrives Las Vegas 10:05

Besides the Amtrak-chartered Van from Kingman, Arizona (12:50 AM Mountain Time to 3:10 AM Pacific Time, about 3 hours if you like being up at that time of night), Amtrak will also issue tickets for Greyhound from Los Angeles (Union Station), three times daily at 10:10 AM, 2:45 PM and 6:25 PM for a trip of about five or six hours. Your choice!

(The Van from Kingman connects with the SWC to and from points east only.)

 

[Rob_C]

Speaking of Vegas, every now and then you hear (or see) them testing the LAX-LAS train route. Anybody heard anything about this recently? Or have the Indian casinos pretty much put the kabosh on any future re-introduction of service?

Also if you miss the scenery on the southbound 11, how about a day trip LAX-SBA?

Rob

 

[Guest]

...When I lived in Italy I used to take the train everywhere and loved it! I even did a Rome-Paris train ride once and then flew Paris-NY (only because there were no trains to NY...sigh) :unsure:

...

Any suggestions, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated.

...

Don't order the pasta dish when dining on board.