San Francisco - New York - Cape Breton - San Francisco

[David Quinn Carder]

This is going to be my busiest Summer ever—I'm flying to Guatemala, then Maui, then San Francisco, and for a month I'll be free and would like to go visit friends in New York and Cape Breton (Nova Scotia). Towards the end of July (a month after my first train ride) I need to be back in San Francisco to catch a flight to San Diego, after which I'll fly back to San Francisco and either go to Christchurch (New Zealand) or Ottawa (Canada). I know it sounds complicated and it is, but I think by taking the train instead of travelling more roughly as I usually do, it should be enjoyable. I'm trying not to worry too much about the expense.

Nevertheless I don't want to waste money outright, so I was hoping I could get some advice here on the cheapest way to travel my schedule by rail. I plan to leave around June 20th, spend a few days in New York, go to Cape Breton and spend as much time as possible there, and then get to San Francisco by July 25th (or 20th if I go with the monthly pass).

Unfortunately I am not a student, so I don't think I'm eligible for any discounts, but if I can get a discount by joining NARP I will, as I'd like to support rail travel in the US anyway.

Thanks in advance for any help y'all can offer, and I do apologize for not introducing myself but I'm leaving in less than a week and have a ton of work to get through! If anyone has any specific questions, though, I'd be happy to answer them. This seems like a nice board.

 

[AlanB]

Welcome David.

NARP is one way to get a discount, or if you already have AAA, that too will also net you the same 10% discount as NARP. Please note however, that the discount only applies to the railfare or coach portion of the ticket price. If you book a sleeper for any part of the journey, the accomodation charge for that sleeper is not discounted.

Now depending on just how much Amtrak travel you want to do during that month, and assuming that you want to take the train to Nova Scotia, then you might also want to look into the North American Rail Pass. I'm not sure if that will really be a bargin for you, unless you plan to take several train rides, but it might be something to consider. And again, please note that the railpass only includes coach travel. You will have to pay to upgrade to a sleeper.

 

[gswager]

If you're in coach class, the cheapest option to book sleeper is to ask the conductor on train and ask if there is a room available. Remember it comes with complimentary meals.

 

[David Quinn Carder]

I'm used to travelling under relatively harsh conditions, and I don't have a whole lot of money to waste, so I was going to stick with coach.

Alan, the main question I have, I guess, is just that: would it be better for me to get the Rail Pass or not? I'm very good at finding cheap airfare but I haven't had time (and don't have the same know-how) to look for train tickets.

But I definitely won't be upgrading to sleeper unless it's free!

 

[AlanB]

Alan, the main question I have, I guess, is just that: would it be better for me to get the Rail Pass or not? I'm very good at finding cheap airfare but I haven't had time (and don't have the same know-how) to look for train tickets.

David,

Are the cities that you named the only places that you plan to visit? Those being NY and Cape Breton. If that's the case, then I expect that booking just the trip would probably be cheaper than the rail pass, but I can't be sure.

As for finding cheap Amtrak fares, there is only one place to go, Amtrak's website located here and VIA's website located here. There are no Priceline's or other discounters that sell rail tickets.

 

[sutton]

I'm used to travelling under relatively harsh conditions, and I don't have a whole lot of money to waste, so I was going to stick with coach.
Alan, the main question I have, I guess, is just that: would it be better for me to get the Rail Pass or not? I'm very good at finding cheap airfare but I haven't had time (and don't have the same know-how) to look for train tickets.

But I definitely won't be upgrading to sleeper unless it's free!

Hi david, Alan B will be much better at answering questions, but I think the way to proceed is to go to www.amtrak.com (or call the reservation #) and plug in your origin and destination. Do the same with Viarail's website; then check out the pass prices and see which is more.

 

[David Quinn Carder]

Thank you both. It's simpler than airfare then!

I would like to visit some other places, but I don't think I have time.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Sounds like a great trip you've got planned... there is nothing quite as satisfying as going from one ocean to another by train, and after a couple of weeks crossing Canada from west to east on the VIA Rail 'Canadian', I found that the rugged but beautiful shoreline of the Nova Scotia Atlantic coastline was a real treat to end my trip.

Whether or not you get the North American Rail Pass might depend on whether or not you want to make a bigger circlular route as part of your trip...

The cheapest and most direct coach fare route would be San Francisco (EMY) - Chicago (CHI) - New York (NYP) - Montréal (MTR) - Halifax (?) and back Halifax - Montréal - Schenectady (SDY) - Chicago - San Francisco. The Adirondack (Montréal-New York) and the Lake Shore Limited (New York City - Chicago) connect going from Montréal to Chicago, but not the other way: you have to overnight in New York City or go via Buffalo and Toronto, which is more expensive.

But if you really want to make the most of your trip, a railpass would allow you go to go back from coast to coast in Canada on board VIA Rail Canada. VIA Rail is generally more expensive per km in coach than Amtrak, especially on the flagship 'Canadian' from Toronto - Vancouver, which is a very classy tourist-oriented train. A rail pass would be a good value way to go back Halifax - Montréal - Toronto - Vancouver, and then down the west coast Seattle - San Francisco. I'm almost certain that a peak season railpass would be cheaper than the total cost of coach class tickets on this route, and to ride the Canadian would turn your trip into an amazing coast to coast round trip.

*j* :blink:

 

[Guest]

Thanks James!

My concern is that I could be getting a better deal by changing an option here or there, and as I'm extremely flexible everything but the first and last date, that's a lot of options to tinker with when I don't know what affects cost.

For instance, I have to go down to Guatemala and then to Hawaii, which originally looked to be ludicrously expensive. I believe the total for my trip after a bit of date changing and whatnot was nearly $2,000. However, being a frequently poor traveller, I knew I could find something better if I dug deeper. Sure enough, on the precise dates I wanted, I managed to get the whole trip for a mere $750.

With railfare, I can't do that! I'm new to it and on top of that I don't have time to try every conceivable combination of stations and dates and so on. So, I considered your suggestions and then checked to see where all Amtrak went, and I saw that it went as far as Montréal; I then did what I would first do when checking airfare and input only the places I insisted on leaving from and stopping at (in this case San Francisco, New York, and Montréal). I believe the cost was around $500 round-trip, but perhaps it was less, I don't recall as I did this search last night. But I saw that in some cities there were different stations I could have used (does that change the price?) and it offered me different routes (such as through Los Angeles), and I had no idea what would drop the price.

So anyway, if you could confirm my method or offer some advice for sure-fire specifics, I'd appreciate it! You've helped a lot already, though, so don't waste more of your time unless you're looking for something to do.

As far as VIA Rail, it was much too expensive. I believe the round-trip from Montréal to Halifax brought the overall price up to nearly $1,000, which I can't justify now. I'll just make that leg of the trip by my own means.

I'd be disappointed, but I'll have money in the near future and I can take the train all over Canada with my girl instead of doing it solo. If you knew her, I'm sure you'd agree it's worth the wait!

 

[David Quinn Carder]

Thanks James!
My concern is that I could be getting a better deal by changing an option here or there, and as I'm extremely flexible everything but the first and last date, that's a lot of options to tinker with when I don't know what affects cost.

For instance, I have to go down to Guatemala and then to Hawaii, which originally looked to be ludicrously expensive. I believe the total for my trip after a bit of date changing and whatnot was nearly $2,000. However, being a frequently poor traveller, I knew I could find something better if I dug deeper. Sure enough, on the precise dates I wanted, I managed to get the whole trip for a mere $750.

With railfare, I can't do that! I'm new to it and on top of that I don't have time to try every conceivable combination of stations and dates and so on. So, I considered your suggestions and then checked to see where all Amtrak went, and I saw that it went as far as Montréal; I then did what I would first do when checking airfare and input only the places I insisted on leaving from and stopping at (in this case San Francisco, New York, and Montréal). I believe the cost was around $500 round-trip, but perhaps it was less, I don't recall as I did this search last night. But I saw that in some cities there were different stations I could have used (does that change the price?) and it offered me different routes (such as through Los Angeles), and I had no idea what would drop the price.

So anyway, if you could confirm my method or offer some advice for sure-fire specifics, I'd appreciate it! You've helped a lot already, though, so don't waste more of your time unless you're looking for something to do.

As far as VIA Rail, it was much too expensive. I believe the round-trip from Montréal to Halifax brought the overall price up to nearly $1,000, which I can't justify now. I'll just make that leg of the trip by my own means.

I'd be disappointed, but I'll have money in the near future and I can take the train all over Canada with my girl instead of doing it solo. If you knew her, I'm sure you'd agree it's worth the wait!

That was me . . . sorry, forgot to sign in!

 

[jamesontheroad]

But I saw that in some cities there were different stations I could have used (does that change the price?) and it offered me different routes (such as through Los Angeles), and I had no idea what would drop the price.

If you search San Francisco to Montréal at amtrak.com you will, indeed, get a couple of different options. You may find a difference in price because different trains can have different pricing structures, and most importantly as seats and sleepers get sold out, the remaining ones become more expensive (although this is less of a problem for coach than for sleeper). If you search for your route on Amtrak.com, the page that pops up first will show you a table with your options with the coach class price in the right hand column. Compare the routes, times and price to find your best route, and be sure to check as many days as possible around your preferred travel dates.

As far as VIA Rail, it was much too expensive. I believe the round-trip from Montréal to Halifax brought the overall price up to nearly $1,000, which I can't justify now. I'll just make that leg of the trip by my own means.

Ok, without a rail pass VIA is pricey compared to Amtrak, but then outside the 'Corridor' between Ontario and Québec the trains really are pitched more towards tourists. There are bus lines (Orléans Express and Acadian) from Montréal to the Maritimes, and you might get lucky with a rideshare if you hunt around on Craigslist Montréal

I'd be disappointed, but I'll have money in the near future and I can take the train all over Canada with my girl instead of doing it solo. If you knew her, I'm sure you'd agree it's worth the wait!

*sigh* ... I rounded up my tour of the USA and Canada (Montréal - Chicago - Denver - San Francisco - Santa Barbara - Seattle - Vancouver - Edmonton - Winnipeg - Churchill - Winnipeg - Toronto - Montréal - Halifax - Montréal) by picking up my girlfriend in Halifax (she'd flown out from the UK) and taking her back with me to Montréal, where I lived at the time. The last train ride home was naturally the sweetest ...

*j*

 

[David Quinn Carder]

Thanks again! I will look into alternative options for the Montréal to Cape Breton leg, but I'm one of the best hitchers around so I'm not too worried.

I'll post my itinerary when I get it sorted out.