Visiting the US, routing suggestions please

[user 6862]

Following on from a CZ question, we are planning a mainly public transport trip to a few parts of the US but this wont include flying internally.

These are our must/want to do's.

• we are flying from the UK or France and can arrive at most destinations
• travel will be end of February / the beginning of March 2015, and will last about 3 weeks
• the end of the trip will be in Naples, Fl to visit dear friends who are just about to move there
• we will fly out of Miami or Orlando
• we are quite happy to travel thruway bus or Greyhound to sort out the logistics problems where Amtrak doesn't go. I have travelled over 6000 miles on Greyhound so have an idea of it's strong and weak points
• do not want to take the Sunset Limited as we intend to travel that in 2016
• don't like to backtrack over the same route on the same trip but we are considering Greyhound from Salinas via LA and Las Vegas to Denver as it travels a different route to the CZ
• we find deserts and plains quite interesting too (I know we are strange people).
• most enjoyable of all is meeting people whether fellow travellers or folk who are in their home town
• we don't have an unlimited budget

• we will start the trip with the CZ from either Chicago or Denver, not decided yet. Will travel through to SF
• must visit Salinas, Ca for a visit to the town and to the Steinbeck centre
• will make our way from the west coast to Charleston as my wife has a very very very distant connection to Seabrook Island and the Seabrook Plantation
• think on this forum there was mention of a section of track from Santa Fe that is to be modified or closed, would like to travel that if still possible
• will stay at Cocoa Beach and visit the Space Centre, then on to Naples

So having studied the rail and road maps and see it is possible if we travel back Denver to zig zag east across country and end up in Charleston, but it's pretty fragmented without returning north to CHI or other major hub, any ideas on an interesting, do-able route to the east coast please?

We are pretty open visiting the less well travelled places, so to us OK City is as appealing as say Dallas

Thank you

 

[caravanman]

I look forward to reading the replies too, as it is the sort of help I often ask for on AU !

Ed

 

[ALX]

Ok, I like a logistical challenge.

How about this from west to east without backtracking:

1. From Salinas, Take the Coast Starlight from Salinas to LA Union Station and stay a night

OR Take Throughway bus to Santa Barbra and transfer to the Pacific Surfliner which does get you in in time to catch the next leg

2. Take the southwest chief to Kansas City (which has a nice station).

3. Take Missouri River Runner to St. Louis (new station). Up to you to pick which one based on your confidence in on-time, I'd probably go later.

4. Overnight in St. Louis and catch one of the Greyhound or Trailways buses to Indianapolis. Most reasonable Greyhound leaves at 2 in the afternoon and gets in 8, which should be plenty of time.

5. Take the Cardinal to either DC, Alexandria or Charlottesville (with connecting bus to Richmond), VA

6. Transfer to the Silver Meteor down to Charleston.

Technically the timing works out just exactly that if everything was perfect you could make all these connections without stopping, but probably better to plan a break in there. St. Louis is a nice town (I have family there so biased) and the train/bus station is linked by a lot of transit so I picked there for ease of getting a room at say the nearby Union Station Hotel. And then going back to the station the next day around noon for a 4 hour bus to Indianapolis. The bus and train station in Indianapolis are shared as well, so you don't have to take a cab or anything like that. You'll have some time to kill and there is some stuff in the area, like the monument circle 3 blocks north. There are a number of restaurants up towards the monuments as well if you haven't eaten by this time.

You'll get to see the nice scenery along the Cardinal and the River Runner is pretty nice, including my old hometown along the route. It winds through a lot of small towns and obviously the river is followed pretty closely for a decent portion of the route.

Alternatively, you could overnight in Kansas City and do the St. Louis to Indy stretch in a day, but it would be tighter. Also, as far as I know (I do not have any first-hand knowledge and may be wrong) it is less transit oriented and you may be reliant on cabs to get around. Arguably if you are into BBQ though, KCY would be better than STL. I prefer the Italian influences in STL myself, but to each his own.

I am aware the Cardinal does not have the best reliability, but if you transfer at Charlotesville to Richmond, I am assuming the bus would be held for a late cardinal if need be (since the company appears to be chartered specifically for Amtrak and doesn't offer it as regular service) and you have 5 hours of padding before the Meteor goes through Richmond.

You avoid Chicago and I doubt you'd ever backtrack this route again. If you are sane anyway.

 

[chakk]

I agree heartily that the Southwest Chief is a great alternate to the CZ for trans-western train travel.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[ALX]

I checked on Amtrak.com with sample booking and it looks like they offer Salinas to STL as a viable option (which I think means they guarantee it, someone correct me if I am wrong). And they offer Indy to Charleston as a viable option. So other than the break between STL and Indy, which is really only about 3 hours by car worst case, you would in theory be under Amtrak's obligation to get you there the rest of the way. You do have to plan everything around the Cardinal's 3 day a week schedule though with this routing. It leaves on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Indy.

 

[zephyr17]

Yes, if they offer a through routing between two points without your having to resort to the multi-city option, then the connection is guaranteed.



However, note that a "guaranteed" connection does not necessarily they will hold trains, just that they will get you there. Putting you up overnight and sending you out the next day and/or providing alternate transportation like a chartered bus or van satisfies the guarantee.



BTW-I am not criticizing, just pointing out the nature of the guarantee. Their handling of passengers in these situations is light years better than the airlines.

 

[the_traveler]

One point about getting to Naples is that Amtrak does not serve it, either by train or Thruway bus. The closest by train is to either Tampa or Ft Lauderdale. The closest via Thruway is Fort Myers.

 

[neroden]

You're starting your trip with the California Zephyr heading westbound from Chicago (or Denver) to the west coast.

The Coast Starlight will take you from the Bay Area to Salinas and from Salinas to Los Angeles.

The Southwest Chief is the one with the segment which is likely to be rerouted (that segment is from Albuquerque NM to Newton KS). Since you're taking the California Zephyr from Chicago (or Denver) to the west coast, and you don't want to take the Sunset Limited, you should certainly take the Southwest Chief back *from* the west coast (Los Angeles) towards the east.

Since you don't want to retrace your steps all the way to Chicago, you should get off the SW Chief in Kansas City and take the Missouri River Runner to St. Louis.

From St. Louis, you have a number of bus options for heading towards Charleston. I can't recommend any of them, but maybe Swadian, our resident bus fan, can recommend something. The rail routes all require going back through Chicago and DC, as you can see from Amtrak's map.

ALX's proposed itinerary is pretty nice, if you can make the Cardinal's annoying three-a-week schedule fit into your plans.

 

[oregon pioneer]

You're working on a great trip! You mentioned Las Vegas and Denver. Were you thinking of stopping in those places, or just using it as an example of Greyhound routing? I know there are bus/van services connecting both cities to the SW Chief train route.

I understand the liking for desert and plains. Many years ago, I was on a mountain bike trip in the Utah desert and struck up a conversation with some German tourists. I was curious why they preferred the desert to the lush, green countryside back east (that was full of historic sites as well). They said "We've got landscapes like that, and plenty of history. What we don't have is the desert!" Ever since then, I've looked at it with new eyes.

With that in mind, I highly recommend at least an overnight stop in Albuquerque, and a tour of Taos Pueblo. If you've got the resources and desire to rent a vehicle, I'd recommend a longer stop in that area, with a few days' trip to Mesa Verde National Park, and maybe as far as Arches National Park. You could spend a lot of time in that region, as there is a historic mining area north of Durango (complete with Durango and Silverton tourist railroad).

 

[Bob Dylan]

Wonderful plan!☺

You've been given some really good suggestions as to places to see, stay and things to do!

A couple of alternate suggestions to look into: 1) instead of Denver spend a day and night in Glenwood Springs/great Little Rocky Mountain town on the Zephyr Route. 2)you can also ride the Southwest Chief to Williams Junction or Flagstaff,spend a couple of nights and see the Grand Canyon, y'all might like that more than Sin City, ie Las Vegas 3)ride the Southwest Chief to Galesburg,IL get off and take the Amtrak Thruway Bus to Indianapolis, then the Cardinal to Virginia as was said (instead of Kansas City and St Louis)

Since you plan to ride the Sunset Ltd on a future trip I'll leave out New Orleans, its crazy and wildly expensive during Mardi Gras Season!

 

[crescent2]

I'd second Jim's suggestions to consider the Grand Canyon, which is beautiful, truly unique, and quite awesome. Las Vegas is attractive in its own way, but if I could only visit one of the two, the Grand Canyon wins by a mile imo. I also agree with avoiding New Orleans during Mardi Gras time. It's one of my favorite places, but visit it on your future Sunset Limited trip at a less crowded time. I just traveled on the eastbound Cardinal and the mountain/river scenery is very nice.

I have no experience with his other suggestions but he's extremely knowledgeable about routes, as are many other forum regulars. Best wishes for a pleasant trip.

 

[user 6862]

OK, first thanks very much to everybody, our plan incorporates an amount of your advice added to our own rough plans. Great example of a forum at it's best!

This isn't a sight-seeing trip as such, more a journey just for the sake of it. We hope we are back in September 2015 for a driving holiday where we will based in the southern plains and the south east. A few years ago we were quite close to the Grand Canyon but decided not to visit as the north rim was closed due to bad weather. We'll make a special trip at a later date.

Here's where we are, and if there are any flaws, omissions or strong opinions please let me know.

CZ from Chicago or Denver to SF - 1 day only in SF then rent a car to drive to Salinas via Hwy 1 then onwards to San Luis Obispo - Surfliner to LA - South West Chief to Kansas City - here there is an option - Greyhound to Little Rock or River Runner to St Louis - either Greyhound from Little Rock to Charleston or Greyhound from St Louis to Charleston - now there are another two options - either Charleston to Miami with the Silver Meteor or as we'll have a rental car in Charleston to drive down to Cocoa Beach and then either train or bus to Miami where our friends will tootle across and collect us then drive us back to Naples - either back to Cocoa beach via Greyhound and then onto Orlando or back to Miami and back to Europe.

If we fly into Denver it allows us a shot at one of Jim's recommendations but if we arrive from CHI on the CZ then maybe another time.

I do have a few extra detail questions but want to just think about this for a couple of days first. Then when we have all the facts and answers to finalise the complete trip to book the important sections as have read here about the increasing popularity of many of the long distance trains.

One last question for now. Is it an advantage to book all the rail sections in one hit or just book each separately online?

Once again thanks

 

[neroden]

There is usually no real advantage to booking the rail all at once or separately. The only warning: if you're booking *sleeper accomodations* for *more than one person*, the Amtrak website has a serious bug which may overcharge you, so buy any such segments over the phone.

 

[chakk]

While the durango & silverton rr is nice, I consider the cumbre & toltec scenic better (and closer to ABQ). But neither are operating in the winter months of Feb/March.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[user 6862]

It's no problem to phone, is it a 24/7 service or office hours related to which time zone they are in? Do I need a US address to send tickets or are Amtrak tickets mailed world wide?

 

[PRae_Train]

Be sure your car rental company allows one-way rentals. Many do not.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[oregon pioneer]

The Amtrak customer representatives' hours are set so that anyone nationwide can call during normal extended business hours. They have a couple of call centers, and everyone is calling the same ones. I remember seeing the non-"800" number on here somewhere (for those abroad)... When "Julie" the automated agent answers, just say "agent" clearly and repeatedly until she says "I think you said you wanted to talk to an agent, is that right?" YES.

I don't think they mail tickets to Europe, but unless you have an AmBus segment where they might not be able to scan an e-ticket, you will receive e-tickets by email, and can print them yourself (or save to your smartphone for the conductor to scan right off your phone). They come as a pdf file. It does not matter whether you call, or buy online, you will most likely receive an e-ticket.

Last winter, I made reservations over the phone for an extended trip with multiple segments, and only the last segment (which included a little AmBus with no scanner) needed to be a paper ticket. Oh, I remember now, even that one was sent by email: as a reservation with a barcode which I could take to a QuickTrak machine or a station to print out the paper tickets. Since I was passing through several stations with QuickTrak machines during the trip, I just made sure I had the tickets printed out before I needed them. If you are boarding at Denver or Chicago, you'll be able to do any printing there if needed.

 

[neutralist]

There is usually no real advantage to booking the rail all at once or separately. The only warning: if you're booking *sleeper accomodations* for *more than one person*, the Amtrak website has a serious bug which may overcharge you, so buy any such segments over the phone.

Can you elaborate more on the bug?

 

[neroden]

There is usually no real advantage to booking the rail all at once or separately. The only warning: if you're booking *sleeper accomodations* for *more than one person*, the Amtrak website has a serious bug which may overcharge you, so buy any such segments over the phone.

Can you elaborate more on the bug?

I could, but I'm not going to. Search this forum, we have several entire topics discussing it.

 

[Ryan]

One of many:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/57447-wrong-fares-on-web-site/