Trips in the U.S.; Rail Passes

[Deleted User]

Has anyone tried the U.S.Amtrack rail passes.I had a friend fto lunch today and we were mooting the idea of going next year.A good way to see the U.S. without too much driving we thought.Anyone tried these or been on U.S. trains and what are they like I have seen the passes quoted at about £180 for 15 days off -peak. We are both in our 60's and aren't too fussed about dates .

martindow

A good start for any rail enquiry is the man in seat 61
http://www.seat61.com/
The US railway site is
http://www.amtrak.com/

Hope you have a great trip!

alison74

I have most of the USA on Amtrak and found them great

Far nicer than British Trains (complete with dining carriages with good food, reasonably priced with sit down tables and waiter service !)

On longer, over night journeys, you pull the footrest up, recline your seat, the conductor brings a pillow round for you and a blanket and far comfier than an over night flight

You need to book ahead for the trains, but I never found this a problem, but if you know your exact route, you would do this all in advance anyway.

They also have observation cars on some routes, i.e a glass roof complete with tour guide who tells you about the area you are going through

If you want to go to a place that the train doesn't travel to, the rail pass then works on the buses (we had to get a bus ride from Flagstaff train station to the Grand Canyon for example)

If i were ever to travel the US of A again, I would use Amtrak everytime.

You can also book sleeper berths, but they are far more ££££££, bus as I said, the train overnighter is better than an overnight plane

Have fun !

BlueVinney

Just a word of warning on journey planning.

Amtrak runs as 'guest' trains on track owned and maintained by the rail freight companies, as such freight trains are often given priority. We complain if our trains are minutes late, Amtrak trains can be hours late.

In addition many of the stations are unmanned and located well outside the downtown area. This means that connecting with the trains by taxi can be complicated particularly with the possibility of delay.

If you have the time and no tight appointment schedule then you should have a good time without the need to drive long distances.

Enjoy your trip.