Southwest USA & The West Coast (California, Arizona etc) - General Thread

blindman

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

T

One of your links suggests that Amtrak fares are comparable with bus fares but I'm not finding that on their websites - compare $31 LA - SD return by Greyhound with £90 by Amtrak - and then I find that Amtrak use a coach as there isn't a train line all the way! :rotfl:

Obviously not all Amtrack fares can be comparable. :cool:

Link to FT thread on Amtrack

Murphy_The_Cat

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

One of your links suggests that Amtrak fares are comparable with bus fares but I'm not finding that on their websites - compare $31 LA - SD return by Greyhound with £90 by Amtrak - and then I find that Amtrak use a coach as there isn't a train line all the way! :rotfl:

I had a quick mooch on the Amtrak site and could find multiple return trips LAX to SAN via Amtrak train for $72. There is a train line all the way, but from the Amtrak site if you select a 'Bus Stop' deprture/arrival point, then you're likely to get a bus for at least part of your journey.

Golden_Anemone

@ Vikki - I will have a look at the internal flight sites you suggest, especially for SFo - best price I could find with any of the usual booking sites was £120 return. I agree that the 10 days in LA/SM seems a lot but because of the wedding I don't want to plan too much at this stage, I might change my mind nearer the time. I can take myself off somewhere close if I get a day or 2 - Pasadena looks like a possibility and I intend to have quite a few days lying on the beach too. I have first cousins in the LA area as well and hope to hook up with them at some stage then.

Murphy_The_Cat

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

@Murphy_the_Cat - the Pacific Surfliner is a coach not a train and it's the only option Amtrak offers me for that route on their website. And I still can't find a fare less than $90 for my dates though which seems expensive.

You might be about to kick yourself (& smile whilst your doing it ), what Amtrak describe as Coach seat are what we know as Standard Class/Economy Class/Second Class seats.
The Pacific Surfliner is a train, not a bus


p.s I'm getting $90 return fares for your dates, which is £30 for a 120 mile / 2hour 45 min journey, that seems like fair value. Although for an extra $15 each way, I'd probably splurge on business class seats.

Golden_Anemone

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Vikki_74

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

@ Vikki - I will have a look at the internal flight sites you suggest, especially for SFo - best price I could find with any of the usual booking sites was £120 return. I agree that the 10 days in LA/SM seems a lot but because of the wedding I don't want to plan too much at this stage, I might change my mind nearer the time. I can take myself off somewhere close if I get a day or 2 - Pasadena looks like a possibility and I intend to have quite a few days lying on the beach too. I have first cousins in the LA area as well and hope to hook up with them at some stage then.

Pasadena is lovely - we stayed there rather than LA itself actually - but it can get very hot there in the summer as it's further inland. We were there in September & it was roasting, although that was in the middle of a crazy heat wave when temps in Santa Monica were in the high 90s!! I guess you've noticed it's on a metro line too which would be handy.

You could also look at heading up the coast a bit on Amtrak depending on cost - the Pacific Surfliner route I believe goes a far as San Luis Obispo which could give you some trip options for a day or two.

For flights with Southwest & JetBlue, try and avoid flying on a Friday or Sunday - they always seem to be more expensive, I guess because of people going away for the weekend. Southwest (possibly JetBlue also, I just don use them as much) have an option which will show you flight prices for a specific route over the whole month so you can see the cheapest options.

Murphy_The_Cat

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

I'm not going to kick myself at all - it was the Amtrak site that called it a bus so maybe I should kick them?

Anyway, 3 times the bus fare still seems excessive. Thanks for your help.

Oh dear.

Amtrak runs a service that combines bus connections with rail services. If its a bus service, it will clearly say the word "Bus" against its schedule. On that particular route it usually gives the name of the service that it is operating (Pacific Surfliner, Starlight Express etc etc), then, with a simple click of the mouse, you can get indepth details of that particular train service.

Good luck with taking the bus.

p.s. the train trip from San Luis Opisbo to LAX is lovely and is regarded as one of the best rail journeys in America (but definitely not one of the quickest), but at $40 its possibly more than you would want to spend.

jackieblack

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

@Murphy_the_Cat - the Pacific Surfliner is a coach not a train

I'm fairly sure that when Murphy was travelling on that route(there is a link to his TR on the first post of this thread) he was able to identify whether he was on a train or a bus

Murphy_The_Cat

jackieblack wrote: »

I'm fairly sure that when Murphy was travelling on that route(there is a link to his TR on the first post of this thread) he was able to identify whether he was on a train or a bus

& my children who love travelling on trains have confirmed that the Pacific Surfliner (or as it known in our house, the Pacific Smurfliner ) is indeed a train, and the pictures that we have of the train confirm this.

As long as you're not in a hurry, Amtrak travel is a great way to see America and meet some interesting people.

I don't fancy the idea of bus travel in America even if it is a few $$'s cheaper.

Golden_Anemone

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