USA rail travel 2929 Responses

Last post: 2 years, 7 months ago | Thread started: Jul 2, 09, 1:17 p.m.

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• clarkvisual

  I'm planning a trip around usa next summer. Has anyone done it before? Just saw a Amtrak USA Rail Pass from statravel.co.uk - £521 for 18 segments within 45 days. Worth it?

  Jul 2, 09, 1:17 p.m. – Permalink

• d_rek

  Just hitchhike.

  • ah i'm too a shitbag for that– clarkvisual

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:19 p.m. – Permalink

• fiver

  could be interesting. could really, really blow.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:20 p.m. – Permalink

• DrBombay

  Probably would be pretty great. I have a friend that does Amtrak all over the country. Get a sleeper.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:21 p.m. – Permalink

• iheartfun

  rail sucks took it NY once... ill never do it again

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:21 p.m. – Permalink

• fiver

  i have a coworker that went from sf to denver and back and said it was awesome. going down the west coast is awesome. i just don't know about the rest of the other railways other than nyc -> boston during thanksgiving, and that was terrible.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:22 p.m. – Permalink

• clarkvisual

  just noticed Amtrak doesnt go to san francisco

  • only by bus transfer– danthon1/3

    Amtrak does go to SF. It takes off from emeryville which is a 20 minute bus ride.– visionary2/3

    actually it takes off from a couple stops in sf. look up the station list at amtrak.com– visionary3/3

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:24 p.m. – Permalink

• boobs

  USA rail travel is great! It's a beautiful country, and that would be a great way to see it.

  • I've taken a few train trips here in the US. Ann Arbor to Chicago. Detroit to Washington DC. Great way to go!– boobs

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:25 p.m. – Permalink

• clarkvisual

  boobs - have you done it before? I think 45 days might be a wee bit too short. maybe 60 days.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:28 p.m. – Permalink

• vaxorcist

  Just do a bit of research, some of the east coast lines can be crowded, and sometimes delayed due to freight trains, most of the midwest and west coast lines are great. Be flexible, sometimes there are delays, so if you can switch at a moments notice, you may have a much better trip....

  There are some cool old railways stations too, and they're usually in the middle of the city, rather than on the edge like airports where you have to waste hours getting into the city....

  • thanks :)– clarkvisual

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:29 p.m. – Permalink

• MSTRPLN

  I travelled with Amtrak from Montreal to Penn Station NYC and it took about 14hrs, where it would take 6hrs to drive directly.

  It wasn't too bad, but about half way in to the trip, the bathroom on the train began to look like Mount Everest with a mountain of toilet paper almost surpassing the lid. A majestic feat.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:29 p.m. – Permalink

• kgvs72

  This was a while back, but it was three days from Chicago to Tucson. I was a kid, but it was fun.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:30 p.m. – Permalink

• monkeyshine

  Here's another way...if you are super flexible it can be fun..and it is cheap. I did this years ago.

  http://www.autodriveaway.com/

  • relocating vehicles?– clarkvisual

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 1:41 p.m. – Permalink

• Orbit

  Do it the proper way.
  Hire a V8 Ford.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 2:12 p.m. – Permalink

• danthon

  I went from austin to chicago on amtrak. Got food poisoning. Horrible way to travel. Renting a car would have been a better idea.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 2:45 p.m. – Permalink

• robotron3k

  ^ rent a car/camper van for a month, have place to sleep and drive the I-40 to I-80 route around the states. only then will you realize how incredible the USA is. road trips rule.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 3:10 p.m. – Permalink

• visionary

  hitchhike=ass rape + murder

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 3:11 p.m. – Permalink

• lowimpakt

  train travel is a different experience and you have to be into it.

  i hate being in the same car/camper for too long...

  I have travelled all over europe/eastern europe/russia etc by train so I have seen all kinds of crazy trains from luxury to dangerous..

  We're going to do this maerican one soon - http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Co…

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 5:19 p.m. – Permalink

• version3

  i looked into traveling the us on that thing, my opinion: overpriced compared to flights car rental etc, plus you're stuck on the trains schedule and with all those other people.

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 5:37 p.m. – Permalink

• lowimpakt

  that's what I mean about being into the experience - it's not for everyone. I actually like the fact you will meet other people. I have met some really interesting people over the years on trains.

  other things i like about train travel over driving

  you can read books
  sleep whenever you want
  drink booze
  I like the heritage experience

  i don't like flying when I can travel overland because I like seeing where I am travelling past and getting a real sense of scale/distance.

  this sounds like hippy shit I know..

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 5:46 p.m. – Permalink

• xcarlx

  Could be amazing, but just keep in mind that the rail system in America is famous for being sloooooooooowww.....With the exception of the acela (which runs between Boston and D.C., with stops in nyc etc..our only high speed line), some routes take almost twice as long as it would to drive... for example, Los Angeles to San Francisco takes between 9-12 hours, (and you need to transfer in san jose or oakland, way outside of city center) while driving only takes around 6 hours.
  On the other hand though our train lines tend to take the scenic route. The LA San Fran line is the Coast Starlight train, which runs along the pacific coast for much of its route.

  

  • +10– kgvs721/2

    :)– clarkvisual2/2

  

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  Dog-earJul 2, 09, 6:09 p.m. – Permalink