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Amtrak relaunches US Rail Pass – Travel the country for 30 days for $299

107 points by chirau 5y ago

usr1106 5y ago
$299 for 30 days sounded to good to be true. I used it nearly 30 years ago and it was something like that. But it's really $499 after the introductory offer ending already the day after tomorrow. And it's limited to 10 trips, which can be problem if you also want to do some shorter day trips e.g. in the Northeast.
- thehappypm 5y ago
  $299 for 10 trips would make for a phenomenal way to get around the Northeast. Fly into DC and do the government sites and museums. Head to Philadelphia for some more history. New York City. On the way up to New York City, a few great New England beach towns like Mystic Connecticut, or even a ferry to Block Island from New London. Up to Boston for history and universities. Then Portsmouth New Hampshire, finally Portland, then back to Boston to fly back home.
dragontamer 5y ago
Train Rides seem to be ideal for any trip less than 4 hours. You don't have as much security concerns, you have far more legroom, and the constant ability to walk around the cabin at all times (often to the dining car where you can get overpriced beer / light meals, but... better than nothing at all). Hour-for-hour, a train ride is far more comfortable than a plane ride. However, once we start looking at 4-hour or 8-hour train rides, the idea of a 2-hour or 3-hour plane ride just starts to make more sense, even with 30+ minutes of security + many minutes of "Taxi'ing on the runway" involved. Flying at 500mph just makes more sense than train rides at 50mph. -------------- An exception is when the ride itself is part of the journey: if you want to see the entire countryside, the train is superior. Planes fly over everything and are often high up in the clouds, so you don't get to see the whole ground.
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  Agree. (And bring your own food.) I would love to see someone come up with a few US Rail Pass itineraries for those of us needing a hand to hold. It would seem to be a rather fun thing to blog. It's almost a puzzle of sorts to keep it to 10 trips, within 30 days, maximize the tourism potential (whatever that means) with Amtrak lines. Bonus points for things to see at each destination, food, cheap places to stay....
  - dragontamer 5y ago
    I have to imagine that just running along the Northeast Regional is the big one. Its the most profitable line of Amtrak for a reason. Norfolk Virginia is just a short bus-ride to Virginia Beach and serves as either the starting point, or ending point of the journey. Travel north to Washington DC, then Philadelphia, then New York City, and then Boston. That takes you across a major cultural center of the USA that pretty much covers the founding of the country (Philadelphia being the original capital of the USA and the location of the Liberty Bell and original Continental Congress. Wash. DC as the current capitol, a beach trip just for giggles, and NYC for plays / New York talk shows / food / etc. etc.) The train is ridiculously optimized for New York City / Washington DC, with a dropoff point in Union Station Wash. DC and Penn Station in New York City. Both are connected underground to the greater subway systems, so you pretty much have access to the entirety of both cities from the train alone. (In contrast: an airplane ticket to either location will still need an Uber / Taxi to bring you into the city proper). Union Station in Wash. DC in particular is less than a 1-mile walk from the US Capitol building, a bit over 1-mile to the Smithsonian proper. While Penn Station is literally next to Madison Square Garden, so you're able to just get out and enjoy some basketball events. You're on Manhattan Island proper, and the subway will take you to any reasonable tourist attraction.
    - JKCalhoun 5y ago
      I would counter that the Starlight Express on the West coast as well as the California Zephyr between Emeryville, CA and, say, Denver, CO are probably two of the more stunning routes for the scenery?
nrclark 5y ago
From my experience taking Amtrak in California, a 30-day pass sounds just about long enough to cover the delays on a single ride.
- asguy 5y ago
  What years was this? I’ve ridden the Pacific Surfliner a bunch, and have only had minimal hiccups. And a bunch of interactions with the mentally unstable, but that’s not Amtrak’s fault.
  - RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
    I've taken the Starlight enough times to just plan an 8 hour delay into the trip.
    - Mountain_Skies 5y ago
      The only way I can take Amtrak is if I consider the ride to be part of the vacation. Using it for business or time sensitive trips outside of the northeast corridor is a bit risky.
listenallyall 5y ago
Up until a few years ago, AirAsia had a similar program. Flight routes were designated in 1, 2, or 3 points, and for just about $280US you got about 30 points to use in 60 days. You had to plan in advance and be willing to fly at very off-peak times, but you could easily visit a dozen cities all over SE Asia and get a value worth double of what it cost. Really wish they would bring that back!
- refurb 5y ago
  Had a friend buy the JetBlue pass way back when and she flew all over South America, almost every weekend and the pass was $600 for 3 months I think.
jefurii 5y ago
Back in the 90s I travelled all over Japan using a similar railpass (seishun18kippu). It was a really relaxing and enjoyable way to spend a vacation, but then Japan has lots of cool stuff to see within easy distance of train stations. Some of my best memories of Japan are from those journeys. Japan's system was a lot easier to use than the Railpass though: reservations were not required, you just took whatever seat was available, and Japanese trains are structured so there are a lot more seats. Gallery of posters for the service: http://www.satou3.com/railways/18kippu2.html http://www.satou3.com/railways/18kippu2.html
siruncledrew 5y ago
What are some of the best paths to take for fun in the US to get the most out of the 10 trips?
- Mountain_Skies 5y ago
  I've did Portland-Seattle-Vancouver about a decade ago, which was nice. It's not fast but you don't want it to be if your objective is to see the scenery. Much of the route hugs the coast so make sure you're on the water facing side of the train if you don't want to spend a lot of the day looking at a wall of trees. At that time they didn't have one day through service between Portland and Vancouver but spending an afternoon and night in Seattle was nice since I'd never been there before. When booking you just have to make sure you don't accidentally sign up for the Amtrak bus that runs on the same route. Not sure if service into Canada has been restored yet.
- thehappypm 5y ago
  The Northeast Corridor, for sure. A ton of history, great cities, and beaches from DC to Portland, Maine.

107 points by chirau 5y ago

$299 for 30 days sounded to good to be true. I used it nearly 30 years ago and it was something like that. But it's really $499 after the introductory offer ending already the day after tomorrow. And it's limited to 10 trips, which can be problem if you also want to do some shorter day trips e.g. in the Northeast.

thehappypm 5y ago
$299 for 10 trips would make for a phenomenal way to get around the Northeast. Fly into DC and do the government sites and museums. Head to Philadelphia for some more history. New York City. On the way up to New York City, a few great New England beach towns like Mystic Connecticut, or even a ferry to Block Island from New London. Up to Boston for history and universities. Then Portsmouth New Hampshire, finally Portland, then back to Boston to fly back home.

dragontamer 5y ago

Train Rides seem to be ideal for any trip less than 4 hours. You don't have as much security concerns, you have far more legroom, and the constant ability to walk around the cabin at all times (often to the dining car where you can get overpriced beer / light meals, but... better than nothing at all). Hour-for-hour, a train ride is far more comfortable than a plane ride. However, once we start looking at 4-hour or 8-hour train rides, the idea of a 2-hour or 3-hour plane ride just starts to make more sense, even with 30+ minutes of security + many minutes of "Taxi'ing on the runway" involved. Flying at 500mph just makes more sense than train rides at 50mph. -------------- An exception is when the ride itself is part of the journey: if you want to see the entire countryside, the train is superior. Planes fly over everything and are often high up in the clouds, so you don't get to see the whole ground.

JKCalhoun 5y ago
Agree. (And bring your own food.) I would love to see someone come up with a few US Rail Pass itineraries for those of us needing a hand to hold. It would seem to be a rather fun thing to blog. It's almost a puzzle of sorts to keep it to 10 trips, within 30 days, maximize the tourism potential (whatever that means) with Amtrak lines. Bonus points for things to see at each destination, food, cheap places to stay....
- dragontamer 5y ago
  I have to imagine that just running along the Northeast Regional is the big one. Its the most profitable line of Amtrak for a reason. Norfolk Virginia is just a short bus-ride to Virginia Beach and serves as either the starting point, or ending point of the journey. Travel north to Washington DC, then Philadelphia, then New York City, and then Boston. That takes you across a major cultural center of the USA that pretty much covers the founding of the country (Philadelphia being the original capital of the USA and the location of the Liberty Bell and original Continental Congress. Wash. DC as the current capitol, a beach trip just for giggles, and NYC for plays / New York talk shows / food / etc. etc.) The train is ridiculously optimized for New York City / Washington DC, with a dropoff point in Union Station Wash. DC and Penn Station in New York City. Both are connected underground to the greater subway systems, so you pretty much have access to the entirety of both cities from the train alone. (In contrast: an airplane ticket to either location will still need an Uber / Taxi to bring you into the city proper). Union Station in Wash. DC in particular is less than a 1-mile walk from the US Capitol building, a bit over 1-mile to the Smithsonian proper. While Penn Station is literally next to Madison Square Garden, so you're able to just get out and enjoy some basketball events. You're on Manhattan Island proper, and the subway will take you to any reasonable tourist attraction.
  - JKCalhoun 5y ago
    I would counter that the Starlight Express on the West coast as well as the California Zephyr between Emeryville, CA and, say, Denver, CO are probably two of the more stunning routes for the scenery?

nrclark 5y ago

From my experience taking Amtrak in California, a 30-day pass sounds just about long enough to cover the delays on a single ride.

asguy 5y ago
What years was this? I’ve ridden the Pacific Surfliner a bunch, and have only had minimal hiccups. And a bunch of interactions with the mentally unstable, but that’s not Amtrak’s fault.
- RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
  I've taken the Starlight enough times to just plan an 8 hour delay into the trip.
  - Mountain_Skies 5y ago
    The only way I can take Amtrak is if I consider the ride to be part of the vacation. Using it for business or time sensitive trips outside of the northeast corridor is a bit risky.

listenallyall 5y ago

Up until a few years ago, AirAsia had a similar program. Flight routes were designated in 1, 2, or 3 points, and for just about $280US you got about 30 points to use in 60 days. You had to plan in advance and be willing to fly at very off-peak times, but you could easily visit a dozen cities all over SE Asia and get a value worth double of what it cost. Really wish they would bring that back!

refurb 5y ago
Had a friend buy the JetBlue pass way back when and she flew all over South America, almost every weekend and the pass was $600 for 3 months I think.

jefurii 5y ago

Back in the 90s I travelled all over Japan using a similar railpass (seishun18kippu). It was a really relaxing and enjoyable way to spend a vacation, but then Japan has lots of cool stuff to see within easy distance of train stations. Some of my best memories of Japan are from those journeys. Japan's system was a lot easier to use than the Railpass though: reservations were not required, you just took whatever seat was available, and Japanese trains are structured so there are a lot more seats. Gallery of posters for the service: http://www.satou3.com/railways/18kippu2.html http://www.satou3.com/railways/18kippu2.html

siruncledrew 5y ago

What are some of the best paths to take for fun in the US to get the most out of the 10 trips?

Mountain_Skies 5y ago
I've did Portland-Seattle-Vancouver about a decade ago, which was nice. It's not fast but you don't want it to be if your objective is to see the scenery. Much of the route hugs the coast so make sure you're on the water facing side of the train if you don't want to spend a lot of the day looking at a wall of trees. At that time they didn't have one day through service between Portland and Vancouver but spending an afternoon and night in Seattle was nice since I'd never been there before. When booking you just have to make sure you don't accidentally sign up for the Amtrak bus that runs on the same route. Not sure if service into Canada has been restored yet.
thehappypm 5y ago
The Northeast Corridor, for sure. A ton of history, great cities, and beaches from DC to Portland, Maine.