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I am guessing the NYC/DC train corridor is nicer than what we have on the west coast. I was looking into a holiday ride through silver country here, and the re

by jmount 13y ago

I am guessing the NYC/DC train corridor is nicer than what we have on the west coast. I was looking into a holiday ride through silver country here, and the reviews unfortunately came back a big "heck no."

LoganCale 13y ago
I've done cross-country Amtrak travel multiple times and enjoyed it every time. You just have to be prepared for potential delays and willing to take it easy and roll with it. If you aren't in a hurry and see the trip as part of your vacation, then it's great.
- 6cxs2hd6 13y ago
  Exactly. Sometimes the mindset is to get somewhere fast. What we really want? A teleport. But we have to settle for air travel. Whereas sometimes the mindset "the journey not the destination". That's when you can appreciate a train, ocean liner, bicycle, or feet. Having said that, Acela is usually the best of both worlds.
  - ghaff 13y ago
    And for Boston to New York, I really find it a lot more pleasant and almost as fast as flying--especially if you're going into Manhattan anyway. The only reason I'd fly to New York would be if I had a morning meeting and couldn't go down the night before for some reason. That said, you go much further than New York and the train makes less sense either in terms of time or money.
  - cscheid 13y ago
    I found the Acela north of New York (NY-Boston) to be great, but south of New York (NY-DC) my experience was a bone-rattling ride from hell. It was shaking so bad it threw my laptop off the table not once, but twice.
jamroom 13y ago
I've taken the Coast Starlight trip 2 times and would do it again in a heartbeat (had a sleeper room both times) - there's some awesome scenery in southern Oregon and through northern California as it travels along the coast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Starlight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Starlight I find train travel to be super relaxing - check it out sometime if you get a chance.
majormajor 13y ago
Amtrak from San Diego to LA is quite pleasant, though I can't speak for other west coast routes.
pessimizer 13y ago
I've never taken the NYC/DC route (never had a need), but taking the California Zephyr and the Empire Builder have always been magnificent experiences for me. Absolutely beautiful, relaxed rides. Let that be a counteranecdote. My long distance travel has been exclusively by Amtrak for the past ten years. I live in Chicago, which is pretty central to the system - I might not have been so strict if I lived somewhere else.
ghaff 13y ago
Boston to NYC or NYC to Washington are relatively short runs (under 4 hours or so) as well. And they're in a very populated corridor in which IMO the driving isn't very pleasant. (Plus they can take you downtown to downtown which is often an advantage.) Train gets a lot less interesting as an option as the distance increases. I have taken Amtrak from Boston to Washington and it's definitely doable but it's not really especially competitive with flying .

by jmount 13y ago

LoganCale 13y ago

I've done cross-country Amtrak travel multiple times and enjoyed it every time. You just have to be prepared for potential delays and willing to take it easy and roll with it. If you aren't in a hurry and see the trip as part of your vacation, then it's great.

6cxs2hd6 13y ago
Exactly. Sometimes the mindset is to get somewhere fast. What we really want? A teleport. But we have to settle for air travel. Whereas sometimes the mindset "the journey not the destination". That's when you can appreciate a train, ocean liner, bicycle, or feet. Having said that, Acela is usually the best of both worlds.
- ghaff 13y ago
  And for Boston to New York, I really find it a lot more pleasant and almost as fast as flying--especially if you're going into Manhattan anyway. The only reason I'd fly to New York would be if I had a morning meeting and couldn't go down the night before for some reason. That said, you go much further than New York and the train makes less sense either in terms of time or money.
- cscheid 13y ago
  I found the Acela north of New York (NY-Boston) to be great, but south of New York (NY-DC) my experience was a bone-rattling ride from hell. It was shaking so bad it threw my laptop off the table not once, but twice.

jamroom 13y ago

I've taken the Coast Starlight trip 2 times and would do it again in a heartbeat (had a sleeper room both times) - there's some awesome scenery in southern Oregon and through northern California as it travels along the coast: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Starlight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Starlight I find train travel to be super relaxing - check it out sometime if you get a chance.

majormajor 13y ago

Amtrak from San Diego to LA is quite pleasant, though I can't speak for other west coast routes.

pessimizer 13y ago

I've never taken the NYC/DC route (never had a need), but taking the California Zephyr and the Empire Builder have always been magnificent experiences for me. Absolutely beautiful, relaxed rides. Let that be a counteranecdote. My long distance travel has been exclusively by Amtrak for the past ten years. I live in Chicago, which is pretty central to the system - I might not have been so strict if I lived somewhere else.

ghaff 13y ago

Boston to NYC or NYC to Washington are relatively short runs (under 4 hours or so) as well. And they're in a very populated corridor in which IMO the driving isn't very pleasant. (Plus they can take you downtown to downtown which is often an advantage.) Train gets a lot less interesting as an option as the distance increases. I have taken Amtrak from Boston to Washington and it's definitely doable but it's not really especially competitive with flying .