Help 2-3 days round trip suggestion

[Gery]

Hi,

I from San Diego, California and currently studying at Miramar Community College. I enjoy traveling together with my digital camera to see the country side. Due to my limited budget, once I get off from the train, my bicycle will be my transportaion and campground is an affordable place for an overnight stay.

Anyway, I am new to this forum and haven't ride Amtrak in my life yet. I want to have a great experience on my very first ride on a train. I will appreciate any suggestions you can provide with me for any 2-3 days round trip tour (San Diego via X).

Thanks in advance,

Gery

 

[rmgreenesq]

Hi,
I from San Diego, California and currently studying at Miramar Community College. I enjoy traveling together with my digital camera to see the country side. Due to my limited budget, once I get off from the train, my bicycle will be my transportaion and campground is an affordable place for an overnight stay.

Anyway, I am new to this forum and haven't ride Amtrak in my life yet. I want to have a great experience on my very first ride on a train. I will appreciate any suggestions you can provide with me for any 2-3 days round trip tour (San Diego via X).

Thanks in advance,

Gery

Greetings and welcome aboard!

If you are looking to just sit on a train for two to three days, I'd suggest the Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles and the Coast Starlight to San Francisco. But given the Starlight's on time performance lately, your trip up to San Francisco may be longer than two to three days.

If you want a day on a train, a day somewhere and a day getting home, I'd suggest the Surfliner (Surfliner/Starlight) to San Luis Obispo. SLO is a neat town. With Cal Poly nearby, it has a real college town feeling to it. You shold have no problem with your bike in SLO. I'm not sure where to camp. Maybe there is a state beach nearby that has a campground.

Read Amtrak's policies regarding bikes on trains here.

Rick

 

[RailFanLNK]

You talked of "campgrounds", whenever you choose a route, take a look at staying at a Hostel. Cheap, usually interesting people and sometimes if you get to know the owner of the hostel, there may be a need to have the place cleaned etc and they may knock off the price a little bit. My girlfriend and I are in our early 40's and have found allthough not spiffy or fancy, we can stay at a hostel for as little as $20.00 per person per night and have a bed and pillow for that cost.

 

[Gery]

Hi all,

Thanks for everyone's quick positive responses. I was up late last night and browsing the Amtrak home page as well as the Amtrak discussion forum. I also bought a Student Advantage Card which offers a good discount fares for my next 4 years of train exploration. I am very excited to start this new adventure.

I will probably start with Rick's suggestion to take the Surfliner/Starlight heading San Luis Obispo. For the first time, I'll just ride and seat to get a feeling being on a train, getting use to train environment, knowing the amnesties available around the area, and generally browsing this new adventure for me to get ready for a long trip in the future (ie. Grand Canyon, Seattle, New York, Orlando, etc) which I could probably do during my semestral break.

I will also consider checking "Hostel" for the places that I am going to visit. I was a great idea and proposal vs staying on campground.

Now, I have to prepare my digital camera and book for my first experience on Amtrak probably for next coming weekend.

Thanks again,

Gery

 

[had8ley]

I will probably start with Rick's suggestion to take the Surfliner/Starlight heading San Luis Obispo. For the first time, I'll just ride and seat to get a feeling being on a train, getting use to train environment, knowing the amnesties available around the area, and generally browsing this new adventure for me to get ready for a long trip in the future (ie. Grand Canyon, Seattle, New York, Orlando, etc) which I could probably do during my semestral break.

Knowing you are on a budget but wanting to see as much of Amtrak as possible I strongly suggest you "ride in style" on your return trip, (on the LA to San Diego portion), and get a couple of seats in the business class car. It has numerous amenities that are well worth the few extra dollars. The last time we rode there was only my grand daughter and I and one gentleman and his daughter in the entire car. But I have ridden when there is a "sell-out". (Which is more the norm.) It will certainly add a little flavor to your trip and is a great way to end up a first experience on Amtrak. Good luck and enjoy the ride; it seems a lot of people in California are "married" to their cars. California has done a wonderful job of not only promoting the trains but also provides the money that many states would balk at.

( Edited by AmtrakWPK to fix quotes )

 

[Guest]

Knowing you are on a budget but wanting to see as much of Amtrak as possible I strongly suggest you "ride in style" on your return trip, (on the LA to San Diego portion), and get a couple of seats in the business class car. It has numerous amenities that are well worth the few extra dollars. The last time we rode there was only my grand daughter and I and one gentleman and his daughter in the entire car. But I have ridden when there is a "sell-out". (Which is more the norm.) It will certainly add a little flavor to your trip and is a great way to end up a first experience on Amtrak. Good luck and enjoy the ride; it seems a lot of people in California are "married" to their cars. California has done a wonderful job of not only promoting the trains but also provides the money that many states would balk at.

"Ride in Style" on my way back from LA to San Diego, I think this is an outstanding suggestion from a pro. I am actually not very familiar yet the difference between business and economy class in regards to justify vs cost. But you have a good point to try it on my very first time experience on Amtrak and learn from there. Delightfully a good start...

Thanks again for a honest coach. I will pay it back to who ever novice asking for help next time. But I have to prove it first myself before throwing any suggestions to others.

Thanks so much,

Gery