Hey Lads & Ladies.........

[mintos]

........i'm a newbie from England.

I know these newbie threads are annoying but i wondered if you could give me any tips on travelling on Amtrak. I'm coming over on Sunday for a month and using Amtrak to travel across the good old u s a.

One main question, my friend from New York says that this is a slower season for travelling on Amtrak and reservations on most trains can be made with just a few days notice.......is this correct? I have reservations on my main routes but looking to branch out a bit.

Thanks people!

 

[RKA]

Winter is my favorite time to travel by train. Here are some tips for traveling Amtrak:

You will be late;sometimes hours.

Amtrak don't offer a lot of side trips. We are trying to keep the main lines.

You can always get a seat on any Amtrak train that I have traveled on. You probly

can't get a delux sleeper room at the last minute. You did not say if you will be

traveling alone. If you are or with 1 other person a regular sleeper is just fine and

you can almost always get one at the last minute.

If you can take the Zypher from CHI to EMY and back. To me this is the best scenery

in the country.

Welcome to our country and I hope you have a great time.

RK

 

[mintos]

Winter is my favorite time to travel by train. Here are some tips for traveling Amtrak:You will be late;sometimes hours.

Amtrak don't offer a lot of side trips. We are trying to keep the main lines.

You can always get a seat on any Amtrak train that I have traveled on. You probly

can't get a delux sleeper room at the last minute. You did not say if you will be

traveling alone. If you are or with 1 other person a regular sleeper is just fine and

you can almost always get one at the last minute.

If you can take the Zypher from CHI to EMY and back. To me this is the best scenery

in the country.

Welcome to our country and I hope you have a great time.

RK

Thanks for your time mate.

I am buzzing at the thought of it!

I am staying to the main lines and am trying to get all around your vast country.........i know it will be hard but after years of travelling on our pathetic rail system, i think i can cope!

 

[Rafi]

Winter is my favorite time to travel by train.  Here are some tips for traveling Amtrak:You will be late;sometimes hours.

Amtrak don't offer a lot of side trips.  We are trying to keep the main lines.

You can always get a seat on any Amtrak train that I have traveled on.  You probly

can't get a delux sleeper room at the last minute.  You did not say if you will be

traveling alone.  If you are or with 1 other person a regular sleeper is just fine and

you can almost always get one at the last minute.

If you can take the Zypher from CHI to EMY and back.  To me this is the best scenery

in the country.

Welcome to our country and I hope you have a great time.

RK

Thanks for your time mate.

I am buzzing at the thought of it!

I am staying to the main lines and am trying to get all around your vast country.........i know it will be hard but after years of travelling on our pathetic rail system, i think i can cope!

Just as a sidenote recommendation (and you may have already decided as far as your routes go, but just in case), depending on where you're going, I'd keep the following routes in mind, as they offer some of the best scenery in America's outdoors:

Eastbound on the Cardinal (Chicago to Washington to New York, but no diner with waiters or checked luggage; just a cafe)

Westbound on the California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco; said to be the most beautiful route in North America)

Either way on the Coast Starlight (Los Angeles to San Francisco to Seattle)

And either way on the Empire Builder (Chicago to Seattle or Chicago to Portland) is probably worth a look too, as the cars are completely refurbed with some very nice accommodations and styling.

Just FYI. Enjoy the states; it's a big, big country in which to saunter around