It's the ride, not the destination

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I emailed a travel agent who specialized in train travel a few years ago. They would have been a total ripoff. In addition, changing plans is a lot easier without a travel agent (because you don't print your tickets until you need them), and you can fiddle with the schedule to get the best price (a day earlier or later can cost several hundred dollars more or less).

Ditto to what others have said: get a system time table online or print. I like the map in the front to start thinking about things.

Amtrak.com has a nifty tool on the Routes tab, the Interactive Route Atlas.

Finally, after you have come up with your proposed route and approximate dates, post it and ask for comments. As you've seen, you'll get plenty! The date info will get you better seasonal suggestions.

Part of the fun of train travel is anticipation, and being your own travel agent can be part of that.
 
The few times I used a travel agent I always ended up regretting it. They apparently sold me whatever was easiest for them to find, not what was best for my goals or budget. They even screwed up simple things, like arranging our car rental at a company that refused to rent to drivers my age for any price. That oversight ended up wasting a lot of money since we were renting for two full weeks and were suddenly forced to accept the walk-up rate at another company for triple the original cost. I have typically been able to undercut travel agents by hundreds of dollars by doing my own research instead. One thing I might suggest is enlisting the help of a trusted family member or friend who could sit down with the OP to assist with planning and reviewing the trip to make sure everything is kosher and to provide that extra bit of reassurance that all loose ends have been addressed prior to purchase.
 
Whatever you do, don't use a travel agent. Most are unaware of Amtrak, and while they can issue Amtrak tickets, they usually charge you a fee to do so.

Use the Amtrak website to plan your routes, and if you are uncomfortable booking on-line, just call Amtrak and get a live agent to assist you. It is really easy to plan an Amtrak trip once you decide where you want to go.

David
 
I did my honeymoon on a circle trip and my wife and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Start putting together where you want to go and post some ideas up here - you're sure to get good advice and you'll get the best trip possible.

If you're set on heading west on the Zephyr, you've got two choices when you get to Emeryville (San Francisco) - you can go North to Portland or Seattle and then take the Empire Builder back to Chicago. If you go South, you can go all the way to LA and then you have two choices. You can go to Chicago (via either the Southwest Cheif or the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle) or New Orleans. From New Orleans you can either take the City of New Orleans back to Chicago or the Crescent to New York.

Not all of these are same day connections, so you may end up spending one night in a hotel between trains (which is a good idea to help leave some space in the schedule for late trains).
 
Almost time! Have a great time Penny!

pennyk said:
Hi Teresea,

I am making a circle trip next week. Although I am making 3 stops on my 14 days trip, my trip is about the ride, not the stops. I am going from Orlando, taking the Silver Meteor to WAS, then the Cardinal to CHI, then the CZ to SAC (with an overnight in Denver); then CS to Seattle; then Empire Builder back to CHI (with a stop in West Glacier), then Capitol Limited to WAS, then the Meteor back home.

I will be in bedrooms on all trains except the Silver Meteor. I will be traveling alone, I like the comfort of a bedroom. I use the "in room" toilet and shower and find in very convenient. I am fairly small, so the size of the "bathroom" is not an issue for me.

I think your "requirements" are workable and I think you will have a great time taking a train trip.

PS - as for the cost, it is not cheap, but I made my reservations 11 months ago and got low bucket prices, and I used AGR points to pay for part of the trip.

PPS - I think women like bedrooms with private showers and toilets more than men do (however, I may be wrong)
Click to expand...
 
Teresa- In answer to your earlier question, all trains from the east coast to Chicago take one night. All trains to the west coast from Chicago take 2 nights, except 3 for the Texas Eagle/Sunset via San Antonio. For the trip I mentioned, you would be able to make same day connections in Chicago, Portland, and Sacramento (should you choose not to overnight). There is one travel agent I know of that specializes in rail travel (and have occasional articles in 'Passenger Train Journal' a railfan publication). They will charge you a fee for their services, but tell them your budget and they will give you good advice: Travel Agent Bon Voyage!
 
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What an invaluable link! Thank you so much for that reference.

I was just online over at You Tube looking at various videos of the bedrooms/bathrooms vs the roomettes.

Now as you email came into my box I was viewing this . I must say that this little video of the roomette burst my bubble and rained on my parade!

Are all the toilets right next to a bed? If I were eating my lunch I really wouldn't like a toilet right next to my table or bed no matter how much lysol was used the day before!!!

Please look at this and tell me the Empire Builder and the Cal Zeph Rooms are not like THIS!

My link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsyPKUwkDVI&feature=related
 
teresa_a said:
Please look at this and tell me the Empire Builder and the Cal Zeph Rooms are not like THIS!
Click to expand...
There are two very different kinds of Sleeping Car in use on Amtrak. There are single-level Viewliners which run from New York to Florida, New Orleans, and Chicago. And there are double-level Superliners which run on all the Western routes, plus from Chicago to New Orleans and from Chicago to Washington DC (via Pittsburgh).

You can probably look around and find pictures or videos of both kinds.

teresa_a said:
Are all the toilets right next to a bed? If I were eating my lunch I really wouldn't like a toilet right next to my table or bed no matter how much lysol was used the day before!!!
Click to expand...
One of many reasons I always travel Coach.
 
OK..first I wanted to get a bedroom with one of those tiny bathrooms and showers, then several posted that roomettes were money savers and hall bathrooms weren't so bad.

Then I looked at 2 Silver Meteor roomette videos with the toilet right next to the table and bed,

swore I'd never RIDE , (never mind eat or sleep) in one of those,

went back to consider roomettes with a hall bathroom and stumbled upon some threads

about the 'dirty' floors, walls and even seats in those toilets at times, depending on the users!!!

I think gals of a certain age, like myself, prefer a bedroom with a private shower/toilet stall.And I would spend the extra $

rather than be miserable all those days cross country..

I appreciate those previous reviews and gritty posts on the forum that tell it like it is..what to avoid, what to shell out $ for

to make it a pleasant trip!

I'm learnin' and plannin'....and lookin' forward!
 
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teresa_a said:
OK..first I wanted to get a bedroom with one of those tiny bathrooms and showers, then several posted that roomettes were money savers and hall bathrooms weren't so bad.

Then I looked at 2 Silver Meteor roomette videos with the toilet right next to the table and bed,

swore I'd never RIDE , (never mind eat or sleep) in one of those,

went back to consider roomettes with a hall bathroom and stumbled upon some threads

about the 'dirty' floors, walls and even seats in those toilets at times, depending on the users!!!

I think gals of a certain age, like myself, prefer a bedroom with a private shower/toilet stall.And I would spend the extra $

rather than be miserable all those days cross country..

I appreciate those previous reviews and gritty posts on the forum that tell it like it is..what to avoid, what to shell out $ for

to make it a pleasant trip!

I'm learnin' and plannin'....and lookin' forward!
Click to expand...
I almost always get a sleeper that at least has its own toilet, however I prefer bedrooms with both toilets and showers. I cannot always afford the bedroom prices, so on Viewliners, I get roomettes sometimes. The toilet in the room does not bother me. Whether I am in a roomette or a sleeper, I always bring clorox wipes and I clean the sink, toilet, arm rests, door handles, drink holders, light controls, etc. before I do anything else in the room.
 
Teresa, if you click on these links, you can find panoramas of a Superliner Roomette & Bedroom. This is what you will find on the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight & California Zephyr. You can find out what type of equipment is used by looking at the route guide for the train(s) you will be riding. Or, you can ask on the board.
 
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Take everything you read here (good and bad) with a grain of salt.

The roomettes only have toilets in the Single Level trains here on the East coast (these sleepers are known as "Viewliners", the double level "Superliner" cars don't have toilets in the roomettes.
 
The journey? Last winter I fell at work and bruised the bursa sac in my elbow. Never missed a minute of work but my employer put me through hell since it was a "workman's comp" claim. They tore my heart out and destroyed my attitude. So my fiancee says, "Al, I think you need a train ride" so I went from Lincoln NE to Galesburg IL and back all in one day. It gave me new perspective on "what matters " in life and a buddy of mine went with me as well. It was the Super Bowl weekend and he thought I was going to "miss the game" riding a train. Not at all....just sat back, relaxed, visited, chatted, napped, ate and cleared out the hurt feelings of an employer that treats me like a machine.
 
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