LAX Weekend Trips

[amyontherails]

Hello -

I've recently relocated to LA and wondered what are some of your favorite weekend /long weekend train excursions. I'm looking for ideas for heading out Friday PM/Saturday AM and returning at the end of the weekend Sunday PM/Monday AM (or add an extra day for long holidays!!)

I've ridden the Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle, but wouldn't mind riding them again. Ideas along the Coast welcome too! I have some reward miles which I could use this President's Day

Destination or a simple round trip on the trains work.

Thanks for sharing your favorite jaunts!

 

[chakk]

Santa Barbara and San Luis Osbispo can be fun weekend trips. And sometimes those cities offer special deals with Amtrak ticketing discounts.

Yosemite Valley will be nice in springtime with spectacular waterfalls.

You can even travel up to the SF Bay Area for a weekend jaunt.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Santa Barbara and San Luis Osbispo can be fun weekend trips. And sometimes those cities offer special deals with Amtrak ticketing discounts.

Yosemite Valley will be nice in springtime with spectacular waterfalls.

You can even travel up to the SF Bay Area for a weekend jaunt.

If you are going to the Bay Area for a jaunt, you are better off staying on the East Bay or south of SF (and ride BART or Caltrain into the city) instead of staying within the city of SF itself, unless you are willing to pay the piper (especially during the peak season). When I visited SF last September, I paid in total about half a grand for three nights at my hotel, which is like $180 a night, not to mention expenses on food and attractions.

 

[trainfanmom]

We love taking the Pacific Surfliner to San Diego for a day trip or weekend. Such a beautiful ride and plenty to do in San Diego for the weekend.

 

[Ronbo]

Pacific Surfliner or Coast Starlight to San Luis Obispo, then a bus to Morro Bay for an overnight stay on the coast.

Or the Starlight to Salinas and the Thruway bus to Monterey, the Aquarium, Cannery Row etc.

 

[seat38a]

Santa Barbara and San Luis Osbispo can be fun weekend trips. And sometimes those cities offer special deals with Amtrak ticketing discounts.

Yosemite Valley will be nice in springtime with spectacular waterfalls.

You can even travel up to the SF Bay Area for a weekend jaunt.

If you are going to the Bay Area for a jaunt, you are better off staying on the East Bay or south of SF (and ride BART or Caltrain into the city) instead of staying within the city of SF itself, unless you are willing to pay the piper (especially during the peak season). When I visited SF last September, I paid in total about half a grand for three nights at my hotel, which is like $180 a night, not to mention expenses on food and attractions.

$180/night in SF or any city in California is a bargain.

 

[seat38a]

Hello -

I've recently relocated to LA and wondered what are some of your favorite weekend /long weekend train excursions. I'm looking for ideas for heading out Friday PM/Saturday AM and returning at the end of the weekend Sunday PM/Monday AM (or add an extra day for long holidays!!)

I've ridden the Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle, but wouldn't mind riding them again. Ideas along the Coast welcome too! I have some reward miles which I could use this President's Day

Destination or a simple round trip on the trains work.

Thanks for sharing your favorite jaunts!

For day trips up to Santa Barbara, I take train 763 in the morning and return in the evening on train 796. You could get up to Santa Barbara sooner by taking train 761 which is the first train going up north of LA. Just an FYI, it is harder to get around in SLO to the wineries and the coast without a car, but Santa Barbara is perfectly fine without having a vehicle. Then there is San Diego. 12 trains each way per day, so you can mix and match trains that fits your needs. Plenty of hotels around the station in San Diego that you can easily walk to. As a SPG member, I usually stay at the Westin Downtown SD. I use Uber and Lyft in SD.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Santa Barbara and San Luis Osbispo can be fun weekend trips. And sometimes those cities offer special deals with Amtrak ticketing discounts.

Yosemite Valley will be nice in springtime with spectacular waterfalls.

You can even travel up to the SF Bay Area for a weekend jaunt.

If you are going to the Bay Area for a jaunt, you are better off staying on the East Bay or south of SF (and ride BART or Caltrain into the city) instead of staying within the city of SF itself, unless you are willing to pay the piper (especially during the peak season). When I visited SF last September, I paid in total about half a grand for three nights at my hotel, which is like $180 a night, not to mention expenses on food and attractions.

$180/night in SF or any city in California is a bargain.

But not the best deal. I have stayed in LA for $75/night, and I've seen some $100 to $125/night deals for LA.

 

[KauaiJohn]

Surf rider to San Diego is fun and San Diego is a really fun city with so much to see and do.

 

[seat38a]

Surf rider to San Diego is fun and San Diego is a really fun city with so much to see and do.

Surfliner

 

[Bob Dylan]

Agree with those that say day trips to Santa Barbara and heading for San Diego for an overnight are first rate ideas!

But don't forget that LA itself is a great place to explore especially via the ever expanding rail networks!

 

[seat38a]

Santa Barbara and San Luis Osbispo can be fun weekend trips. And sometimes those cities offer special deals with Amtrak ticketing discounts.

Yosemite Valley will be nice in springtime with spectacular waterfalls.

You can even travel up to the SF Bay Area for a weekend jaunt.

If you are going to the Bay Area for a jaunt, you are better off staying on the East Bay or south of SF (and ride BART or Caltrain into the city) instead of staying within the city of SF itself, unless you are willing to pay the piper (especially during the peak season). When I visited SF last September, I paid in total about half a grand for three nights at my hotel, which is like $180 a night, not to mention expenses on food and attractions.

$180/night in SF or any city in California is a bargain.

But not the best deal. I have stayed in LA for $75/night, and I've seen some $100 to $125/night deals for LA.

Question is WHAT PART of LA did you find those rates. LA is a big sprawled out city. Different parts of the city have lower rates for a reason. Same with the Bay Area. There is a reason why the room rates are much lower in Oakland and East Bay vs San Francisco. If price is absolutely the deciding factor, then I can find rates for even cheaper near the airports in LA and SFO, but $180 dollars per night, in San Francisco around Union Square and downtown at a hotel and not a motel is a bargain.

 

[seat38a]

Agree with those that say day trips to Santa Barbara and heading for San Diego for an overnight are first rate ideas!

But don't forget that LA itself is a great place to explore especially via the ever expanding rail networks!

Yes LA does have a lot to see but when one lives in a city, generally, one wants to go somewhere else away from ones home city for a weekend away. At least that is how I feel. Kind of same for conventions. Generally, people in my industry don't like going to local events, but jump at ones in another city.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Agree with those that say day trips to Santa Barbara and heading for San Diego for an overnight are first rate ideas!

But don't forget that LA itself is a great place to explore especially via the ever expanding rail networks!

Yes LA does have a lot to see but when one lives in a city, generally, one wants to go somewhere else away from ones home city for a weekend away. At least that is how I feel. Kind of same for conventions. Generally, people in my industry don't like going to local events, but jump at ones in another city.

Yep, I certainly understand your point about getting out of Dodge!
I live in Austin and spent 25 years in the DC area,both heavily visited and desirable cities, and jumped at every opportunity to travel to other places.

The old "The Grass is always Greener" syndrome!

 

[KauaiJohn]

One time our last night in L.A. we woke in the middle od the night withe the whole room shaking -a fairly large earth quake (my first) we went to the station (across the street) hoping our train was a go, a little late but yes. Then while sitting in the station, an even larger quake! STILL A GO! Left a little late and it was really slow going as far as Santa Barbara then made up some time to Emeryville. A week in San Francisco and another train up to Portland. In all a grateful trip.

 

[sechs]

Agree with those that say day trips to Santa Barbara and heading for San Diego for an overnight are first rate ideas!

But don't forget that LA itself is a great place to explore especially via the ever expanding rail networks!

Yes LA does have a lot to see but when one lives in a city, generally, one wants to go somewhere else away from ones home city for a weekend away. At least that is how I feel. Kind of same for conventions. Generally, people in my industry don't like going to local events, but jump at ones in another city.

LA is big enough to have multiple Amtrak stations. That's a lot of stuff to see.

If someone wants to get out of LA, he can just take the Blue Line to Long Beach or the Expo Line to Santa Monica.

 

[amyontherails]

Thanks everyone. For the long weekend, I went ahead and booked SEA->LAX, assuming the weather gods participate. On the shorter weekends, I'll definitely try your suggestions! much appreciated

 

[amyontherails]

Thanks everyone. For the long weekend, I went ahead and booked SEA->LAX, assuming the weather gods participate. On the shorter weekends, I'll definitely try your suggestions! much appreciated

I'm definitely getting my money's worth on this one. We're running about five hours late presumably for weather.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Thanks everyone. For the long weekend, I went ahead and booked SEA->LAX, assuming the weather gods participate. On the shorter weekends, I'll definitely try your suggestions! much appreciated

I'm definitely getting my money's worth on this one. We're running about five hours late presumably for weather.

Keep your fingers crossed. Nasty weather down there.

 

[seat38a]

Just a word of advice, if the weather forecast does not look good, then skip going north of Los Angeles on the train. Trains were cancelled this Saturday due to mudslide. In January, there was another cancellation due to rain, all on the 700 series train north of Los Angeles.

 

[Ronbo]

Thanks everyone. For the long weekend, I went ahead and booked SEA->LAX, assuming the weather gods participate. On the shorter weekends, I'll definitely try your suggestions! much appreciated

I'm definitely getting my money's worth on this one. We're running about five hours late presumably for weather.

I can't quite figure out how you ended up going between Seattle and Los Angeles! Am I missing something here? Did you mean SBA? What train were you on?

 

[KauaiJohn]

Probably took Coast Stsrlight

 

[KauaiJohn]

I tried to spell Coast Starlight

 

[amyontherails]

I tried to spell Coast Starlight

Yes. That's the one. Our ~9pm arrival into LAX came in at 3:10am. The coast section was completely under starlight. I'll definitely have to do this again with the aim to see the coast in daylight.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I tried to spell Coast Starlight

Yes. That's the one. Our ~9pm arrival into LAX came in at 3:10am. The coast section was completely under starlight. I'll definitely have to do this again with the aim to see the coast in daylight.

At least you made it. Better late than never.