South from SF ~ Surfliner or Starlight?

[roadman3313]

No problem. I'll actually be taking that exact route this Saturday/Sunday. Southbound on the CC/Bus to SLO/PS to SBA on Saturday and Northbound from SBA to EMY on the CS on Sunday. The Saturday trip southbound was 50% off due to the weekend Capitol Corridor Discount. It applies to associated Thruway trips but in that case the discount was also applied to the PS as well... $26.50 'aint that bad to travel that trip!

 

[The Davy Crockett]

"Have you read "The Long Valley"

I was thinking another book to read on your journey, if you have not, is "The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac. It is pretty much an autobiography of Kerouac's freight hopping days in California during the 1950s. It is one of my favorite books.

 

[Lee44]

Hi,

I am traveling from San Francisco to Oceanside and want scenic views on the train that has the dome top. When I entered the trip planner info on Amtrak, I was to be on various buses and trains going down the coast.

Would you please tell me where I would take the Coastal Starlight ofd the Pacific Liner? People have offered different view points and I am confused.

Appreciatively,

Lee44

 

[roadman3313]

Simple answer (as I'm sure others will elaborate)... There are no "domes" per say but the car with the larger windows and windows up around the top edges is called a sightseer lounge. That runs on the Coast Starlight. If you are coming from San Francisco you would take a bus over to Oakland and transfer to the train. If you had a car you could drive and park it at the station in Emeryville.

Just be sure to read any Service Alert when you book to be sure that the route won't be detoured when you travel.

Once you got to LA you would transfer to the Pacific Surfliner to Oceanside.

There are multiple buses from San Francisco that connect to the Pacific Surfliner in San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara but a good majority of the coastal scenery is north of Santa Barbara and the train would not have a "dome" car (Sightseer Lounge) either.

 

[thully]

Hi,

I'm actually going to SF in a few weeks - will be taking Amtrak roundtrip from San Diego. Is it true that most of the good coastal scenery is north of Santa Barbara? I thought it was between SBA and LAX (and San Clemente-Solana Beach on the Surfliner).

With that said, I'll be taking the red-eye bus/train combo to SF on 3/27 (bus leaving SAN at 10:15pm, arrives at BFD 4:40am to connect with the 4:55 San Joaquin) since I want to get there earlier in the day. Coming back on 3/31, I'll have my pick of routes - was thinking Coast Starlight, but the price has gone up to almost double the bus/Surfliner or SJ combo. Also, I fear all the good coast scenery (if it is in fact from SBA-LAX) will be in the dark - which would not be the case if I bussed to SLO and then did Surfliner SLO-SAN.

(I was originally going to do Tehachapi that weekend, but my desire for an extra day in SF ended up winning out there - though I may do the Loop this Sunday)

 

[Bob Dylan]

SOMETIMES there IS a Dome Car on the Surfliners between Goleta and San Diego! This would be the One and Only Dome Car that Amtrak still owns, Ocean View!!! Ive been Fortunate to have ridden it Twice on the 784 Surfliner (Single Level Equipment) between there and San Diego! It's First Come, First Served, No Reservations for the Dome Car are available, just a Coach Ticket is Required! Of course this Dome is also used in the Fall on the Adirondack and the Cardinal during Leaf peeper Season back East and it is Old (like some of us! :giggle: ) so it Frequently is in for Maintence! Perhaps one of our SoCal Members (Whooz are you there?)will have Inside Dope on this and Share it??/

Otherwise, as was said, the Coast Starlight, Train #11 South Bound, #14 Northbound, is the One to Ride! If you have a Roomette you can Ride in the Pacific Parlor Car,( Sort of a Combo Lounge Car and Dome Car with Meals and a Wine and Cheese Tasting,) which is an Old Santa Fe High Level Car and is Exclusive to this Train!! If you are in Coach you will have the Glass Enclosed Observation Superliner Sightseer Lounge Car to take in the Scenery!

 

[thully]

In general, I figure the CS would be more appealing than the Surfliner - though the presence of a Dome car on the Surfliner and pricing of the CS vs Surfliner may impact that. Does anyone have a clue as to where the Dome is now? However, given that the Starlight does run later than the Surfliner (at least the SLO-SAN one, which is the one I'd consider), would you miss much of the interesting scenery taking that?

It looks like the sun would be setting around 7:15pm if I took the Starlight on 3/31 - which would be shortly after the Oxnard stop if we were running on time. That seems to be after the northern coastal run, though I don't know what there is to see south of Oxnard. If I took the Surfliner, it would be light pretty much all the way to LA (of course, all bets are off if the train is late).

 

[Anderson]

I've found that the CS is often cheaper than the Surfliners SBA-LAX (likely due to being able to resell seats on the end of the trip, but also due to the Surfliner's fares getting hiked lately).

 

[Estellamed]

Even as a old, hard bus fan, I do not recommend taking the bus/train combo. The bus is contracted to Silverado Stages and the equipment varies wildly. The Coast Starlight is much better.

Can you elaborate a little on this? What do you mean by equipment?

 

[chakk]

Best California coastal scenery on CS is between San Luis Obispo and Ventura, CA. Although a longer trip than the San Joaquin Valley train + bus combo, I definitely prefer the CS for scenery and train amenities between Sf and LA.