Thanksgiving travel-any hints or advice

[Bill631]

Hello all,

It now looks as though I will have to postpone my Texas trip until November, so I am thinking of travelling around Thanksgiving. I plan to leave NYC on Nov. 16, aboard the Lakeshore Ltd, then take the Texas Eagle to Dallas. For my return I will be taking the Crescent from New Orleans to NYC on November 24. I want to book a roomette for eacch segment. I just wondered if I should book the trip soon if there's a chance any of the trains would be sold out?

Are the trains, in general, very crowded around a major holiday?

I know the airlines are heavily booked around the holidays, but I've never travelled on Amtrak near a holiday so I am not sure what to expect. My main concern is that I won't be too flexible with my dates, so I want to make sure I get the reservations I need. I am also a little nervous booking so far in advance.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Bill

B)

 

[Chatter163]

EXTREMELY busy travel time--the trains WILL be crowded, so book as as soon as possible. Now is not too early. B)

 

[AlanB]

EXTREMELY busy travel time--the trains WILL be crowded, so book as as soon as possible. Now is not too early. B)

I'll second the above! Don't wait one more minute to book your reservations on Amtrak, do it ASAP. The trains will indeed sell out, unless one of your travel dates is actually Thanksgiving Thursday. But otherwise, from the weekend before Thanskgiving thru the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend, the trains will either be sold out or extremely close to sold out. And thats in coach, sleepers will definately be sold out!.

Every day you wait to book not only increases the risk of not getting the dates you want, but also that the prices will go up.

Thanksgiving is Amtrak's busiest time of the year. In fact, it's the only holiday that Amtrak actually adds extra trains in many places of the country, not just extra cars.

 

[Guest]

The Thanksgiving period is the busiest time of year for Amtrak.

 

[TransAtlantic]

My suggestion? Book yesterday...

 

[rmgreenesq]

EXTREMELY busy travel time--the trains WILL be crowded, so book as as soon as possible. Now is not too early. B)

I'll second the above! Don't wait one more minute to book your reservations on Amtrak, do it ASAP. The trains will indeed sell out, unless one of your travel dates is actually Thanksgiving Thursday. But otherwise, from the weekend before Thanskgiving thru the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend, the trains will either be sold out or extremely close to sold out. And thats in coach, sleepers will definately be sold out!.

Every day you wait to book not only increases the risk of not getting the dates you want, but also that the prices will go up.

Thanksgiving is Amtrak's busiest time of the year. In fact, it's the only holiday that Amtrak actually adds extra trains in many places of the country, not just extra cars.

I agree with Alan. If you are going to book a sleeper, book it NOW.

Last year my family and I took Amtrak across the country in coach the week of thanksgiving. We took the Lakeshore Ltd. and the Southwest Chief from Worcester, MA to Fullerton, Ca. Cheap coach tickets were available in September (which is why my two non-railfan family members agreeded to spend six days on a train with me) but the sleepers were aproaching the top price. Your mileage may vary.

The only semi-empty train I encountered was the Southwest Chief from Fullerton to Kansas City. We left the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the train was downright empty. A day and a half later (Sunday Morning), we arrived in Kansas City, Mo. There were eighty-some passengers waiting to board. The train was jammed with people from that point all the way home.

Rick