Trip Planning Advice

[JESUSrocks]

Was origanally planning to do Atlanta---Tucson but due to school times and the Sunsets preformence we cant risk it. Now I am planning a short overnight trip from Atlanta to Washington D.C the train leaves at about 9 at night and arrives at about 10 am. A couple of questions

Is the AAA Child Rate for the Children of AAA members, and say my 16 year old son would he count as AAA adult if his parents have it?

We are doing one-way and Flying back the pricing is as follows...

$590 dollars for the trip there (2 viewliner standered bedrooms)

$336 for the Flight home (airtran)

Is this a good deal?

Was also wondering if we would get enough sleep on the train to ensure a full day of touring that day?

Any other advice would be apreciated!!! Thanks

in CHRIST,

Gavin

 

[Anthony]

As far as the "AAA Adult" rate, I think the official (and usually ignored) policy is that AAA rates are for the cardholder only, and that any children/adolescents wishing to use their parents' cards can purchase a junior membership. However, I don't think this is enforced at all if you buy your tickets online, and I have never been asked for the AAA card onboard by any conductor, or even when exchanging tickets at a ticket counter (e.g., if I wanted to upgrade to business class). So, I think you're set - just put your AAA membership number on the itinerary and all should benefit. (I wonder if the official policy has to do with who is purchasing the tickets, and not who the actual passenger is. If the former, then you as the purchasing party should be able to use your AAA number. If the latter, then I still wouldn't worry about it, as I have done this countless times before without a problem)

As far as how much sleep you're likely to get? This all depends on how quickly you normally fall asleep at home, and how soundly you sleep. If you are not used to the rocking motion of the train, and are normally a light sleeper or have sleeping difficulties, you may find that you will be a bit tired for the next day. This is entirely a subjective question and I would think that if you slept six to eight hours, you should be fine for the next day. Just be sure to take a shower before you go to bed (or ideally, before you leave for the train station)! You'll feel a lot better getting into those crisp sheets.

:lol:

 

[railman]

Was origanally planning to do Atlanta---Tucson but due to school times and the Sunsets preformence we cant risk it. Now I am planning a short overnight trip from Atlanta to Washington D.C the train leaves at about 9 at night and arrives at about 10 am. A couple of questions
Is the AAA Child Rate for the Children of AAA members, and say my 16 year old son would he count as AAA adult if his parents have it?

We are doing one-way and Flying back the pricing is as follows...

$590 dollars for the trip there (2 viewliner standered bedrooms)

$336 for the Flight home (airtran)

Is this a good deal?

Was also wondering if we would get enough sleep on the train to ensure a full day of touring that day?

Any other advice would be apreciated!!! Thanks

in CHRIST,

Gavin

Actually, the AAA policy is that the AAA adult price is useable for the member only. The AAA child discount is for dependant children of the member, ages 2-15 years. The 16 year-old would have to be priced as an "adult" dependant. The spouse is also an adult dependant. The program limits application of the discount to IMMEDIATE family only (no cousins, nephews, aunts, grandparents, etc. of the member).

While neither the Amtrak nor the AAA website spells out the complete details of the Show Your Card & Save program, they are spelled out in a little more detail on page 118 of the current Amtrak System Timetable.