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Chris of Yard Sale Queen shared her recent adventure cross country via Amtrak. Got a frugal story to share? Contact me. Chris’ two-week trip (not all on the train) intrigued me. How much did it cost? Was it a frugal vacation? What did she possibly do with all that time on her hands? Chris writes:
The train was the most expensive part of our trip! I think Amtrak makes their money with the “sleeper cars” – train cars that have different configurations of sleeping arrangements. Some little rooms that sleep 2 people, some with their own toilet, some that slept up to 4 with no toilet, etc etc. We got something called a “family bedroom” that slept 4, but we are a family of 3. Much smaller than any cruise ship room. We shared bathrooms (similar to an airplane bathroom) – with just the people who were in the bottom part of our car (about 12 people – like 6 groups of 2). And there was a shower, which really wasn’t bad. Towels and soap was provided. There are no showers if you travel in Coach.
Taking the train by just buying a Coach ticket is definitely cheaper (about $299-$300 a ticket) but I don’t want to deal with crying babies and weird smells and listening to other people snoring/talking all night. My son is sensitive to strange food smells so I wanted to be in the sleeper car for some privacy. Plus I wanted to be able to shower. Many people who travel in Coach pack coolers to save money on food/drink while on the train rather than buying it from their snack bar. And people who buy a Coach ticket aren’t allowed to visit people in the Sleeper cars. It’s all a little strange. I made some little videos and took a ton of pics so I plan on putting some up on Youtube and blogging about the whole experience.
Cool scenery – met some neat people (like a woman with a graduate degree who lives on 650 acre ranch in New Mexico and uses a wood stove to cook on. I told her I could never live out in the middle of nowhere since I love yardsales too much. Her reply was “I love yardsales too!” So I guess where there is a will, there is a way!
We paid $2061 for 3 people to travel from Fullerton, CA to Washington DC. We paid $600 ($200 each) for us to fly to CA. We flew to CA and took the train back. So we were definitely paying for the experience. BUT when you pay the Sleeper car rate, all your meals are included in the dining car (still had to tip). Cloth napkins, real flowers in the vase on the table. And actually the food was pretty good – the desserts especially. I secretly took a menu (but at the moment not sure where I put it). I know the steak my husband ordered for 2 of the nights was priced at $26. I had crab cakes one night and shrimp scampi another night.
We stayed at my MIL’s condo in San Pedro (near Rancho Palos Verdes) – gorgeous location with a view of Catalina. So that was free. Didn’t make it to Catalina – I heard there aren’t any good thrift stores there – haha. We rented a car and went to Las Vegas for 3 nights at Mandalay Bay (2 nights were free due to my husband’s previous gambling comps or something).
I know this is more info than you asked for, but it’s all fresh in my mind since we just got back on Saturday. We boarded the train in Fullerton on Wednesday night around 8pm – they still fed us dinner and we rode all night, all day/night Thursday, on Friday we changed trains in Chicago and got into Washington DC around 3pm on Saturday.
But I was just amazed when I was told we were allowed to check 3 bags per person. So for the 3 of us, that would have been 9 suitcases! Plus our carryons! Plus additional suitcases at $10 each if need be. I just thought it was crazy but I thought of you and how you moved cross country by airplane so that I had to give my $.02. Cuz I thought if a person is willing to travel cross country by Amtrak (I saw the Coach seats and they are very roomy and I think they have electrical outlets at each seat) a person could transport a lot of belongings in one trip pretty cheaply.
Chris followed up with more details in another email:
I think the cost of just the train ride varies – just like the airlines do – I guess certain days or times of the week cost more or less etc. Also maybe depends on which way you go (we could have chosen a different route home and changed trains in New Orleans). You can go to Amtrak.com and price out different trips on different days.
I found the train menu. I was wrong on the price of the steak dinner – it was $22.50. My seafood dinners were $17.50 and $16.75. Desserts were $5. Breakfast I usually got an omelette with biscuit, hash browns & bacon for $12. But the prices really didn’t matter to us on the train since it was included. The coach passengers can eat in the dining room and pay with cash (and maybe credit card – not sure). But mostly did not see many Coach passengers in the dining car. Another unusual thing – in the dining car they will seat you with other passengers (I think to conserve table space). For instance, my husband would get up early and eat and I would sleep in. So when my son and I ate breakfast, they would sit you with another 2 people. One day my husband had breakfast with a nice elderly lady and one time I ate with 2 men
People can really spend a lot of money on vacation – for instance at the [Vegas] hotel pool, you could rent your own cabana for the day ($400 and up), or sit in a reserved area for a fee (area nearest the wave pool), or even rent a padded lounge chair for a fee. And I saw lots of people doing that. We sat in the plain lounge chairs (for free), when we weren’t in the pool.
The scenery in Arizona and New Mexico was beautiful so most of the first day on the train I just watched the scenery go by. We brought our laptops so my son played some computer games (but he too liked watching the scenery), he had some small hand held games to play too. I had a book to read and my MP3 player to listen to. And we got a free newspaper daily. There is a scenic car (the train car with the big windows) where I saw families playing cards, etc.
There were lots of stops along the ride, most times they were quick stops with letting people on or off, not long enough to get off the train. A few were longer (like 10 minutes?) where smokers could get off for a quick smoke break (no smoking allowed on the train). There was only one stop that was longer (like maybe a half hour) in Albuquerque, NM. There were vendors selling stuff – typical souvenirs, Indian blankets, Southwest style jewelry etc. So I was able to get some Christmas shopping done. That was the only stop that had shopping.
And before the trip, I did some online research for deals etc. I saw that there was going to be a TV taping going on at Venice Beach for one of my son’s favorite shows so we went to that (only had to pay for parking – which you know – you have to pay to park practically everywhere in SoCal). And I saw that the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach had half-priced nights on Sunday nights so we did that on a Sunday night. There is a heated swimming pool at my MIL’s condo so that was free to enjoy. While in Las Vegas there was one show we definitely wanted to see – so we got the tickets at a Half Priced ticket location the day of the show
I probably would not do another cross country train trip – but we are thinking of taking a weekend trip to Philadelphia and using Amtrak. The first night on the train was bad – the air conditioning in our room was not working good (it was better the 2nd and 3rd nights), and the ride itself was very rocky the first night (they said it was because of the mountainous area) so hardly got any sleep. Whoever said the “clickety-clack” of the rails will lull you to sleep was lying!
August 27th, 2010 at 9:22 am
I have taken the train across the country – MANY times!!! LA to DC multiple times and LA to New York once. I was fortunate enough to be able to get a sleeper car on my first trip, but since then, I’ve had to travel coach. It has it’s good and bad points.
The security is a hell of a lot better than at the airport. They do not treat you like you a terrorist, you don’t have to take off your shoes or get strip searched, and you’re allowed to bring almost anything you want. This is one reason why I never fly!
Now, the only reason I did not sleep well on the train was due to being seated next to a stranger and not having enough room to stretch out. The rocking back and forth of the train and the sound of the air being blown in is actually quite soothing.
The scenery is not always beautful since LA is mostly a slum and people in NM and AZ seem to think it acceptable to leave junk cars and mounds of trash piling up right out there in the desert & wilds! It was disgusting.
I also notice how the number of wild horses I see gets smaller and smaller every year…due to the BLM rounding them all up and sterilizing the remaining wild ones. They do this so that the wealthy cattlemen can have more land for their cows, and I DID see literally MILLIONS of cows! That too was disgusting. I used to enjoy watching the wild horses romp. I did see lots of other wildlife which was awesome.
When you take the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago, you get an indian guide part of the way. It’s usually a woman who does a greast job and provides some very interesting history on the land you’re passing through.
I just listen to music and watch the scenery most of the time. I’ve found it’s a great way to pass time trying out that brand new invention – THINKING!
The food on the train is WAY too expensive. You’ve got to bring your own.
Book as far in advance as possible – MUCH cheaper that way. Oh and there are student, AARP, senior and military discounts on the train fare!
I took the Capitol Limited from Chicago to DC. Nice train (this one did have power outlets), GORGEOUS scenery – i cannot emphasize how beautiful that part of the trip is. I didn’t see any wildlife there, though. Bummer.
This train is usually late pulling into DC.
August 28th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
A friend who is a “veteran” train passenger for her annual summer trips responded to Chris’ blog as follows:
That was very interesting. I agree with most of what she said. . . . However, another reason the train portion of their trip was so expensive is because they had to change trains in Chicago. Also, she didn’t mention AAA discounts and the Amtrak Guest Rewards Program.
August 30th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
I have taken the train a number of times it is great! The tirps that are 14 hours and under are fine in coach after that it is kind of like a bathroom to get cleanned up in would be nice. I was on once in coach for 38 hours and that is long. The food is great and eatting in the dining car twice a day is fine not all that expensive ( I recommend you pack lunch and maybe breakfast and then splurge on the dinner) It feels like a dinner out when you get up out of coach and go to the dinning car. Also makes the trip seem shorter.
The train is way worth the price shop early and get your discounts.
You can take a lot of belonggings so in a way this is a way to get moved easily. Most folks on the train are really nice and the folks that work for Amtrak are great ! I highly recommend the train if you never tried it you will never fly again.
August 30th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Preparing to plan a cross country trip via Amtrak, I have been trying to find accounts posted by recent travelers. I’m having mixed feelings about doing this now. Seems like the cons outweigh the pros. The longest train travel from me has been from Williamsburg, VA to New Orleans. Thoroughly enjoyable! We did the sleeper car for 2. Perhaps the length of the trip kept the excitement high and we did not have a chance to experience the negatives that seem to come along with cross country travel? Thank youf or sharing.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Sex and the City did an episode about traveling by train. Personally, if I’m going to be going that much more slowly, I think I’d rather drive and be in my own car.
September 1st, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Yes there is a AAA discount – but we are not members and the discount is only good towards the fare portion, it doesn’t go towards discounting the most expensive part – getting the sleeper car. If we could have gotten the whole thing discounted, yes I would have joined AAA. We did join the Guest Rewards program – but since we are newbies, it didn’t benefit us at all for this trip. Maybe later sometime down the track. haha. chris
September 4th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Here’s our take on our recent trip from Phoenix to San Antonio http://bit.ly/c9D5B2
@Chrystal is right about the security issues. Not having to pass through a checkpoint means you can show up just minutes before the train leaves.
@Diane & @ Janet sound like veteran rail riders. I was amazed at how many passengers make the same trip year after year. If you get seated with one of these frequent riders at meal time you’ll get lots of great insider tips.
@Joe The downside to driving is that you don’t get to do anything (but drive) during the trip. On the train you can use your computer to work or play (abundant electrical outlets), read, play games, watch the scenery go past or even meet new people. And, when you’re ready to eat you just walk to the next car and someone serves you a delicious, freshly prepared meal. No fast food here.
@Chris Because you didn’t have to pay for a hotel room in California and it looks like you got a smoking deal on your airfare, the train may not have been the most economical choice for you but for many folks it will pencil out. Add up the costs of hotel, food, gas or airfare, rental car and extras like baggage fees and the train becomes a valid alternative.
We’re all subsidizing Amtrak anyway. Why not take advantage and see a little more of our country from sea to shining sea?
September 5th, 2010 at 1:21 am
the Amtrak ride between Denver and Salt Lake City is absolutely beautiful. Spend the whole time in the observation carriage to make the most of it.