Train Tickets From San Francisco To Seattle – In this series, a team of Lonely Planet writers and editors answer your travel dilemma and offer tips and tricks to help you plan a hassle-free trip. When the question of train travel hit the transom, we turned to Lonely Planet contributor (and huge train fan) Lauren Keith.
Q: My trip to Europe with the Eurail Pass was the best I’ve ever been on. Is there anything like this in the US?
Train Tickets From San Francisco To Seattle
Lauren Keith: Hopping and hopping trains, waking up in the morning in a new city, lugging a suitcase through fancy train stations, meeting new friends from the hostel: a long train ride like this is actually possible on United. countries.
Improving San Francisco’s Streets
Similar to the Eurail Pass, which allows travel to 33 European countries, the Amtrak USA Rail Pass can only cross one international border. But that experience can be just as different, fascinating and eye-opening as its European counterpart.
The US may have the world’s largest highway system, sure – but a car-free “tour” of the country is your ticket to an unforgettable year, and it just might be the European-style road trip. I will have ponds on this side.
I have just bought my second US train ticket and am starting to pack my bags for my next train ride. In 2021, I entered the circuit from Kansas City, passing through St. Louis, San Antonio, New Orleans, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. Here’s a little dive into the details of the Amtrak pass and some of the most frequently asked questions about my trip.
The USA Rail Pass allows passengers to travel 10 “segments” of Amtrak within 30 days for a fixed price. A segment is not always the same as going one way – whenever you get off the train, that’s the end of the segment. For example, one route between Seattle and Denver consists of two parts because you have to change trains.
What You Need To Know Before Booking A Cross_country Train Ride
Introduced in 1976, the USA Rail Pass in its current form is very different from the Eurail Pass, even in its earlier versions. Instead of regional restrictions, the entire country is now fair and the pass is valid for 30 days by default and only 30 days – travelers no longer have the option to choose a longer or shorter period.
Once you have purchased the ticket, you must use it within 120 days (approximately four months). Once the first item is gone, the clock starts ticking and you have 30 days to collect the remaining nine items.
Amtrak sells the USA Rail Pass for $499 at full price — but it has gone on sale for $299 several times in recent years. And at this introductory price, each piece costs less than $30, regardless of length.
You’ll want to spend a lot of time enjoying the view from the Amtrak Observation Car (just be prepared to fall asleep sitting up) © Jacob Boomsma / Shutterstock
Your Guide To Amtrak’s Usa Rail Pass
While the USA Rail Pass is flexible, it’s important to know a few things before you buy.
You must travel in bus time for the pass. Business class and lounges (update coming soon) are not an option, unless you want to pay for them without a pass at the cost of travel. Although Amtrak’s sleeper seats are higher than economy class on any other airline (39 inches of legroom compared to 28 inches in flight), getting a good night’s sleep can be a challenge.
Passengers using the USA Rail Pass cannot ride the Auto Train (between Virginia and Florida), Acela trains (High Speed Rail in the Northeast) or Canadian rail routes operated by VIA Rail Canada. However, these areas are still accessible to passport holders by other (slower) routes.
Passengers can only travel between the same two stops twice (two round trips), so the ticket is best for travelers who want to explore a large area or the entire country. If you want to travel between cities or visit friends or family in the same area, choose a Multi-Ride Pass instead, which does not have these limits.
Obsessed With This San Francisco Bay Area Unified Rail Map.
Although the USA Rail Pass has no blackout dates, only a limited number of seats are reserved for cardholders on each service – meaning advance booking is best. It is possible that some trains will not be available; unfortunately, the number of eligible seats is not displayed when searching for a timetable. Reservations are required in advance, and it’s best to book your trip as soon as you know where you want to go, even if you haven’t worked out all the details yet. If you change your mind, you can cancel and rebook at any time before the scheduled train departure, which is a very flexible option.
Amtrak routes depart from all over the United States, including California’s Pacific coast © Trevor Fairbank / Shutterstock
Feel your oyster. Amtrak routes span the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Mexican border to Canadian cities. More than 30 railroad lines criss-cross the country on 21,000 miles of track. Trains stop in 500 cities in 46 states and several locations in Canada.
It all depends on you and your travel goals. Find some West Coast sunshine on the California coast before settling into a bookstore amid the grays and greens of the Pacific Northwest. You can focus on the big hits from the East Coast, like DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Braves can cross the country from all directions within 30 days: east from Los Angeles to New Orleans, north from Miami to Maine, west from Chicago to Seattle, and south from Vancouver to San Diego, where you can cross the border to Tijuana. , Mexico, walking.
How Do I Get These Seats On The Coast Starlight From Seattle?
While a sightseeing car might sound like the best way to soak up all the incredible diversity of nature on such a historic journey, I personally wouldn’t recommend it – unless you’re sure you’ve packed enough snacks and your body can handle it. managing days without sleep sleep completely. The California Zephyr, one of the longest train journeys in the world, takes 52 hours from California to Chicago, assuming no delays – which is rare.
Start by looking at the Amtrak route map and decide which stops come first. Remember, you don’t have to start in your city: if you want to pack more, you can fly or take the train (without using the pass) to places like New York, Chicago or DC with more options. on intercity roads.
Another important factor is time. You have 30 days to use your pass, and outside of the Northeast, most routes only run once a day – or even three times a week, as is the case with the Sunset Limited (Los Angeles – New Orleans). The small number of services means that occasional journey times are unavoidable. My first train ride in 2008 left a station in a small town in Kansas twice a day: at 2:45am southbound and at 2:59am northbound.
Historic and beautifully restored terminals like Union Station in Los Angeles add a certain charm to American train travel © Kit Leong / Shutterstock
How To Train From Seattle To Vancouver
Amtrak’s intercity trains are one of the most beautiful journeys in the world. Coast Starlight is definitely worth the trip, as the coastline gets so close between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara that you seem to hover over the edge of the cliff, like you’re on a roller coaster. The California Zephyr covers a very wide range of terrain, from the snow-capped Sierra Nevada to the salt flats of Nevada and Utah to the endless twists and turns around the Rockies.
Even most Amtrak stations are great. Los Angeles’ Union Station is an art deco gem with its own beer garden. Denver’s Union Station is home to an impressive dining room, and Kansas City’s Union Station’s coffered ceilings (are we seeing a nomenclature here?) are just as beautiful as those in Chicago and Washington, DC.
Despite America’s car obsession, your visit doesn’t have to be all about the car. Here’s how to visit the West Coast’s epic cities by train. In order to go west coast to San Francisco, but save as much time as possible, we decided to skip our rental car all the way to Los Angeles and leave from Seattle instead. San Francisco by railcar. This meant we had to take the train 24/7. We thought of stopping one night in Portland, but the cost of lodging was very high and we would save only a few hours of train travel.
So we took the step and booked the train and planned to write it off as an ‘experience’ if it turned out to be the worst!
Amtrak On X: “the Usa Rail Pass Sale Begins Today! Get Started With These 4 Suggested Segments: 🥾chicago→whitefish For Glacier Nat’l Park ☕️whitefish→ Seattle For Coffee Shops 🚶♂️seattle→sacramento To Stroll Tower Bridge 🚃sac→san
We were pleasantly surprised. The seats in the bus were big and spacious, there was incredible legroom and the seats were very far from the feet.
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