I’ve been flirting with the idea of a cross-country road trip for a while now.
My family doesn’t do reunions. I haven’t seen some of them in ten years, and I’d really like to see them soon. I have an aunt in Wisconsin, a cousin in North Carolina, and my immediate family in Texas. It’d be nice to take some time off, drive across the country, take in the scenery and visit my family. But, ugh, gas prices. Driving would be expensive. Flying would be worse.
In looking for cheap travel options, I came across Amtrak’s “15-day-go-anywhere deal.”
How It Works
CBS Travel Editor Peter Greenberg told Forbes:
“You can get off and on anytime and see all of your dysfunctional relatives in one trip for $500; $250 for kids under 12. Travel agents don’t know about it. Amtrak doesn’t even know about it.”
Awesome insight–and I’m not just talking about his accurate assumption about my dysfunctional family. I’ve never heard of this deal, nor have I ever considered taking a cross-country road trip by train. And while $500 is nothing to sneeze at, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than taking a road trip in my Jetta.
Cost Breakdown
I used AAA’s handy road trip calculator to calculate a trip from California to Wisconsin to North Carolina to Texas, and then back to California. The total cost? $876. It’s nearly $400 cheaper to go the Amtrak route. But let’s look into this deal a bit more.
“The pass allows you to visit over 500 destinations in the Amtrak system and to choose how long you want to travel…Travel must begin within 180 days of the date the pass is issued. All travel must be completed within 180 days of reserving the first travel segment or within the selected travel duration of the pass once the first travel segment is reserved, whichever comes first.”
The pass gives you 15 days worth of travel in eight different segments. So I could come back to California, then plan a separate, non-family trip. As long as its within 180 days, I’m good.
The Fine Print
Budget Traveler adds:
“A ‘segment’ is whenever you board a train. There are no restrictions or blackout dates, so you can travel during peak times—assuming a train hasn’t sold out. There are a few exceptions, of course. For example, you can’t redeem the passes for travel on Amtrak’s high-end services, such as Auto Train and Acela Express.”
Of course, there are cons, too. The big one being–you have to travel on a train. And that takes time. And you’ll be around other people. It’s probably not very comfortable.
If any of that sounds awful, this obviously isn’t the deal for you.
But if you’re dreaming of a cross-country road trip, you’re up for some adventure, and you have some time, Amtrak’s deal is a decent cheaper option.
Photo by Loco Steve.
Managing your money is like going to the dentist or standing in line at the DMV. Nobody wants to do it, but at some point, it’s inevitable: you need to clean your teeth, renew your license, and manage your money like a grown-up.
Now I want to go on a road trip….
I know! It’d be awesome to just hop around the country for a few weeks. So many beautiful places to see.
Does this include sleeping arrangements on the train? Meals, I assume are extra.
The tickets are Coach–any upgrades are extra. And yeah, I’m sure meals are extra.
Like a dum-dum I forgot to add a link to the actual deal: http://www.amtrak.com/take-the-trains-across-america-with-usa-rail-pass
So I’m planning a Trip to Colorado for a wedding From Vermont Does a segment include Transfers you have to make as part of Amtrak’s schedules Thanks For your info it was helpful. I have been wanting to take a long trip by train and want to stop along the way to see other things.
So after paying for accomendations, meals and maybe rent a car to go to, Mt Rushmore or Yellowstone, are you really saving that much? I still like the fact you’re not driving and can stretch your legs at will.
Well you’d potentially be paying for accommodations and meals whether you rented or took a train. But the car rental while at your destination is a good point! If you have to rent a car anyway when you get there, it may not be worth the savings…maybe.
Because, really, it comes to how much you’re saving on gas. In my scenario, the savings was $400. So, if I have to rent a car for a day while I’m in, say, Texas, it’s still probably going to be less than what I’d save on gas traveling across the country. So the savings definitely depends on your situation. (But that AAA road trip calculator really comes in handy in figuring out if the deal would be worth it.)
Now, that’s an idea! I’ll have to check it out and consider this for my next trip. I think it’ll be big savings for me. I can pack a lunch or dinner and arrange to be picked up or take a cab.
Just don’t bring a dried fish 😉
The segments aspect of it is a bit annoying, but with some proper fanaggling I’m sure you could take advantage of it and have Amtrak do most of the long hauls.
Here is some color I found.
The longest route in the U.S. or Canada that does not require a change of trains or accommodations is the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver. The distance is 4,466 kilometers or approximately 2,791.25 miles.
Amtrak’s top five long distance runners are the Texas Eagle from Chicago to LA (2,728 miles); the California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville (2,438 miles); the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA (2,265 miles); the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland (2,255 miles); and the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to LA (1.995 miles).
Prior to the discontinuance of the New Orleans to Orlando segment of the Sunset Limited route, the Sunset was the longest Amtrak route that did not require a change of trains. The distance was 2,764 miles.
This information was obtained from the timetables posted on the ViaRail and Amtrak web pages. The distance for the Sunset Limited when it ran from Orlando to LA was obtained from an old Amtrak timetable.
Awesome info–thanks much! I don’t mind the segments thing so much, because I like the city-hopping aspect of it. As long as it’s not cheaper to rent and drive, that is.
Wow nice tips. Everyone wants to travel with cheap traveling or with not more tips. So this is the best option who want to see the beauty of nature with less cost.
cheapest and best way to travel the us
But the problem is how many days do you waste traveling on the train? If you only have 15 days you could spend half on the train?
Richard, I feel the journey is part of the vacation. It’s something that should be savored, not gulped, which is sadly what most vacationers do. The train allows vacationers to view the country from a more relaxed perspective. The space between the hometown and the vacation destination is often treated like the “thing” that delays the start of the vacation. Learning to enjoy the journey instantly increases the vacation time; if planned properly should add enjoyment as well. I plan to travel by train to Seattle, WA from NY by train, take a 7 day Alaskan cruise, then fly to Anchorage, AK for a 7 day Alaskan tour (Denali National Park, Talkeetna Wilderness, etc.), which includes a total of 28 hrs of train travel in Alaska. Of course not everyone wants, can tolerate, or can place that much time to travel by train. However, I know people with lots of vacation time that frown at the mere mention of train travel beyond the point of going to work in the I-95 corridor-and that’s a shame, because it is so much more. Hopefully, everyone can get to experience a least one vacation that includes some measure of traveling by train.
Where can a seated passenger shower cross country?
I would suggest finding a place to shower in Chicago since there is always a 4-6 hour layover. Outside of that, seated passengers can freshen up at night in the small restrooms (no shower) when most passengers are sleeping and you have a better chance to spend more time in the bathrooms without someone waiting to get in. Thankfully, the trains have multiple small restrooms. Pack a Hanging Toiletry Organizer and be careful not to bang your elbow against the wall railing.