USA Rail Pass

1. "Rail Pass works for us!"

Carol
(Papamoa, New Zealand)

Recommend:
Overall rating:

Value for money: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Suitability: 5/5

My husband and I love travelling on the trains - plenty of room to walk around, seats are comfortable, good leg room, people are usually friendly, even a power supply for video games/DVDs/computers. We take a polar fleece blanket each and a small chilly bag to carry prepared salad etc for lunch/dinner, milk & fruit plus cereal for breakfast. Dining car has great coffe but otherwise is expensive. With our 15day pass, we travelled from New York/Atlanta/New Orleans; then Jacksonville/Miami; Miami/Philadelphia/Lancaster. This the second time we have used a rail pass. Recommend it!!

2. "Amtrak - First Class Sleeper"

Kathy
(WA)

Recommend:
Overall rating:

Value for money: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Suitability: 5/5

A couple of years ago we had booked two first class sleeper cabins for the above journey, however managed to get our dates totally mixed up. We arrived at Tulsa station on what we thought was the correct date - but when the train arrived the Amtrak steward could not locate our booking! Eventually he informed us that we were booked on the next day! But he was most helpful and did manage to get us on the train that night - well done Amtrak!

3. "An Educational Journey - Amtrak"

Jennifer
(Kalamunda, WA)

Recommend:
Overall rating:

Value for money: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Suitability: 5/5

I travelled from Montreal to Chicago via Port Kent (New York state) on Amtrak Rail in the Autumn (Fall!) of 2004. The journey was wonderful - peak of the Autumn colour and great comfortable seats. So comfortable, in fact, that I was able to get 8 hours solid sleep in the big recliner seats that allows your body to practically lie flat. Before my sleep, however, I got to chat with some of the locals - 2 very good looking college boys heading back to school in Cleveland. During our chat - my mum seated firmly between their seats and mine - the boys were curious about my country Australia. The conversation went something very much like this with the blond headed boy........... "You have deadly spiders huh?"...hmmm, "Yes, but they're not really a problem" "And you have deadly snakes too huh?"....hmph "Well, yes but I don't personally know anyone who has even been bitten by one" "Well you've got killer sharks"....sigh "Sure, though no-one I know has been bitten by one" "Yeah, I'd like to see your country" and took a stretch from this enthralling conversation, ensuring that he lifted his white t-shirt just high enough to show off his well-defined abs, of course having a look down to make sure that he had lifted his shirt high enough. "Is it hot there?"... "Actually, we're heading back into Summer so it gets pretty hot - about 38 - 42 degrees celsius on the hotter days" "It's gonna be hot when you get back?"...."Yep - starts warming up in December and January is usually our hottest month" So, now we stretch again - yes, the abs are still there, no need to keep checking...........so we know what you did last Summer....... "So........(twist of face) do you have your January when we have our January?" Needless to say, I had a good 8 hours sleep after that exhausting conversation.

4. "Amtrak USA - Train Pass"

Dianne
(Flinders View, QLD)

Recommend:
Overall rating:

Value for money: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Suitability: 5/5

Travel on AMTRAK through the USA has many wonderful and exciting memories for me and my family. As a family with three small children, we set off an adventure that would see us cross much of this amazing country. AMTRAK was an economical, fun way for us to experience the United States of America. From Flagstaff to Chicago, Memphis to New Orleans and then on to Kissimmee in Florida and then back to Los Angeles via Houston TX, we certainly covered quite a large portion of the AMTRAK network. Our first sight of AMTRAK was a cold wintery morning as a huge locomotive, the sheer size of which was almost overwhelming, pulled into the Flagstaff Station. Not at all what we had expected, after all, we had seen the wild west movies with the old trains, steam billowing out from the locomotive and being chased by masked men hell bent on robbing anyone in their way. This was a sleek, sophisticated engine that glided gracefully into the station, train robbers, well none to be seen and the only steam that was billowing was from the mouths of those of us standing on the platform as each breath met with the winter chilled air. It was not too long until the words we were waiting for rang out. All Aboard !!!!!!! Once on the way, we found that the seats were so comfortable and spacious, so much so that the children had room to play in the space between seats without disturbing others on board. The scenery was ever changing as we travelled from state to state. From desert plains to sweeping farmlands as far as the eye could see, to haunting snow capped mountain ranges, every day brought something new and exciting. An added bonus was the wonderful people we met along the way. We were fortunate to be seated in the same carriage as a Gospel Group from the deep south of Alabama who entertained us much of the way with their deep soulful singing and treated us to their great southern hospitality. It was so hard not to be infected by the deep southern accent that even the children seemed to lose their own "Aussie" identity for a time. Since our adventure in the USA, train travel has since become an important part of our family holidays with travel on Via rail through Canada, Eurail through Europe, the local rail through Malaysia and Thailand and most recently through China. What an amazing way to truly experience the people and places of this wonderful world that we live in.

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