Traveling On An Amtrak Train~Part 1~ Buying A Ticket

These Series Of Blogs Are To Make Every Moment Easier And As Relaxing As Possible..Even When Traveling With Children.

There are so many things to go over: so let's start from the beginning.

Purchasing A Ticket:

Think about where you will be traveling to and what the weather will be like in the area, what activities you would like to do on vacation. When we first booked our tickets we were not sure on our destination at first. All we knew is that we wanted to take a train ride with our children this summer and give them a new experience. Even though we could have traveled by car, as a wife, I did not want my husband driving for 4 of our 10 day vacation. So the train would give us an experience and be convenient as well.

There are a few ways you can book your ticket. The most commonly used I can imagine would be through through the online website. They can show you the different train routes including some of the famous ones below: California Zephyr(the main one we were on) Named by many as one of the most beautiful train trips in all of North America, California Zephyr takes you from the beautiful city of Chicago to the City by the Bay, San Francisco over three days.

Empire Builder Following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, the Empire Builder takes you through bustling cities, mountain ranges, national parks, glaciers, and the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Southwest Chief Go on an adventure from Chicago to Los Angeles across the vast expanse of the fabled West. Known as the “Train of the Stars”, follow in the footsteps of celebrities enjoying the natural beauty on this memorable journey.

Coast Starlight The Coast Starlight provides a link between the popular cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

Capitol Limited Traveling through the scenic farmland of Ohio and Indiana, the Allegheny Mountains, and the beautiful Potomac Valley along the B&O line, the flagship service also covers such destinations as Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Pacific Surfliner Ride the rails of the Pacific Surfliner for a unique vantage of the Southern California landscape. Running multiple times a day, you can go from buzzing cityscapes and shopping to beachside relaxation in a matter of hours.

Texas Eagle Journeying from Chicago to San Antonio and then onwards to Los Angeles, it is the longest of Amtrak’s routes and is not short on amazing highlights.

Lake Shore Limited Following some of the prettiest shorelines of the United States, the Lake Shore Limited service operates between Chicago and New York City.

Sunset Limited With stops in locations such as Tucson, El Paso, San Antonio, and New Orleans, it skirts the best of the US – both national parks and thriving art communities.

Adirondack The Adirondack travels daily from New York City, through the lush wine country of the Hudson Valley, into Montreal. Heading north, you're scheduled to depart New York's Penn Station in the morning and arrive in Montreal in the evening.

Maple Leaf Explore the international energy of New York and Toronto. Bring your appetite along and grab some wings in Buffalo and some poutine on Parliament Street. Celebrate the history, heroes, cuisine, and culture of two great nations on one great journey.

Auto Train Dip into the heart of the eastern U.S., where history awaits in the nooks and crannies of great cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore.

City of New Orleans Music fills the air from Jazz and blues to zydeco and funk. Spacious Superliner accommodations make your trip extra enjoyable, with showers and thoughtful amenities, friendly service, and fine dining.

Northeast Regional Convenient and affordable downtown-to-downtown service up and down the Northeast Corridor. Northeast Regional trains offer a comfortable and enjoyable way to travel throughout the Northeast Corridor and points beyond.

Amtrak Cascades Amtrak’s Cascades invites you to indulge your senses with the sights, sounds, and flavors of the Pacific Northwest’s chic cities and magnificent landscapes.

Crescent Go from the Big Apple to the Big Easy. With service from New York City to New Orleans, the Crescent gives travelers a unique window to the beauty and heritage of the American South.

Downeaster With round-trips daily between Boston, MA, and Brunswick, ME, the Downeaster is your car-free connection to exciting New England destinations all year long.

Palmetto Welcome aboard the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and Palmetto - a journey between exciting Northeast cityscapes, the Deep South’s Civil War history, and the sights and sounds of Florida’s beaches, cities, and family attractions.

Cardinal Dip into the heart of the eastern U.S., where history awaits in the nooks and crannies of great cities

Philadelphia and Baltimore.

When we went to plan out a trip I looked at areas that we would be interested in visiting. My list was: Maine, Florida, Out West, and Chicago. Now for the research.

These factors came into play: What dates we could get an outgoing and return train ride?

The cost of tickets?

The layovers at train stations?

If there was a car service of some sort that we could either rent a

vehicle or uber around whatever town we landed in?

So I actually called the Amtrack customer service phone number at:1-800-268-7252. I waited for 9 minutes and talked to a very pleasant woman who was very patient with me. I explained that we wanted to take a train ride and gave her the dates and locations we were thinking about traveling to. She helped me plan out each route. this took over an hour and was totally worth it. We chose a route to Colorado. The tickets were buy an Adult ticket and get a Child's for half off. This is a great savings. The route included boarding a train in Lapeer, Mi to Chicago, Il Then to Denver , Co and Then a bus to Colorado Springs, Co.

The layovers were pretty short. Our longest one was scheduled for 4.5 hrs from train to bus and I knew we could handle that with the children in tow. She proceeded to help me look up rental services for a car. With arriving and leaving on a weekend; we had to make sure someone would be open. The airport in Colorado Springs, Co was the answer for a car rental through Enterprise. It is approximately 20 Minutes from the bus stop and there are car services(taxi's) through the area.

Next was payment. We always use a credit card for a big purchase such as ticket purchases or hotels. Sometimes there are fees or "holding amounts" and I never want these to affect my checking account. I gave her the card number over the phone and in return I was sent an email with our ticket confirmation and boarding passes.

Side note: If you are booking within the United States you do not need id for anyone under 18. All adults need Ids with their tickets. They are allowed to check your Id at anytime. However no one checked ours ever. It was convenient not to have to pull out all of our information but also a little bit questioning on a security level.

You can download the Amtrak app which they will scan your tickets from. There are barcodes for each transfer along the way. Including the bus.

As a back up I always print off any tickets or passes or confirmations that are digital. What if your service is bad? Your phone stops working or some other silly thing: ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP. The library in your area will have a printer you can use. I always place them in a folder(this one was a zipper pouch) and keep them with me in my carry on bag.

So now the tickets were purchased and all we had to do was book the rental car and VRBOS we were going to stay at. The process was pretty simple and would be even simpler if you knew your destination before calling or booking online.

When will you book your train tickets? Wilson Wonders