Amtrak California Zephyr: What You Need To Know
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2022
- Today we share Amtrak California Zephyr what you need to know before riding tips. We have been on the California Zephyr many times and we love it, it's one of our favorite Amtrak routes. If you plan to ride the California Zephyr then you should certainly watch this video to prepare. We will cover the hotels in Emeryville and Chicago as well as tips for seeing the best sights on Amtrak, what side you want your roomette and bedroom on and everything else to help you have a great trip.
Our Cruise Channel:
/ @groundedlifecruises
CONNECT WITH US!
www.groundedlifetravel.com
/ groundedlifetravel
My dad and I were literally on the CZ a year ago today. From Emeryville to Chicago. This route is a MUST for rail fans. IMO.
I saw saw this review, when you first presented it. Like other TH-camrs, you did a great job. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and want to go to Boston, and travel on Amtrak, home, via the Shoreline, and the Zephyr.
Yesterday, I saw a "Tuber," doing a scathing review of the Zephyr. (You may know who I mean).
He was so negative about everything, INCLUDING delays that were weather-related. He took the trip in JANUARY. This man seemed not to understand that there will, likely, be snow in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Mountains, in January.
I'm glad to have those of you who have a more positive attitude, and can "roll with the unexpected," in an out-of-the-ordinary, experience that is travel.
Thanks, and thanks for watching, we appreciate it!
Finally got this payment thing to work. I have enjoyed your videos for SO long as a "freeloader" -- glad to have finally contributed! We did the C.Zephyr in two stages last summer (Chg=>SLC, and then SLC=>SacCA) and it did NOT disappoint! Thanks for all your service to Amtrak passengers!
Unfortunately, I got into Emeryville about 10pm and there were no taxis available. If you are older, that walk across the bridge is horrible especially at night in a strange city. I "shared" one of the elevators with a homeless gentleman who was camped out there. Thank goodness, I was polite to him. It surprised him so much that he didn't give me any trouble but... Just walking to the Hyatt is across a football field of a parking lot and if you have to go further... I don't think I will plan to arrive on a Saturday the next time I go. I did find out that if you have booked an Amtrak vacation package, it doesn't matter what time you arrive. There are busses ready at any time to take everyone across the bridge to San Francisco. Even if you are 5 hours late. The train ride itself was wonderful! 🙂
I have actually stayed at that Club Quarters in Chicago when taking Amtrak - small world! Having done the Zephyr trip these tips re great. But I actually enjoyed The Empire Builder a little more.
First, still haven’t made my first train trip but still trucking along with you guys 💖
Good information. Thank you. I’m taking my grandson from Sacramento to Denver in early June. A first for both of us.
My husband and I are booked a bedroom on the Zephyr November 2. We rode coach from Carpinteria to San Luis Obispo a few years ago and loved it, so we're really excited for a sleeper train. Thanks for the great tips!
Ride it both ways and get the same roomette. Worked for me on the starlighter!!
My 20th anniversary Cali Zephyr trip with my wife is this month and your videos have helped me plan just about all of it. Thank you for all of the great content and safe travels!
Thanks for video and information on the CZ. I plan on taking this train to Emeryville and onto Los Angeles. This video helps me plan the trip on the CZ and to plan the trip.
Hello. We’re on our last leg of the Zephyr trip from Chicago to Emeryville. I watched your video before we made the trip. Very helpful. Definitely one of the best Amtrak long distance trips. At this point, we’ll be arriving about 4.5 hours late but nothing to worry about. Love your Amtrak videos. Thank you.
We stayed at La Quinta in Chicago as well and it was great! It was a short walk and my kids didn't even complain 😁
We have also stayed at a really nice La Quinta somewhere in Arkansas surprisingly (not on a train trip). It was a fairly new one so that helped. I think they are hit or miss.
Hi Rob & Allie. I finally figured out how to leave you a comment. I love Rob's Amtrak Route map and have been trying to find a route from NJ to take across country and return. I am in the planning stage right now as my wife rolls her eyes. I have been watching your TH-cam Channel for almost 2 years. I can really use all the help available. We are in our 70s and want to do this before we can't do it.
Thanks for pointing us in the right direction.
I drove over to the Emeryville station when deciding if I want to stay overnight before my train ride. I couldn’t figure out why you would walk from the hotel. Glad you’ve remained safe.
I rode the Zephyr for the first time when I was 3. That’s how we moved to California. My older sister and I preferred standing in the hallway outside our family bedroom, and watching the cars on the freeway. Our bedroom faced the south side.
I rode this train from Emeryville to Chicago back in Aug. 2021. I rode coach and found it very uncomfortable trying to sleep at night. I am 6'3" and weigh 260. These seats are not made for sleeping if you are that big or bigger. Also the bathrooms were not cleaned on a regular basis and got very gritty. Overall the scenery was great but be aware of the seats. They also ran out of many items in the food cafe. I would only recommend this trip if you can afford to purchase a sleeper. The same applies to the Empire Builder which we took from Chicago to Seattle.
Bathrooms were filthy on my recent round trip on the Zephyr!
Very informative, thank you!! I'm going next October.
How timely. After having to abort my Fall trip 😭, I rebooked for November. This got me out of bed and to my coffee this morning. It will be interesting to see how the scenery is at this time of year. Thanks.
I was in Emeryville recently and overhead two cab drivers talking about taking their turns using the station elevator as a bathroom.
I unfortunately was scheduled on the Zephyr last September on one of the days it was cancelled due to pending train strike...(start of two week trip in California)... have now rescheduled for upcoming September. Fingers Crossed!
Have a great trip!
Coach 141$ for a Feb trip from Chicago to Emeryville and 141$ coach for a September trip. Price is same, same even that far out. Checked price for December of this year, same price 141$ coach. Love your channel and your advice, you guys are great so don't get me wrong. You aren't always on the mark and pricing can be hit and miss. Please be aware that even as seasoned travelers you aren't always correct. You should also mention that the trains can be up to 12 hours + late though this is rare.
Travelled on the CZ this past May and we got into Emeryville early! The Empire Builder was another story lol
So excited. Wife and I leave in 2 days!
I rode the California Zephyr for the first time in my life a couple weeks ago from the SF Bay Area to Denver, Co. Definitely worth doing at least once, but I don't know if I could do it again. It seems as if Amtrak is stuck between two different agendas.
On the one hand, it wants to be transportation. On the flat lands of California and Nevada, the train really moves. But there are too many stops along the route at small stations and the schedule delays are unacceptable to make this a viable transportation option for most people.
On the other hand, it wants to be a land cruise for people on vacation. Amazing views, good food. But Amtrak would need to make longer stops at key cities and have better amenities on board for most people to use the train for this purpose.
Great info....thank you very much!!😀😀
Riding this train this summer I am definitely excited
Have fun!
@@GroundedLifeTravel super excited taking 6 trains this summer
Love it! Very educational and very useful info. Greetings from your friends from Atlanta Yosley & Ari. :)
You guys are cool!
The trip of a lifetime. Thank you both for the inspiration and all the information. We talked with whoever sat across from us and everyone was friendly. We had a sleeper, friends had a roomette. What time of the year??? Well the views in fall and snow in the winter sounds glorious. But we did it in June when we had lots and lots of DAYLIGHT.
Just recently stayed at La Quinta in Chicago and it IS quite nice and the breakfast was better than Hyatt Place The Loop.
We just traveled on the Zephyr a few weeks ago. We went from Denver to Emeryville. Our dining car staff and room attendant were excellent. The issue we had was the bus to SF. They just dropped us off in SF and all.of us were scrambling to get an uber or taxi. Also no explanation on the times the busses picked up for the return trip..We got lucky and the bus was there when we arrived. Had sent an email to Amtrak about it and got an emsil.after we were back home. Three weeks later. Great trip,.just a little frustrating in SF.
When I got off the bus in SF there were no taxis in sight. I walked several blocks before I found one!
You covered everything. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thanks for all your good advice, although we still overpacked, lol. We rode the CA Zephyr about 2 weeks ago and got to see the aspen trees changing color. We live in south TX, so we don't ever see fall leaves. Thanks to your excellent advice, I was able to mark off several items from my bucket list.
Great timing!
Planning on travelling between SLC to OMA this spring.
Very informative thank you
Thanks to you, I've booked my Zephyr trip for late October-early November. I did a lot of searching to find the best price for my roommette, and booking five months out got me a good price. This will be my first long distance ride and my first roommette, and I'm already so excited! Thanks for all the info and also for posting the products that you use on your website, that's very useful!
How exciting! We are taking a short trip from Sacramento-Reno in 2 weeks and then going Sac-Chicago in early November as well. It looks like there should be sections of snow that time of year. Woohoo!
@TheDenisedrake I'll be coming back in November, so wave at the Westbound zephyr when we pass each other!
@@CoyKoi57 I will be waving!!! Have a fabulous trip.
Love you two !! Thanks for all the info - I bought my Zephyr ticket mid September for a late January trip for my 65 th Bday. Your advice about the Zephyr was/is very informative. Happy travels !!
Wow! It helped a lot-great trip; thanks for the excellent info. 👍
Great tips! We hope to take this trip someday!!
Thanks!
Huell Howser went on the California Zephyr. I don't know if you know about him, but he did a show on this maybe around 1994 or 1995❓ Thanks for your videos, awesome you're doing mainly videos about train travel❗
I stayed at club quarters very good value 😀👍
Thank you!
Thanks!
Even though I haven't taken the train route yet, you have been very helpful on color coding the trains... I will be taking a trip from Orlando Florida to RI, but I still don't know when that will be. I've also enjoyed your videos and the information you have given me.
BART is another option if you want to go to San Francisco from Emeryville. There's a bus loop from the hotels to the BART station.
How late does BART run though, I am just curious, and thanks.
@@chrisdobrowolski2783 Trains run everyday until midnight.
You could also get off at the Richmond station and the Bart trains are right there
Can yall make a video or mention abkut bidding for rooms and roomettes? Seems like I have had allot of luck just putting in the minimum bid.
Just returned from round trip on the California Zephyr and found conditions on the train far from perfect. On boarding in Chicago I noticed a very unpleasant smell and later on in the trip I could detect an odor of sewage on the upper level. Train was definitely NOT clean! Crew was not in sight,trash bins were full,the one in my roomette was never emptied and bathroom trash was full most of the time. The return wasn’t much better. On the last day lunch began at ten thirty and closed before noon! Many passengers didn’t get lunch. Crew was very unfriendly and abrupt to passengers. I heard many complaints from passengers as to cleanliness and foul odors. Quality of service had definitely degraded since my first trip on the Zephyr in ‘94!
Thank you
I finished my trip on the Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco yesterday. I have these suggestions for other passengers.
I decided before the trip I was not going to stress out about the north vs south side. I ended up with a roomette facing north. The views were lovely, but I did go to the stairwell to look out the window while we went through Gore Canyon.
I'm introverted and knew I'd have a problem eating with other people in the dining car. I did have a few meals there, but the room attendant was very nice about bringing my meals to my roomette when I wasn't up for eating in the dining car.
There will probably be a line at the shower. I went to take my shower at 5:30 a.m. both days and had to wait for other people to finish. There's doors with windows outside the shower, so I considered that part of the adventure and enjoyed the views of Colorado and Nevada while I waited.
I like to read about places that I visit. I read "The Indifferent Stars Above " by Daniel James Brown during the train ride. It's about the Donner Party and what they went through. It's an excellent book and will help you appreciate the sights of Donner Pass.
I hope this helps other riders.
I just want to say with the California zephyr you do need to be careful because if there are freight delays in your train is delayed by seven hours which happened this summer when I took the zephyr from Denver to Chicago then you’re going to miss out on some of those views because it’s going to be night time.
I absolutely love you both and your wonderful videos. I only have one tiny complaint, Allie please resist saying 'um-hmmm' whilst Rob is speaking. It's a bit annoying and distracting from what Rob is saying.
I find your videos great and so informative and adore you both.I look forward to more content.All blessings to you both. Peace.
I didn't even notice this. Maybe it's because I'm taking notes all the time. LOL
We took this trip 3 weeks ago and used much of your helpful advice to prepare. While it is a beautiful route, we encountered a few things we were not expecting..
- The train was really late (to us). We expected a couple hours late, it was more than 4 hours late. (from chicago to Salt Lake City)
- All the bathrooms on our sleeper car (upstairs and downstairs) were "out of order". The attendant locked them all. So, we had a walk to other cars for the bathrooms.
- The attendant was quite bothered with any question I asked. I had to look for him, always found him chatting it up with the other attendants in the dining car. Did not seem to like his job very much. I am sure they are not all like that. I learned to do the bed myself as asking him seemed off-putting.
- We literally got bruises while trying to sleep. Maybe the engineer was trying to make up time at night, I dont know. But the ride at night was Very rough. And the horn blowing! Seems like the horn blows every 2 minutes (at every intersection).
- All in all; we enjoyed the trip but if we did it again, we would get on at Denver to catch just the scenic part.
- Food was pretty good. Snack car guy's announcements were very entertaining.
@Curt It’s a drag when a room attendant isn’t helpful. One time I had one who got on the microphone and threatened to lock us out of the bathrooms because she said they were messy but they weren’t. She got on the Texas Eagle in San Antonio to take us through to Los Angeles and she told us the previous car attendant didn’t do a good job but that wasn’t true either. I really wish I would have spoken to the conductor about it. When I got home I called Amtrak’s customer service because I felt like I wanted to say something and I immediately told the employee I wasn’t looking for a partial refund (in my case it would have been in Guest Reward points) but was basically making a complaint. Idt it makes a difference with making a call like that but I felt better. 🤷🏻♀️
I rode the CZ most recently in early August 2022, and the overnight stretch through eastern Colorado and through Nebraska was some of the roughest track I have encountered while on Amtrak. Very violent sudden 'snap rolls', or sideways lurches, which would fling anything not nailed down all over my Roomette, and in the morning it was amazing how some items got into odd places, and while I was not bruised, I did bang back and forth on my bed all night long. This is not Amtrak's fault, it is the freight rail company's responsibility to maintain those tracks to conditions reasonable for passenger service, but they often don't. And it might have been worse due to it being August and the rails might have bulged and warped due to the heat.
If you plan to ride Amtrak again you should call Amtrak and they should be able to give you a small voucher for the incoveinece you had.
My experience was pretty much the same! Two things that made the trip worthwhile was the beautiful view and we arrived ahead of schedule.
Thank you guys for putting out all this great information, hoping to do California Zephyr till salt lake city next year & drive north from there & be able to do Glacier national park's "going to the sun rd" drive... hopefully after Seattle be able to keep the Pacific to the right & do PCH from San Fran down to LA... any input on that would be awesome😊
Welp, that just confirmed for me I need to adjust my 9pm flight for the day I arrive in Emeryville to the next day since the train is mostly always late 😎
What is a vestibule
My dad was born in Geneva 40 miles west of Chicago and his cousin still lives in Chicago. My mom was born in Montrose Co. Have you been on the narrow gauge railway from Durango to Silverton Co? I rode it way back in the late 60s and still remember how beautiful it was. They even had a shoot out in Silverton 😊
Does the Zephyr only go as far as Colorado? Does it go any further east, such as Pennsylvania?
It is a short bus ride from the Emeryville Amtrak station to the local light rail (BART) station. That will take you under the bay to San Francisco, connect to Caltrain to San Jose, or to either the S.F or Oakland airports, or to Fremont in the south bay. When you get to S.F. get a local transit card ("Clipper" card) at the BART station, or download it to your phone wallet. You can add money to it by phone, or at the machines, or at various stores around the area. Google maps can be set to transit mode, and it will tell you how to get anywhere in the area by transit. Caltrain, BART, and most of the local bus systems take the same card/phone app. You tap the card/phone when you get on, and again when you get off of Caltrain. The busses log you in for two hours, and you can transfer at will during that time between the busses, trains, and street cars in SF. This is how the locals get around town. You don't want to drive, or park in the city.
Love your videos! My husband and I are planning our first Amtrak trip next year. We plan to ride the California Zephyr from Chicago to Salt Lake City. Do you know which hotels close to the station that are best for late arrival? Also, what kind of transporation service is there late at night in case of delay so that we don't have to walk to a hotel?
As a San Diegan, a lot of our lightrail elevators are toilets. I'm sure my dad has seen it as an operator.
Oh yeah, my dad and I used that elevator…when the doors opened there was a homeless guy who had decided to make that his home for the night.
Chiraq has "safe places" 🤣🤣🤣
You didn't mention the Hyatt Place also within easy walking distance to the Emeryville station. And like Chiraq, stay in Emeryville and out of Oakland if you value your safety.
Maps says sonesta is 11 minute walk in Emeryville
I couldn't take my trip my doc wouldn't let me plus I couldn't get a room near a bathroom but I hope at some point to try again, try to get a room with a bathroom. Love your trips!
I'd love to do it. Have done the Indian Pacific ( across Australia), but not sure of how physically handicapped are handled over there. I would also need shower, toilet in room.
I feel your pain! I had to cancel my long awaited Fall trip on the Zephyr because of health reasons. Rats! I rescheduled for November so will be interested to see how it goes. Hope you get to do the same.
I may have similar issues-I wonder if Depends could be an option?
I think there are some rooms that have bathrooms in them I'm sure that the website would have information on that.
@@makulewahine Amtrak offers an ADA compliant bedroom with its own rest room, or is adjacent to the ADA compliant restroom, but the exact layout and placement depends on the individual train.
Can you do this route in a sleeping car? Is a Roomette or bedroom etc the choice of accommodation
News subscriber here been watching all ur videos with my son and he’s ready to take a long train ride! How’s the ride would u recommend taking motion sickness medicine before the trip?
Travel Enjoy Life Family Blessed ♥ Detroit
Thanks
I’ve never been on this route. I’ve never been on most of the other routes!! 😩😫😞
It is a good one!
@@GroundedLifeTravel I will have to make it a trip on this route soon.
We are taking this trip in approximately 3 weeks. We have reserved a bedroom. My questions are regarding dining. We are looking to seclude ourselves and hibernate while we enjoy the experience. Can we eat all our meals in the room? Is it considered acceptable, or is it a hassle for the staff? We are wanting a pajama/chill/solitude experience.
Yes it will be fine
It has been many years, but in the past - If they run the coach connection to San Francisco the same way as they do for the Capitol Corridor service - not all of the coach connections go to the same points in San Francisco. If your ticket is printed for a section of San Francisco, confirm with the driver/attendant that s/he is going that way.
Question, do the meal times adjust to the time zone the train is in?
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
What's the best time of year to travel on the Zepher?
I don't see the links for the hotels. Do I need to go to your actual website? Also how far is the park, I think they call it The Bean, from the train station? Is that a relatively safe area, and I think that the Chicago station has lockers to hold your property. Is that correct? Thank you for the video
Very interesting video! We have booked the trip from SLC to Chicago for this summer. Any advice where to stay since 3:30am (probably later)? We have a 9yo kid and not sure if waiting at SLC station is a good idea, or better book a night at a hotel downtown, which I'm not sure if it's worth it. Any experience about the 3:30am SLC train? Thanks!
We've never gotten on a train there, I would call the station and find out the exact situation. We would probably end up getting a hotel nearby and staying.
If you are able to why not just fly into Denver and pick up the California Zephyr from there?
So if I want to do connecting trains like Zephyr to Coastal Star to Empire Builder u recommend a night in Hotel between as a time Buffer? I will prob do Coach? As a Solo I wud have to pay almost same as a dbl
@groundedlifetravel I really want to take this route… would your recommend CZ route during Winter months
Is East half of route worth it? I plan to ride coach so wud entire route or just start in Denver? Is that same for other routes of take entire routes?
Zephyr second sleeping cars removed-just recently? people have been changed to coach? who do we contact for accuracy?
What you guys think of the problem with the Pacific surfliner...is it safe? Will it be safe..planning to travel to San Diego from LA in Jan.
I took it and it is safe especially during the day time.- I took it a few times. They have no dinning car and no observation car. Although if you take it at night the LA Union station might be a little unsafe at least the outside of it. It may have a sleeper car but not 100 percent sure but i know they have a business class for sure since I rode it a few time a long while back.
I live in a salt lake so I'll board the California Zephyr to Emeryville on San Francisco.
Then get on the Coast Starlight to Seattle then get on the Empire Builder to Chicago
In Chicago I'll get on the California Zephyr back to Salt Lake City.
This is how I figured it out but it seems to going to cost me a VERY lot of money.
I'm traveling alone and I'm 86. My kids are not happy about this trip alone.
Cost wise and route wise want am I doing wrong.
Can you answer me in a text or email or on your question and answer periods. I just don't know when that would be so I get my questions answered.
Carol Dammer
Would hotels be available in Emeryville if you come in late at night or don't end up booking a hotel in advance?
They usually are but it depends on your dates
Hi Allie & Rob, if you have a Roomette, do you get unlimited sodas at anytime, or do you just get 1 soda with your meals? The information you provide in your videos is great!
Robert de Schepper, if you are in any kind of sleeper car accommodation, you get soft drinks for free in the dining car at designated meals times, and there will be free bottled water in your room, and usually each sleeper car has a coffee urn and so on, but this varies and cannot be counted on. You can always visit the Cafe (downstairs in the Lounge/Observation car) ad buy various drinks. You can also bring drinks of your choice onto the train that you bought elsewhere (this is what I do). But you do NOT get unlimited soft drinks at all times, regardless of where your accommodation is on the train.
@@youtuuba Thanks for the information. I appreciate the reply.
Actually you can get free non-alcholic drinks all the time except when the attendents are sleeping, You could either pick up soda or other non-alchoic drinks from the dinning car or use your call botton (but not after 10 p.m) to call the sleeping attendent and ask them for a soda and they will bring you 1 to the room.
@@chrisdobrowolski2783 I am now officially a fan of your postings. Your posts are always informative and have a friendly tone. 🙂
@@chrisdobrowolski2783 Hi Chris, thanks for the reply. I just had my first dinner meal in the dining car, and not only did I get multiple free soft drinks (Diet Coke), I also received free multiple alcoholic drinks (Stella Artois), which seemed strange because there were prices on the menu for alcoholic drinks. When I asked the dining attendant about the unlimited drinks, he replied that I could have free unlimited soda at every meal, but free unlimited alcohol was only offered during dinner. I’ll see how tomorrow goes. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Thanks.
If boarding in Salt Lake City (Eastbound), schedule is currently 3:30 am departure. Can we board earlier? Like, does it stay for any period of time at the station?
You can board as soon as it arrives, but there is no way to know when that will be exactly.
This might be a dumb question…. But what do you do once you get to your destination? Do you stay in California for a couple of days.Or take the train right back to Chicago or take a flight back? Thank you for your videos. I took my first train ride because of you 😊
@Vstar5 I love touristy stuff. Alcatraz tour is fab!
@Alaskancruiser What hotel c in SF did you stay
Is the train to Portland going all the way now or do they still bus you part of the way?
last time I checked it is going all the way to Seattle and the train is called the Coast Starlight.
Planning on taking coastal starlight from Emeryville to Los Angeles. Do l have to booked overnight in Emeryville?
Looks like because Starlight is only 1 time a day and frequently late. However, call Amtrak they did mention additional ways to get to LA station. several buses etc.
@@sbeckas Thanks
Are there a lot of homeless in Emeryville? We encountered dozens and dozens of homeless people in both Sacramento and Portland between the train station --- downtown. Much worse than I've ever seen in NY or Phil.
While NONE were physically threatening, the atmosphere (literally) dissuaded us from taking transit to/from.
thanks for the info. I have a lay over in Sacramento and was wondering about walking about the area. Think I'll just stay put.
@@makulewahine Connecting to the Coast*Lighter? Consider a quick Uber or Lyft to one of the museums, the CA State Capital or even Old Sacramento (our favorite). If you have 2+ hours, they are all worth seeing!
Don't they have taxis in Chicago?
I LOVE you guys, but like you say, schlepping with luggage is a no no!
Hey guys, once you reach a Tier status, do you have to start all over at the New Year or do you keep it till you make the next Tier.
Can someone explain what's going on with all the train and sleeper cancellations? I keep reading about people being told at the last minute that their Superliner sleeping-car won't be operating. I'm afraid to make a reservation for fear of having it cancelled and my plans ruined.
I think travel/trip/vacation insurance is available. Perhaps that would relieve some of the pressure?
@@raygunsforronnie847 Where do you get this insurance?
@@randall8379 I'd start with an internet search for "vacation insurance" or "trip interruption insurance" or "travel insurance." The agent that handles your homeowners or renters insurance may be able to help you, too.
If you take the bus into San Francisco, what hotels are near that bus station, and is the area safe?
They have a bunch of hotel recommendations on their web site that are within walking distance to the major Amtrak stations.
There is a hostel nearby too-using a web search you will find info.
I have a question Does Amtrak give you any discount or free tickets for taking these trips? If not should they?
No, they shouldn't because that would influence reporting factually. I know someone who takes free trips, In return he writes favorable reviews. Not good. Same with restaurant reviews. Mimi Sheraton, once restaurant critic for the NYT, never accepted freebies. She went to the same restaurant numerous times to be objective, often in disguise.
If they don't, they should. I'd never contemplated this trip without Grounded Life travel. So brilliant!
@@aureliacornelia79adgracchu29 Nope. Once you take perks you are compromised. I go with objective reports from people who paid the full fare.
I recently rode the Los Angeles Gold Line and made the mistake of getting in the elevator. Yes, it was a public toilet with a large puddle of urine. Just disgusting and the reason, I'm sure, many people just forego taking the train. What a disgusting experience.
Hi I enjoy watching your videos and I have a bit of a weird question..... Im thinking about bringing my 3 in one breakfast maker for when I travel in coach. It is 120v so im thinking it will be enough power to use in the outlets. HOWEVER😏🤔 im not sure if they will let me use it for obvious reasons 😂 however, I would go to the cafe car and use it there only. And I would bring metal pans to transport my microwave dinners into it I just would like to have and make my own quality dinners and have the best experience that I can have in coach. Call me crazy🤣 but i think it would be a fantastic idea if it can be done safely. Only because coach passengers can not use the dinning car. Just a thought....your thoughts....lol😁🤔🍴🍾🍛🍳🥓🥞🥗🍱🍜🍞🍝🍕
I wonder if the cafe car offers access to a microwave? I hope someone replies with an answer for u. I am curious.
@@sbeckas I've heard that there was one in the past, but not anymore. Or maybe just not open to the public anymore... Im not certain, but that would save me the trouble for sure. Thanks for the reply!
A call or email to Amtrak might be in order. While I don't recall a specific prohibition against preparing hot food, I'd be kind of surprised if it's permitted. IIRC the power outlets in coach are limited to 5 amps, and the sleeping car rooms and bathroom outlets are 15 amps (hair dryers). As the cafe cars and lounges are staffed once again, I think the microwave oven is now in the employee service area.
@@raygunsforronnie847 That was so helpful listing info about amps-thanks
@@raygunsforronnie847 Very helpful! will do! Thanks for the reply.
when you say, "used as a bathroom, " are we talking number 1 or number 2?
Yes. All the above. Not aways at the same time, but nothing should come as a surprise.
Mm hmm
Is this the route that goes along the coast, because I thought they were suspending service on that route 🤔
This us Chicago to Emeryville ca.
The one on the coast is called Coast Starlight. Not sure re issues. I know at one point there was a bridge out from fire in Central or northern ca. But not sure if it's back running. I'd call for the latest updates.
@@wcoasttigger oh ok, thank you
Pacific Surfliner service is suspended between Irvine and San Diego due to erosion by tracks.
@@laurienotloricruz4631 thank you!
@@laurienotloricruz4631 I knew it was one of them, thank you for the info.
A youtube video person said she wished she had taken a padlock along so she could lock her roomette room while she was out of the room. Is this possible?
There isn't anything to attach the lock to.
@@ebob1967 Thank you for the info. All the video footage I've seen didn't seem to show anything to hook a lock too, but I haven't been on sleeper car yet to check it out for myself.
No. You cannot lock your sleeping car room/roomette from the outside.