hueyhoolihan

instead of riding my motorcycle to Columbus, Oh. from here in Walnut Creek, Ca., this year to visit my lovely sisters in Columbus, i thought i might take Amtrak from the close-by Martinez, Ca. station to the closest Amtrak station in Cincinnati, OH. then ride my bicycle to Columbus from Cincinnati. and then reverse the course on the way home.

that is...until i spent an hour on the Amtrak website and found that although i could ride in what amounts to a Lay-Z-Boy chair for over two solid days each way, for a reasonable price, the price for what i consider the lowest form of train travel i am willing to experience at this stage in my life, the roomette, communual showers and hygenic facilities, and meals, is anywhere from $1300-3000 (round-trip) depending time of year.

seems a bit excessive. or am i reading the Amtrak price, accommodation info wrong? always a possibility with me.

mev

Not sure how to you get $3000, but did a quick try: Emeryville to Chicago on 4th of July - one way was $163 in coach and $681 with roomette which is about what I expect.

I believe on some routes Amtrak sells first portion of tickets at lower price than middle portion than last portion. Also, the two person roomette might have filled up and given you a four person version which is more expensive. I also believe the roomette fairs are biased more heavily towards number of overnights - so you also can't get too much cheaper by trying to patch together overnights in roomette and daytime in coach [I tried in the past].

It is a reasonable premium above normal fares - and higher than an airline ticket - and takes longer - but also a little more comfortable. I find the coach chairs also larger and wider apart than airline seats which also works better for me. Amtrak also has a bit more flexibility on changing tickets. When I've traveled including longer hauls always find it interesting to look at demographics of who travels by train- not exclusively but find more (a) retired folks (b) those afraid of flying (c) families with children trying the train as an adventure (d) shorter haul routes or out of the way locations.

fietsbob

book well in advance Is my guess ..

hope there is no Oil train derailing on the track you need to get there..

cafzali

Crazily, Amtrak prices often come down the closer you wait to book. If you're not "wedded" to that option and can take a chance, you may very well find a cheaper price.

hueyhoolihan

good! i'm not the kind of guy that minds waiting right up to the very last minute to procrastinate.

gregjones

So happens that I looked at the Amtrack site yesterday. The lure of a $15 box and a ten buck ride for it was attractive.

Overall, I found the site confusing, hard to navigate and eventually decided that I would just call and hopefully get a knowledgeable human when the need for the service actually comes up.

hueyhoolihan

i tried that too a while back. they are just as confusing on the phone. so i went to the train station. ditto in person.

shibbyman23

That's actually untrue. I took the Amtrak just last year and since I missed the train I wanted to take I asked when the next train was departing and how much it would be - then I was left to decide whether or not I wanted to take that train tonight or stay a night where I was and catch a train the next day that would take me to my exact destination. So I decided to go have lunch and mull it over, and lo and behold when I got back and asked to purchase the ticket for the train for that night it cost $20 more than it did just 40 minutes ago... So as the seats for the trains fill up the prices also go up! Try this on the website for yourself - calculate the cost for your trip ticket if you were to depart in say 3 days, then try it again but put your departure time at a month from today and see the difference in prices.

shibbyman23

Also to anyone looking to take their bike on the Amtrak make sure that the trains you will be riding on accept checked baggage and have bike racks/bike boxes.

adventurepdx

That's what it looked like for me when I checked Amtrak's site, but since I don't know the OP's actual dates, it's really hard to tell.

If you choose to go "sleepers", you have to look at it as a "hotel on rails" and at hotel (not Motel 6) prices. While it's nowhere as romantic as the Pullmans of old, sleeper cars are first class service on Amtrak. To look at it another way: there are the costs involved with motorcycling from the Bay Area to Columbus, like gas and motel/hotels if you do that. And Amtrak travels straight through the night, so you'll get to your destination faster than motorcycling, so you'll be saving a bit there. And don't forget that meals are included with sleeper car fare. That can add up to about $50 a day in diner car expenses that you'd be paying if you went coach.

Yep. I won't lie and say that sleeping in coach is the best, most comfortable thing ever, but I've done it many times.

jamawani 

Amtrak is heavily subsidized - but it is forbidden by congressional legislation to subsidize first-class services - i.e. sleeping cars. Unless the dates you choose are almost sold out, I suspect that sleeping car costs are not quite so high. Also, Cincinnati does not have daily service - only thrice weekly. You would be far better off to connect to Toledo, Ohio which has twice-daily service. (But serious on-time issues)

Depending on date - you can get a sleeper from Martinez to Chicago on the California Zephyr then coach to Toledo for $800 - - one-way. The Capitol Ltd gets you into Toledo (if on time) at 11:30p - with four hours for a connection in Chicago. The Lakeshore Ltd get into Toledo at the lovely hour of 2:30a - but gives you three extra hours for the Chicago connection in case the CZ is late. I would reserve on the Capitol Ltd and then use the Lakeshore if the CZ is late.

prathmann

I don't know how many miles huey plans to cover per day on his motorcycle, but I have done a direct comparison of car driving from San Ramon to Milwaukee vs. taking Amtrak from the Martinez station to Chicago and then transferring to a train to Milwaukee. Despite the train traveling through the night, the latter still took twice as long as the former - and the published Amtrak schedule bore little resemblance to our actual arrival times at towns once we left California behind.

FBinNY 

Amtrak prices tickets the same way airlines and hotels do. There's a number of slots sold fairly cheap for way advance bookers. Then they try to get full fair for as many as possible. At the last minute when they've given up hope of a profitable sale, they'll take just about anything rather than having it go empty.

You have to test prices over a range of dates, and even for the same time forward will find differences based on what day of the week.

Tourist in MSN

I really like Amtrak a lot more than airlines. So, I am willing to put up with some of the eccentricities. On the train my "carry on" bags are the size that I would have to check on an airline and pay their exhorbitant airline checked luggage fee. For bike touring, that is a big plus.

One thing to keep in mind is that you pay for your ticket price in coach, then the price for a roomette or other upgrade is on top of that price. Since a roomette sleeps two (and includes food for two in dining car), if you are a single you will be paying twice as much for that roomette on a per person basis as most others since most roomettes are used by two people.

I also like the flexibility of Amtrak for bike touring, I usually get my return ticket about a week before I actually return. Their cost for a ticket a week in advance is not cheap, but it is a LOT cheaper than a short term ticket on an airline. Thus, on my tour I can travel at the pace I want to travel at instead of having to get to a destination in time for my flight.

Also, when I book a ticket on Amtrak, I always check a few days before and a few days after my desired trip. I have saved a lot that way because some days they have not sold as many tickets and the tickets are cheaper - and the best part is that those trains are probably less full so I have a better chance of having an empty seat next to me. The one time I scored a good price on a roomette and rented it (with a friend) I think that our price for our roomette was about the same as coach seats alone would have cost on a different day.

I usually buy breakfast on Amtrak in dining car (coffee is included in the price), but I try to bring all my other food on the train with me. Mostly sandwich fixings, but also some snacky stuff like crackers and fruit. And lots of reading material. I also have brought a sleeping bag liner to use like a lightweight sleeping bag, I have used that in the lounge car to sleep on the floor or on the bench seats when I did not have an empty seat next to me. Next trip I am bringing an inflatable pillow.

Sitting in a coach seat on Amtrak for 48 hours is not pure joy, but I have done it several times and expect to do it again.

Agree 100 percent.

Yup. Many stops are not luggage stops, can't get a bike on or off. I also like to call the Amtrak station 3 or 4 days in advance to let them know that I will be buying a bike box. One Amtrak station let me store my bike box there and use it on the return home, I called them in advance and asked if I could do that and they said maybe. Thus, I only paid for one box for that round trip.

The stuff in the photo would have cost a fortune in luggage fees on airlines, but it cost only $50 on Amtrak.

mev

Agreed. On one trip some years ago I cycled from Key West and then up the Atlantic coast. I wasn't quite sure whether I would end up in Jacksonville, Savannah or Charleston since it depended on weather and other factors of how far I might go. I bought a ticket from Jacksonville to Burlington VT. I actually boarded in Savannah and didn't worry about changing until I arrived at the train depot.

staehpj1

As far as Amtrak vs flying... I have done some of both to get to and from bike tours. I am too cheap to spring for a sleeper though.

Comfort - I actually find airline seats more comfortable. I am usually more stiff and sore after a train ride than after a flight of the same length. Based on how I felt after train rides of a few hours, I suspect that a coast to coast train ride would be torture for me.

Cost - It varies, but I usually have found a cheaper flight than what Amtrak quoted me. For some trips I have actually found a rental car cheaper than Amtrak. If we throw in the cost of a sleeper Amtrak gets really expensive. At least the sleeper cost apparently includes nice meals.

Ease/cost of taking bike - Amtrak is great if they have racks or baggage service where you are going. That said, flying isn't that bad especially if you fly with a bike friendly airline (Southwest).

Flexibility for changing plans - Amtrak wins hands down on this one.

Speed of arrival - This really depends on where you are going. Some trips Amtrak can be as fast or faster because of all the ground travel, security hoopla, and so on that is associated with air travel. On longer trips Amtrak can take a really long time. Think three days to go coast to coast. For me the airlines usually win on this one.

If I am not in a hurry, I actually prefer to drive. That has worked well for me for backpacking trips that were a few thousand miles away, but since my bike tours are most often point to point it doesn't work as well for them. I picked a car that was comfortable to sleep in and sleep in test areas so it is a fairly inexpensive way to go when gas prices are not too high.

adventurepdx

Out of curiosity, how long was that drive from San Ramon to Milwaukee, and was there one driver, or multiple drivers switching driving duties?

hueyhoolihan

that explains just about everything, concerning cost. thanks! and thanks to everyone else for their valuable input.

i found that a first class round trip airfare ticket with one stop, 8 hours each way, will be about 900. i may bite the bullet and go that way. unless i can shame my sisters into springing for part of the train ride. of course, i'll still have to ride (maybe an added attraction) from Cincinnati to Columbus, or take a 2 hour 20 dollar bus ride. looks like i can make it the whole way on the paved Little Miami Bike Trail and the Prairie Grass Trail. maybe i'll take the bus back to Cincinnati ("the Queen City") on the flip-flop.

cafzali

That varies vastly depending on where you are. In the NYC market, that's the case, but we have much, much more supply than the vast majority of the country save for major cities like Chicago and a few in the country. Most of the country is generally only served by one or two trains a day, if that. Since there's so little supply, that generally doesn't work as well.

But transportation in small markets is always more expensive.

3speed

Just keep in mind that the price of riding Amtrak may well be more than the cost of the ticket. A friend and I got stuck on a broken down Amtrak for nearly 10 hours. Things break down, I get that. The part that wasn't OK is that they closed the dining car just before we broke down, and wouldn't give anyone anything to eat. There were literally people sharing what little snacks they had with families with children because there were kids all over the train crying/whining of hunger. We were all freaking starving. Then on top of that, the staff were straight up rude the whole time and started getting outright hostile near the end. After all of that, they didn't even give us a refund. After that incident, I started looking up reviews and have found similar stories all over. The ride out to Seattle was just great, but CA to Chicago was an absolute different world. Your trip might be great, or it might take a turn for the worst and be a shockingly bad travel experience.

JerrySTL

You ain't kidding and make sure that you check again just before the trip.

My wife and I visited New York City for a few days and then were going to take Amtrak to Philly for a wedding. Everything looked good when we planned the trip a couple of months beforehand. Fortunately I just happened to check a couple of days before we were going on the train. They changed the checked baggage rules! There were only 2 trains going from NYC to Philly that allowed checked baggage and both of them were just after midnight. Had to rent a car one way to Philly!

On the other hand, I've taken Amtrak from St. Louis to near Kansas City a couple of times and rode my bicycle back. Nice experience.

indyfabz

In the future, New Jersey Transit to from New York's Penn Station to Trenton and then SEPTA to Philadelphia.

jobtraklite

Amtrak has roughly 5 fare buckets, ranging from low to high, with a certain number of rooms in each bucket. As a given bucket empties, you move to the next higher bucket. Traditionally, Amtrak put a certain number of rooms in each bucket; thus the earlier you booked (up to 11 month out), the lower the price. As it got close to departure, the lower buckets emptied and the price increased.

But no more. Amtrak revenue managers have gotten smarter and sometimes don't put anything in the lower buckets. Why put a bedroom on the Empire Builder in July in the lowest bucket? They know they will sell out (at least until the recent BNSF disfunction on the route). So 11 months out, prices might be high. As time goes on, if rooms are not selling as expected, some will be put in the lower buckets. So prices can decline. Also, cancellations can drop the price into a lower bucket.

So sleeping car prices function similar to the airlines, EXCEPT for Amtrak's overly generous change or cancellation policy. If you book a room and then the price drops, you can get the lower price by calling (can't do it on the website). You have two choices, get the difference back on your credit card less a 10% penalty, or get 100% back in the form of a electronic voucher for future travel.

To see how fares fluctuate, go to Amsnag (as in snag that low bucket). It gives you the coach and sleeper SUPPLEMENTS between any two points for up to 30 days in a row. If you see a day you like, click on it and it takes you directly to Amtrak's fare page where you can make a reservation. Note: the total cost will be the number of passengers in the room x LOW BUCKET coach fare + the supplement. So for two adults in a roomette it would be twice the low bucket coach fare plus the roomette supplement.

jobtraklite

Ah, what's known in rail fan circles as a lounge lizard. But as a frequent long distance (read overnight) train rider, I agree with all of your many points.

PS: in case someone isn't aware, folding bikes count as a piece of carry on luggage. So it avoids the box, no baggage service, no roll on bike service problem. I've done several bike/train trips that way: Erie Canal, GAP, Katy Trail.

psy

I live in the east bay and have taken amtrak out of martinez for 3 separate bike tours. I like riding amtrak myself. I've always ended up with 2 chairs the staff will will usually only seat people next to each other if they absolutely have to. By moving around and sending time inThe observation car you can keep relatively comfortable. It's not like your stuck in a chair next to.someone for 24 hours. I'll be taking amtrak in the future for tours I'm sure. I just wish they had more stations baggage service.