[gradascent]

I just took the Amtrak from Southern California to Seattle.

Pros:

- space! wide seats and leg room are awesome (I'm 6'5" so this is everything)

- Freedom to move around and explore. Lounge car, dining car, snack bar

- Spectacular views

- Train stations are much more pleasant than airports

- Opportunity to meet people from all over the place. On a plane everyone is going from A->B, people on the train could be starting/ending anywhere along the route, including small towns you've never heard of.

Cons:

- 32 hours of travel

- Pay an extra ~$500 to get a bed, or sleep in your seat

Overall I have no regrets but I'll probably not do this again until I'm retired or extremely bored.

[kccqzy]

I’ve traveled in the Coast Starlight I think maybe five times. It was enjoyable.

Some more pros:

- The food served in the dining car is far better than airplane food. If you get a bed, the food is included. Even if you get a seat, you have the option of paying for good food.

- You can bring a bicycle along for the ride. You do not need to disassemble it or put it in a box. Just walk the bike to the luggage car and someone will take it; when you get off the train walk to the luggage car and someone will hand it to you.

[SoftTalker]

I assume they have eliminated the "smoking" car by now? Last time I took Amtrak long distance, walking through the smoking car to get to the dining car basically ruined the experience. Literally blue haze air and you smelled the smoke in your clothes for several hours afterwards. This was the early 1990s.

[mnicky]

As a European, I was shocked by how slow trains are in the US.

It definitely doesn't encourage people to use them instead of flying.