I’m writing this Amtrak Review from the big squishy seat on the Amtrak Capitol Limited train going overnight from Chicago to Pittsburgh, surrounded by Amish people.
After every Amtrak trip, I find myself answering the same questions to my coworkers and family:
People still do that?
Yep, every day!
Are you afraid to fly?
Nope!
What is it like?
That’s what this Honest Amtrak Review is all about! Buckle up, the train is pulling out of the station…
Pause now and pin this so you can find it later!
Amtrak Review: 7 Things To Expect On Your Amtrak Trip
Not every experience will be the same, but I’ve taken many Amtrak rides and am giving an honest review of what I’ve experienced.
1. Expect to be way more comfortable than if you were flying
Riding coach on Amtrak is significantly more comfortable than flying coach.
The seats are wider and you have more room between the rows (translation: hallo leg room). You can recline your chair back and it doesn’t invade your neighbor’s space too much.
Likewise, your space isn’t reduced to nothing by the person in front of you. There are large footrests so you can stretch out, and even sleep.
This can perhaps all be summarized by saying that I’m 6 feet tall and I’m comfortable enough to get an acceptable night’s sleep.
If you’re taking Amtrak overnight, be sure to read my overnight train packing list, too.
2. Expect to be able to do more while in transit
If you want a break from your seat, you have the luxury of being able to get up, walk around and explore other parts of the train.
The most exciting place to visit: you can go to the cafe car, which sells food and drinks and has restaurant-style booth seating. This is where I go to stretch my legs and get some work done.
On my train rides, the booths have been surprisingly unpopular and I usually spread my work materials out and take up an entire booth without bothering anyone.
Besides the cafe car, you can get up and use the bathroom (also roomier than on a plane) and you’re able to step out for some fresh air or a cigarette at a train station en route.
For reference: a trip between Chicago and Pittsburgh has 8 stops along the way.
3. Delays happen so regularly that you should factor them into your travel time
The railways are limited: all trains (passenger, freight) share the same rails. To date, all but one of my trains have been delayed.
Sadly, this has been true for all the Amtrak routes I’ve ever been on.
The worst delay was going from Chicago to St. Louis and my trip went from being 4 hours to 6. On my usual trip between Chicago and Pittsburgh, I’m delayed 1-2 hours on average (on a scheduled 9-hour trip).
It’s a pretty normal factor of train travel. My trains have always left right on time, but have definitely not made it to all their stops like clockwork.
4. Lower prices than a flight
Amtrak tickets are often surprisingly affordable. People are usually surprised when I tell them that Amtrak is my cheapest way home from Chicago to Pittsburgh.
It costs less than $60 each way if I book in advance. I used to pay $54, but Amtrak has actually lowered the price to $48! Score.
That’s less than gas would cost, and it’s A LOT less than a flight. Plus, assuming you have the time to spare, you just get more out of a train ride than you do from a flight.
5. Lots of promos + loyalty perks that add UP
If you’re like me, you’ve probably never flown with an airline enough to have the miles build up to anything. I travel a lot, and I’ve never seen anything come from those incentives.
(Plus, the environment needs us to decrease how often we fly, not the other way around.)
Amtrak’s “frequent flyer” benefits (called Amtrak Guest Rewards) add up quickly after a few trips.
There are a LOT of promotions available for kids (children under 12 ride 50%), and college students (15% student discount), plus a AAA membership discount (10% off) – the list goes on.
There’s also an awesome sign-up bonus that I recommend you take advantage of. Here’s how it works:
- You sign up for Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Take a trip within the first 90 days
- You get a “bonus” of 500 points
- For reference: my normal trip from Chicago to Pittsburgh costs about 2,500 points, so a single bonus makes that trip 20% off.
- Plus earn points with every ride, and for referrals
This 500 point bonus applies also works on referrals. So, get a friend or your family to take Amtrak with you, you send them your referral link, and then your trip may be free.
These Amtrak Guest Reward points add up really quickly. Before I knew it, I had already earned a free trip (and gotten my family to take an Amtrak trip together to a cousin’s wedding! score for both the environment and my Amtrak Guest Rewards).
If this Honest Amtrak Review has inspired you to try Amtrak, email me at [email protected] with the subject “Honest Amtrak Review” and I’ll send you my referral link and then we can both enjoy that 500 point bonus 🙂
6. A smaller carbon footprint for your journey
You’ve probably heard the discussion about the environmental impact of flying. In Swedish, the counter-movement to flying has become so brawny that a new word has emerged in their language: flygskam.
In English, it literally translates to “flight shame.”
By taking an Amtrak trip, you can instead participate in t?Ã¥gskryt– a “train brag.” (source)
While the exact carbon savings of your Amtrak trip can’t be calculated without knowing exactly what type of train you’d be taking, BBC said it best:
“Train virtually always comes out better than plane, often by a lot.” (source)
Plus, when you arrive at your destination you can share your tågskryt.
Take your sustainable travel efforts further by packing sustainable travel products.
7. A scenic, relaxed journey
Amtrak rides are something I always look forward to. There’s a serenity in watching miles and miles scroll by the window, and I enjoy seeing parts of the country that I would’ve completely missed by taking a flight.
Heck, sometimes the train ride IS the destination.
A few train rides that are on my travel bucket list:
- The Empire Builder, going from Chicago all the way to Seattle across deserts and mountain rangers, over rivers and through valleys between snow-capped peaks. It’s a dream.
- The Coast Starlight, going from Seattle to Los Angeles. The Pacific Coast Highway is considered to be one of the most scenic drives in the world, and experience that landscape from the unique vantage point of the train tracks must be bliss.
- The famous old Amtrak bubble car, where you sit inside a glass dome and you can enjoy the full view of your surroundings.
Amtrak Review Summary
Amtrak is my cheapest way home, and also my favorite. Flight is obviously the most time-efficient way of travel, but you don’t see any of the places you’re passing by. With Amtrak, you can enjoy the ease of slow travel and connection to your surroundings.
Flying may cut time, but taking the train cuts emissions. Between the four most common methods of travel transportation – plane, train, car and bus – flying has largest carbon footprint. Remove travel’s largest carbon contributor by taking the train instead of flying.
With a little preparation, you should have a nice time. If you keep in mind the common delays and pack food and entertainment, you can look forward to a really nice trip.
I hope this was helpful to anyone contemplating train travel or just those who are curious. Comment with any questions and I’ll do my best to answer!
This Honest Amtrak Review is unsolicited by and independent of Amtrak.
great advise! love train travel! its really relaxing and very eco-friendly compared to planes and cars!
I just had the WORST experience of my life with Amtrak auto train. If you are considering this DON’T. It is ridiculously expensive and we couldn’t get our vehicle on the train even though they take the make and model when you purchase. They had us unload, check in and THEN measured and said we would have to remove a mirror and reschedule for the next day! ( more money). We opted for a refund and drove but they rejected three other vehicles while we were there so it wasn’t just our ignorance that was the problem! I was excited for this experience but in the future i’ll fly. I will take being cramped for 3 hours rather than inconvenienced for 3 days!
Wow, what a nightmare! That is terrible. I’m so sorry to hear that your plans were wrecked like that
we traveled from Sanford,fl.to N.Y. Many years ago. During this times trains were wrecking on our route. It caused such trouble it can not be put in words. The company was written to and they did not respond. To I am still reading of problems.
Wow, wrecking! What year was this? I have heard some stories in recent years (the past 5 or so) of Amtrak trains wrecking, it’s such a tragedy when that happens. It seems isolated these days.
I am traveling amtrak soon by myself and I am nervous about the stations and switching trains. Am I going to be sitting in a station by myself in the middle of the night or not be able to navigate the station and miss my train.
Hi Mary! I would look at your train schedule and see what the connecting stations are like, what hours you’re expecting to be there and then see if you can call the stations (if they have a phone number listed) and ask what you should expect for that time of day. What are the stations you’re staying at? Maybe one of the other readers has some insight into the stations.
A trip to FL Disney World is being planned for a large family & I recalled nothing but fond memories traveling via Amtrak to Disney World many moons ago. So I found your very helpful review to reignite my desire to check out the Amtrak options from the Northeast down to FL. Thanks so much for the balanced & fair assessment of what to expect!
Here is what to expect Ann Arbor to CHI: always late. Cars to hot or cold in the winter. No internet; shitty attitude from the conductors (thank you Stephan for driving this home.) I travel a lot. I’m switching to a barely less acceptable air travel. There is no metric against Amtrak excels.
I’m sorry to hear that! How many times have you taken that train ride?
This is an insightful and helpful blog, especially for a Scottish person! I will confidently use Amrak whilst factoring in the delays, thank you 🙂
Empire Builder Seattle to Glacier National Park and back
We took the overnight Empire Builder train from Seattle to Glacier National Park.
The King street Seattle station is small, quaint, and well organized. The train kept to schedule. We bought the private cabin which was made down for us during dinner and had a private bathroom. The sheets were clean, the train a little worn but not dirty. There were many backpackers who bought seats and they slept in their seats and did quite fine. They also have double decker beds with curtains. I had to walk through those cars when we went to dinner and I did not like them at all. They seemed overcrowded and the curtains looked old and if you have the second bunk you have to climb up.
The trip was overnight and the sound of the train whistle at night was haunting and romantic. I did sleep. We did not see much at night but in the morning we saw mountain goats , creeks, pines and hills. The train let us off at the Lodge and if you book there, they come pick you up at the station, although that is not necessary as the lodge is about 300 ft from the quaint station. We had no car at Glacier, but it was not necessary as they have little buses to take you to all the trailheads, Lake Mc Donald and town. There are also the Red Bus tours which are rehabbed station wagons from the 1930’s made specifically for the park so you can stand up and take photos out the roof.
The ride back to Seattle on the Empire builder was during the day and much more scenic with unusual landscapes, hills, curves. The only issue on the ride back to Seattle was our cabin’s toilet did not flush! So you can imagine that was terrible and it was a problem with all the toilets so it was some kind of electrical problem that could not be fixed immediately. We simply closed the door to the bathroom. We arrived in Seattle on time.
I enjoyed having the private cabin . It was an unusual experience. And it was expensive although I have to say all the backpackers who just bought the seats did just fine. They did have a National Park Service guide walking around for several hours telling us about the park and area. The seats in the glass car were all filled so we mostly stayed in our private cabin.
I would not do it again but it was a bucket list kind of thing so gald we did it.
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Forgot to mention the meals which were quite nice. The cost of the dinner and breakfast was included in the price of the cabin. They were very nice meals with wine and table cloth and we sat with couples from Britain both times. They were enjoyable.
I treat myself with a roomette on the California Zephyr when I visit my hometown of Omaha , Nebraska from the Chicago area. It’s a relaxing day trip splurge and so worth it. This trip was especially nice since I totally avoided Chicago Union Station and my husband dropped me at the Naperville station instead. My car attendant was so sweet and this time I ate dinner in the roomette as I didn’t feel like dining around a lot of people. She was so accommodating . I hadn’t taken Amtrak since before COVID and it was nice to see that the food was still really delicious and the people are so kind. It’s just no fun to fly anymore and why be miserable.