Hello! My husband and I have to attend a wedding in Sonoma this May, and we will be traveling from Nashville....or somewhere close-by. We are SO sick of the boring aspects of air travel, and we are trying to think of ways to spice up the trip across the beautiful countryside! We have never traveled by train before....any suggestions for us? We would even condifer flying out there and making it interesting for the ride home. Thanks!

I love taking the train, but a 24 hour trip is the longest I've ever taken. I suggest you only plan to do a 1-way train trip. If you enjoy the train, you might regret not doing it both ways. If you do not like the train, you'll have much bigger regrets.

Hopefully, you enjoy your first train trip and become hooked, as I am. And even if you do not enjoy THIS trip, try a shorter trip later & compare. Good Luck!

My husband loves train travel, so we have traveled quite a few places by train. If you are not in a hurry, it is a fun way to go. We always get a compartment. We have met some delightful people and have enjoyed our travels. There are some beautiful routes through the west. We live in the south and have taken several trips out west. We have gone by train and then caught a flight home. That may give you the best of both.

Thanks! Is it much more expensive to get a compartment? Do only certain trains have them? I am in need of some education!

Riding the train is always an adventure. If you are ready to have probable delays, it may be that taking the train back would be less stressful than air. It seems that people insist on running lights to cross the tracks, walk ON the tracks etc. etc. An accident even without fatalities can mean hours of delays. Your closest connection to Sonoma would be Suisun/Fairfield (if you had transportation). Martinez is your closest with bus connection. f you allow time you will have lots of time to socialize, read, and watch the scenery.

Check out the Amtrak web site, there is tons of information.

Having a compartment is significantly more expensive than travelling coach, but your meals are included in the price of your fare. Also, you have access to shower facilities, and on a long trip, I would think this would be of paramount importance - LOL.

We live in Louisville and did an Amtrak trip a few years ago using one of their combo deals which gave us our choice of any three stops on their routes for any length of time up to 90 days. There were two kinds of compartments; we chose the less expensive one where the seats made into berths and you used the public washrooms. The other was a deluxe with more room and some bath facilities. The porter made up the berths, which were pretty comfortable, but my husband made me sleep on the top one claiming claustrophobia. It was a little close to the ceiling, and one couple we met said they both slept in the bottom berth with their heads in opposite directions.

We left from Chicago and so were given bus tickets Louisville/Chicago and the same return as a part of the round trip fare. We were looking for a western vacation and chose for our stops Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Glacier National Park in Montana.

We chose the route to go out through Colorado to Sacramento and then up the Pacific Coast. We came back on the northern route through the Dakotas and Wisconsin. We had not done a trip by train before and in retrospect wished we had flown back from Glacier. The reason was that, going out, everything was new and the scenery got prettier as we traveled. Coming back, it was old stuff, the scenery decreased in interest, and the kitchen was running out of the best food.

The meals were pretty good, by the way. You made reservations for the dining car, and it sort of felt like being in an old movie. I don't know that I would want to do it again (except maybe the TransCanada route), but all in all it was a very nice experience. If you make a long trip, you need to pack carry-ons for your use on the trip, since your large cases are checked through as on a plane; but they tell you all the things you need to know at Amtrak.

Right now there is a sale going on. Buy 1, get 2nd half price, 3rd free.

The code for booking seats for the sale price is H270. I just received an e-mail offer from Amtrack. Your might check their web-site. It was a "buy one, get another fare for free".

Out of curiosity,do people tend to get motion sickness on trains?

As others have said, train travel is fine if you are not on a tight schedule. Do get a sleeping compartment, it's worth it on long hauls. Also, for coach seats, Amtrack is selling some by auction on ebay and there are some good deals to be had.