Amtrak Sleeper Car to Santa Maria?
 

Saw the previous post...We are set to go. We will take train to Southern CA. Make one change and be venture to Santa Maria. Since it is a good part of a day, but not overnight, should we get the sleeper car?Do the sleeper cars fold into seats for the trip? It was hard to tell on the website?

Sleeper car seats (highly recommended) fold into seats for daytime use. You can find out more about this and other aspects of North American train travel in the guidebook USA by Rail (www.usa-by-rail.com).

Hi Gail! <BR> <BR>I just returned from a 2-night trip by train and would do it again in a second!! If you are traveling "the good part of a day", I wouldn't pay for the sleeper ($122/nite). Unless I was actually sleeping at night, I stayed in the lounge/viewing car - comfy enough with seats that face the huge windows. If you want to sit in the coach seats, they recline a little and you could lay across 2 of them to shut your eyes for awhile. The sleeper car includes your meals, which was a good deal for my sister and I. The bottom bed folds up into 2 seats and there is a little table that folds out between them. Keep in mind the "room" is 6-1/2 feet long x 3-1/2 feet wide. You aren't going to be doing anything but laying down of sitting in the seat. <BR>

Jane, <BR>Did you each have to pay $122 for the sleeper and that included the ticket to ride the train? Or was there a $122 fee for a sleeper car and as many people as you like could go in it? Was the cost of the travel ticket separate from the cost of the sleeper ticket? I have never taken a night train in US and don't know how it wroks. <BR> <BR>In France we bought our 2nd class travel ticket, then each person could pay an additional $22 to get a sleeping bed. Other people could not go in the room, it was filled to capacity with strangers who also paid the $22.

Jane:I was going to book the sleeper, but the person at Amtrak thought I was crazy to spend the extra $, so I did not. I appreciate your comment as I was wondering if I made the right decision. Thanks! Gail

Having traveled overnight on Amtrak on two occasions, I would definitely get a sleeper if it was an overnight trip but not under other circumstances. As for lying across the seats to get a nap... it can work but the trains i was on were close to full and most of us had someone riding in the seat next to us sso this was not possible.