We'll be in Seattle in August. So much to see. Is the dinner train tourist trap or bona fide?

Dave

The Spirit of Washington has been in operation for several years; it must be satisfying its customers.

When I take a historic train trip, I want to go through countryside that is otherwise inaccessible. The Spirit of Washington is on a track that mostly follows roadways and passes through built-up neighborhoods.

It strikes me as the kind of experience that might be a good way entertain a beloved elderly aunt or a son or nephew who has requested the trip to celebrate his 12th birthday.

The bottom line is: If it sounds like fun to you, you will probably enjoy yourself.

I absolutely love the dinner train. We take it once a year and it's a great way to relax, enjoy the scenery, and have a nice meal. The food alone is worth the price, but the added enjoyment puts it over the top. The Columbia winery stop is also very nice.

The Spirit of Washington in no way claims to be an "historic" train trip..the rolling stock itself may be somewhat "historic" which is often a euphemism for "old" or perhaps "old and restored" but the route of travel is about as unhistoric as you can get.

We live here and have taken the dinner train. It's fun, but I'd say that it depends on how much time you have here. The food is ok (not great, we had the salmon and that's usually good here), the ride relaxing and the Columbia winery (where it ends) is nice and the wine tasting ok. If you're only here a few days, I'm not sure I'd suggest it, but if you're here longer, it might be a pleasant way to spend an evening.

Hope you have a great trip.