JuneCourtney

Can anyone help with advice for travelling from Vancouver to SanDiego by trains - Amtrak's Cascades, Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner? Is there a best time to go, are the journeys timed so you don't miss spectacular scenery while you sleep? Is it very tiring (we are oldies)Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks.

dwooddon

You have little choice in the time you go since there is only one train a day from Vancouver to Seattle (departs in the early evening) and one between Seattle and Los Angeles (deaprts in the morning). You have a little more choice between Seattle and Portland but that stretch is in daylight on the through train also.

You can check schedules at www.amtrak.com.

sunbum1944

I recently travelled Eugene, Or to Sacramento and return on Amtrack- the way down was all at night (5PM-7 AM) so nothing to see. On the return the portion between Klamath Falls and Eugene is spectaclar - lots of tunnels and mountains passes and lakes- very beautiful.
The main problem is that the train usually runs VERY late on the north bound route - in fact just talked to some people last night who had travelled from San Diego to Eugene

They were supposed to arrive in Eugene at noon-ish and didnt get here until 7PM.
The worst part was that when they were just a few miles from Eugene they had to pull off the track for some reason and were there for 1 1/2 hours.
So I would say the trip can be tiring because you dont know how long its going to take you. When I did the trip there was a man and son on the train travelling from LA to Seattle - he was so frustrated by the lateness that he was actually getting off the train in Eugene- renting a car at the airport and driving the rest of the way to Seattle.
I dont think any of the schedules are planned to provide scenery for the passengers- they are planned to accomodate the freight trains who actually own the rails.

I'm not saying I wouldnt do it again but flying would be my first choice

April

I've travelled on Amtrak from San Francisco to Seattle and, most recently, from Seattle to Eugene and back. I find the section between Seattle and Eugene most pleasant and have been lucky to have experienced delays of only about an hour; otherwise the trains have been more or less on time. The staff on these trips were always good-humoured and I appreciated that they kept passengers informed. I would travel that route by train without hesitation. (From Eugene to Seattle I prefer the first trip out at the crack of dawn because you know the train will be there and should leave on time.)

The section between San Francisco and Eugene is another story because, at least when I travelled, there was no way of avoiding night travel. Sleeping in a cramped, stuffy bunk wasn't my cup of tea so, personally, I would try to find some other method of transportation for that section.

JuneCourtney

Thats interesting about the trains running to suit the freight not sightseeing passengers - the holiday we are considering is featured in a Great Rail Journeys brochure and gave the distinct impression is was for the tourists. Wonder if we would be better looking to see if any of the cruise ships travel between Vancouver and SanDiego (we have friends we want to visit in both places) and I'd like to see Seattle and SanFrancisco enroute which is why we thought the train would be ideal. Thank you both for your comments, we have something more to consider - these things aren't mentioned in the brochures.

sunbum1944

If you look at my other posts you will see a discussion about the Amtrack trip I took- with many interesting comments about train travel.
It is true that Union Pacific owns the rails and Amtrack has to pull off the track and wait when there is a freight train on tracks.
The northbound LA to Seattle train USUALLY runs 5-7 hrs late because of that which makes it a long trip.
So if you are serious about taking the trip I would bring a good book - or two.
The thing I did enjoy was meeting other people - seemed easy to strike up conversations sitting in the observation car
However you decide to go - enjoy. Its a beautiful part of the country

traveler24

I looked at the web site for a Rail Journey--Vancouver to San Diego in 16 days.the outline and accomodations look very good.
However, I did chuckle when it referred to The Amtrak train from Seattle to San Diego--as "Amtraks Flagship' It is the same train that everyone else takes. I have traveled this route many times (Seattle to Sacramento & L.A.) and there are delays from 1/2 hour to 7 hrs.
I still take the train because for me to drive would be too exhausting and I would have to stay in a motel, eat in roadside restaurants somewhere along the way. (Also some of my trips are "solo")
Plus the food is good and I can get up and walk around--mainly to vista dome car--beautiful scenery..
My main advice to anyone who takes this train---DON'T--if you are on a tight time schedule
Otherwise, It is a great trip..

FainaAgain

You can take a boat Vancouver (or Seattle) to San Francisco and then a flight to San Diego.

sceneisle

Holland America has a 4-night cruise from San Diego to Vancouver; Norwegian and Royal Caribbean each have a cruise from L.A. to Vancouver.

suze

The Coast Starlight is a great train with really nice ammenities (dining car, sleepers, observation cars, etc.).

But as mentioned above it runs notoriously late (which is less of an issue on a long haul like you are considering then a short one like trying to use it between Portland to Seattle, for example).

I think it would be a fun journey and I can't imagine why it would be tiring at all. I met several nice older couples who seemed to be having a ball recently when I was on a short leg of this trip.

JuneCourtney

I've just ploughed through all the messages I can locate regarding rail travel in your wonderful country (thanks to all) and now feel perhaps we should abandon that idea (almost as reliable as ours here in England)and maybe look at escorted tours. I cannot find any that actually take in all the places we want to cover - Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco (& Napa)& San Diego. Am I expecting too much? Reason we need all inclusive travelling is my husband is 75 and we won't drive in US. Looked at cruise ships but they only cover some sections, none go the whole way. Anyone with any ideas to help please?

Andrew

Consider doing the journey from Vancouver to San Diego in pieces: some by train, some by plane, maybe even some by boat as someone else suggested. It's a shame you can't drive down the Oregon Coast, which is spectacular.

You might take the train from Vancouver to Portland, then fly to Sacramento and pick up the train there to LA. Note that there is no direct train from Vancouver, BC to Portland but Amtrak runs a coach I think that allows you to do the journey in one day. And the Coast Starlight train ends in Los Angeles and you'd have to overnight there before moving on to San Diego. If you fly, Southwest Airlines (sort of like easyJet) has good airfares between Portland and Sacramento - so does Alaska Airlines.

Perhaps there is a more optimal way to break up your journey than what I suggest, but I think splitting it up is a good idea, unless you absolutely love train travel (for days), don't mind delays and travel overnight, and don't have a strict schedule.

Andrew

dwooddon

If the Coast Starlight is anywhere close to on-time (and it is quite often) you do not have to overnight in LA before going to San Diego. There is a train connection and, if you miss that, AMTRAK will run a coach along the same route so you don't have to stay in LA.

While the coast Starlight is often late, it is not quite as pervasive as some of the posts here would make you think. I have ridden it over a dozen times. Of those, it has been seriously late (6-8 hours) twice, minorly late (1-2 hours) twice, early once, and on-time the rest of those trips.

suze

I wouldn't give up the idea of the train because it's schedule runs late. It's still a scenic journey and certainly suits your needs for the places you hope to see this trip (although I'm not sure about Napa, you'd probably need to pick up some kind of a day tour for that piece).

As Andrew said, another thought would be combining different means of transportation. The Victoria Clipper ship from Vancouver to Seattle. Fly Seattle to San Francisco. Train San Fran to San Diego. Maybe something like that?

sunbum1944

I wouldnt entirely give the train idea either - and remember the south bound train seems to run more on time than the Northbound- so you could take the train south and maybe fly back.
Once in the San Diego area there is a train called the Coaster which is a great means of transportation- goes from downtown SD up to Oceanside and its a beautiful ride and it is reliable.
It stops at many of the beach towns so you could definately use that for transportation when you are there - I believe there are special passes available.
From San Francisco I know there are many day trips to Napa run by tour operators - so that would be an option for seeing Napa.

Enjoy!!

FainaAgain

You can take 2 back-to-back tours. There are so many to look at! Cosmos, Globus, Trafalgar, Collette, Caravan, Elderhostel...

Check Affordable Tours website - they give 10% discount on some companies' tours.

LoveItaly

Hello June Courtney, to go on Amtrak from San Francisco to Southern California you need to take the Amtrak bus from San Francisco (by the Ferry Building at the end of Market St.) to the Emeryville Train Station (which is across the SF Bay) to catch the Amtrak train. I had an older relative who use to take Amtrak from Sacramento to Santa Barbara. Usually it worked just fine for him and he really enjoyed it. One time however the train was about 15 hours late arriving in Santa Barbara so he was totally exhausted. However the dear was 90 years old so under the cirmanstances he held up well. Best wishes to you in your transportation decisions. Sure hope you two have a wonderful trip.

JuneCourtney

Great - lots of good suggestions to research. Many thanks to all you lovely people who have taken time to help. We are excited at the prospect of taking this trip of a lifetime. Wish you all a very happy and healthy 2006 and keep up the good work on this site, its wonderful.