Train from Memphis to New Orleans
Jan 12th, 2015, 04:30 PM
#24
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What I meant is this. Other parts of the world offer Train Service on time and people actually use it. In the US Long Distance Train and Long Distance Bus service is horrible and I would guess a very small percentage of people actually travel that way here. Most of them are filled with less than desirable people. All of this is of course my opinion. There are a few train lines that don't fall into that.
Personally, I can only imagine what kind of folks are on the train from Memphis to NO.
I can nearly guarantee that this will not be the train trip you are thinking it will be. And that is probably very understated.
Personally, I can only imagine what kind of folks are on the train from Memphis to NO.
I can nearly guarantee that this will not be the train trip you are thinking it will be. And that is probably very understated.
Jan 12th, 2015, 06:51 PM
#25
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Having been on many long-distance Amtrak trains throughout the US, I can say that generally the trains have a cross-section of American international travelers, ages, different societal classes including upper, middle and working class, sometimes it's people who don't fly for a variety of reasons, but not always. These trains are NOT filled (as far as I could tell) with less than desirable people; it's even odd to imagine them filled with, say, bank robbers, gang members and money launderers. In my experience, the crowd is not much different than on, say, airplanes, with the only exception being that they like trains and have for whatever reason a bit more time to take things a bit more slowly.
Let's see who I sat with in the dining car on my round trip long-distance trains from NYC-New Orleans-NYC: a retired doctor, a lawyer with the Louisiana state government and her psychologist husband, a Canadian mining executive & his wife, a real estate agent, an Austrian post-doc who wanted to see America and was returning to NYC from McAllen TX, some retired Alabaman lady friends who'd just done a cruise up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Vicksburg and back who were going to Tuscaloosa, an Alabaman football player returning to his chemist job in Birmingham, a twenty-something bureaucrat who worked with refugees in DC returning from seeing his family in Baton Rouge (those are the ones I remember). While I've never taken the Chicago-New Orleans train, I'm sure the crowd is pretty comparable.
Let's see who I sat with in the dining car on my round trip long-distance trains from NYC-New Orleans-NYC: a retired doctor, a lawyer with the Louisiana state government and her psychologist husband, a Canadian mining executive & his wife, a real estate agent, an Austrian post-doc who wanted to see America and was returning to NYC from McAllen TX, some retired Alabaman lady friends who'd just done a cruise up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Vicksburg and back who were going to Tuscaloosa, an Alabaman football player returning to his chemist job in Birmingham, a twenty-something bureaucrat who worked with refugees in DC returning from seeing his family in Baton Rouge (those are the ones I remember). While I've never taken the Chicago-New Orleans train, I'm sure the crowd is pretty comparable.
Jan 13th, 2015, 02:17 AM
#26
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Take the trip in reverse as tomfuller suggests. I used to ride the Crescent Limited from NJ to SC. Daniel Williams just took it. The ATL-NO portion is daylight. It isn't the Canadian Rockies, but it won't look like home!
Drive through the Delta to Memphis. It is not beautiful, except in an eerie way, but it is culturally, artistically, and geographically unique.
The interstate from NO to Memphis is deadly boring. The Natchez Trace is worse. Nothing to see for a couple of hundred miles but a corridor of trees. I lived in Jackson, MS for five years and Oxford for another two and drove both the interstate and the Trace often, the latter when I was working on my doctoral dissertation at Vanderbilt.
When we lived in Jackson we, of course, drove to NO. When we lived in Oxford, we drove ~ an hour to Memphis and flew.
Drive through the Delta to Memphis. It is not beautiful, except in an eerie way, but it is culturally, artistically, and geographically unique.
The interstate from NO to Memphis is deadly boring. The Natchez Trace is worse. Nothing to see for a couple of hundred miles but a corridor of trees. I lived in Jackson, MS for five years and Oxford for another two and drove both the interstate and the Trace often, the latter when I was working on my doctoral dissertation at Vanderbilt.
When we lived in Jackson we, of course, drove to NO. When we lived in Oxford, we drove ~ an hour to Memphis and flew.
Jan 13th, 2015, 04:36 AM
#27
"Take the trip in reverse"
Totally agree.
But doing that puts them in NOLA sooner than they want to be.
"The interstate from NO to Memphis is deadly boring. The Natchez Trace is worse"
But it appears the reason for taking the train is to avoid the interstate from NO to Memphis.
Since they are considering 9 hours on the train vs 5 hours of straight interstate travel, stopping along the trace would be the same amount of time spent and perhaps more interesting - and less expensive.
What looks obvious at first glance becomes more complicated when amarone shares more.
Totally agree.
But doing that puts them in NOLA sooner than they want to be.
"The interstate from NO to Memphis is deadly boring. The Natchez Trace is worse"
But it appears the reason for taking the train is to avoid the interstate from NO to Memphis.
Since they are considering 9 hours on the train vs 5 hours of straight interstate travel, stopping along the trace would be the same amount of time spent and perhaps more interesting - and less expensive.
What looks obvious at first glance becomes more complicated when amarone shares more.
Jan 13th, 2015, 07:30 AM
#28
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In terms of driving vs. train, you may find that two one-way car rentals is actually more expensive than keeping the car and parking it for three days in NO.
And there are things you'd miss if you didn't drive. You might enjoy a stop in either Tupelo or Vicksburg (I can personally recommend the latter as a very interesting Civil War site if that interests you). But it's not that exciting a drive for me. Do it for the stops, not the scenery.
And there are things you'd miss if you didn't drive. You might enjoy a stop in either Tupelo or Vicksburg (I can personally recommend the latter as a very interesting Civil War site if that interests you). But it's not that exciting a drive for me. Do it for the stops, not the scenery.
Jan 14th, 2015, 12:07 PM
#29
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Thanks all. We did think about doing the journey in reverse as we were trying to avoid being in NO at either of the two Jazz Fest weekends. We have no bookings as yet so could do. It just means if we did Atlanta - NO - Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga which is what we had planned we then have to get back to Orlando to fly home and wondered what route we would take as we would then miss the panhandle and all the nice places which have been recommended along that route. Planning still in progress it seems.
Jan 14th, 2015, 12:51 PM
#30
Just thinking aloud here...
If the problem is you want a delay in getting to NOLA, you could take the train to Montgomery, get off, rent a car and head to the panhandle coast. Then you could return it to Montgomery and catch the train on to NOLA. I have no idea what they would cost.
If you drove it, you could do the same. Atlanta to Montgomery to coast to NOLA, drop the car off and then rent one after NOLA.
If the problem is you want a delay in getting to NOLA, you could take the train to Montgomery, get off, rent a car and head to the panhandle coast. Then you could return it to Montgomery and catch the train on to NOLA. I have no idea what they would cost.
If you drove it, you could do the same. Atlanta to Montgomery to coast to NOLA, drop the car off and then rent one after NOLA.
Jan 15th, 2015, 02:54 PM
#31
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Hi Amarone,
Ha ha, another little addition here!
We are travelling in to Atlanta fron the UK mid March. We're going to hire a car and drop off in Fort Myers but the $300 one way drop off charge put paid to that!
So the 10 days are going to be...Atlanta to Chattanooga by (Lol) Megabus! 1 night.
On to Nashville by Megabus 3 nights.
Then on to Memphis by Greyhound. 3 nights.
Amtrak train to New Orleans, want to see out of the window as we go! (Starrs.....not all of us want to drive for all of our vacation!) 3 nights.
The Megabus to Tallahasse, pick up a hire car and drive on down to Fort Myers Beach!
Just booking all the hotels this week. Some better than others, depending where they are. Let's face it, it will be a different adventure whatever way we do it!
Enjoy you're trip Amarone!
Ha ha, another little addition here!
We are travelling in to Atlanta fron the UK mid March. We're going to hire a car and drop off in Fort Myers but the $300 one way drop off charge put paid to that!
So the 10 days are going to be...Atlanta to Chattanooga by (Lol) Megabus! 1 night.
On to Nashville by Megabus 3 nights.
Then on to Memphis by Greyhound. 3 nights.
Amtrak train to New Orleans, want to see out of the window as we go! (Starrs.....not all of us want to drive for all of our vacation!) 3 nights.
The Megabus to Tallahasse, pick up a hire car and drive on down to Fort Myers Beach!
Just booking all the hotels this week. Some better than others, depending where they are. Let's face it, it will be a different adventure whatever way we do it!
Enjoy you're trip Amarone!
Jan 15th, 2015, 03:15 PM
#32
MegaBus (and Greyhound) are the best alternatives to driving for cities not served by Amtrak. I've ridden many buses and the one drawback I see is that there is only one toilet/restroom on a bus. All of the Amtrak coach cars have at least 5 toilets. There are usually 2 "dressing rooms" where you can change clothes.
Amtrak trains also have a snack bar and a dining car where you can sit at a table to eat.
Amtrak trains also have a snack bar and a dining car where you can sit at a table to eat.
Jan 15th, 2015, 03:19 PM
#33
Hi honeymayspirit!
I hope you enjoy your trip. It sounds like you have your routings planned and are happy with them.
I do not have safety concerns about Amtrak, but do have safety concerns about Megabus. You may enjoy your trip using Greyhound and Megabus, but it's not for me. I know if I were doing this routing with four people, a car would meet my needs better. We each travel with different needs, expectations and budgets.
Happy travels!
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/m...-the-road.html
I hope you enjoy your trip. It sounds like you have your routings planned and are happy with them.
I do not have safety concerns about Amtrak, but do have safety concerns about Megabus. You may enjoy your trip using Greyhound and Megabus, but it's not for me. I know if I were doing this routing with four people, a car would meet my needs better. We each travel with different needs, expectations and budgets.
Happy travels!
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/m...-the-road.html
Jan 15th, 2015, 09:09 PM
#37
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I just made this trip in November. I was with five other women. We went down for a business seminar. We had fun going down there. We brought food, drinks (of all kinds), and talked and laughed all the way from Memphis to NOLA. I enjoyed the scenery. It is flat land, but there is something beautiful in looking out over open fields. It's not the way to go if you are in a hurry, but it's a great way to enjoy yourself and not worry about driving. I may have enjoyed driving back in a car, just to get home quicker.
Jan 17th, 2015, 04:40 AM
#38
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honeymayspirit - your trip sounds like ours albeit we will be driving most of the route and are spending some time along the panhandle before we get to somewhere on the west or east florida coast for our last few nights. That was the reason for asking about the train to give hubby a rest from driving. We haven't as yet looked at the car hire costs but when we have been to US before we sometimes have hired and returned to different places. Just have to include in the budget!!
spirobulldog - yes we have been to US many times both east and west coast and Canada and have always hired a car and driven. We have never done bus or train journeys. While doing my research I had noticed the train and wondered about the possibilities for something different.
spirobulldog - yes we have been to US many times both east and west coast and Canada and have always hired a car and driven. We have never done bus or train journeys. While doing my research I had noticed the train and wondered about the possibilities for something different.
Jan 17th, 2015, 06:39 AM
#40
I've changed my original opinion. If hubby wants a day off from driving, take the train. It may save some rental car costs, but the break for hubby and a new adventure may be the best option.
Although if you drive, I think you should stop in Tupelo.
Although if you drive, I think you should stop in Tupelo.
