Myself and my partner are looking to travel the Coast Starlight route next year (probably June/July)- from start to finish (northbound), whilst stopping off at various points along the way. We're allowing ourselves about 3 weeks. This will be our first "major" rail journey and I have a few questions:

- Is it easy to book from the UK?
- Do you have to specify when/where you'll be getting on/off the train along the route or can you just hop on/off?
- How far in advance should we book the trip?
- What places are good to stop off at?
- And, is it a good route to take for our first train journey?

I'd love to hear any advice or comments people might have. If some of these questions are answered elsewhere, let me know and I'll check them out.

2. Yes, reservations on virtually all Amtrak trains are required. However, off peak you can usually book coach the same day. Sleeper accommodation can sell out well in advance though.

3. See above!

4. Not on the route anymore, but start with San Diego. Then your basic minimum is the big cities - LA, San Francisco, Seattle. Then there are the beaches along the way - too many sights for a lifetime!

5. The Coast Starlight is supposed to be Amtrak's finest. If you can afford it, go sleeper (1st class). The scenery is also great.

Three good places to start: http://www.trainweb.com (look at the travelogues) http://communities.prodigy.net/trains/index.html http://www.amtrak.com (look under International Travellers).

-What places are good to stop off at?

Well, I am biased, but the Monterey Peninsula is one of the most spectacular places on earth. Monterey is also the second oldest city on the west coast (San Diego being first) so there is a lot of history here. I have a website devoted to the wonders of my community here: http://hometown.aol.com/toylandmry/ It includes a visitors guide.

The Coast Starlight stops 20 miles away in Salinas, and there is an Amtrak Throughway mini bus to take you to and from the peninsula. I can provide further advice on visiting our area if you need it.

Other great places are Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. You might rent a car at Portland and drive up the Columbia River Gorge.

- And, is it a good route to take for our first train journey?

Absolutely. The Starlight covers a wide range of geography, from palm tree lined beaches in the south to farmland in the Sacramento and Willamette Valleys, to the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest. It passes through all three state capitols, too.

Sleeping car passengers on the Starlight have access to the Pacific Parlor Car, which is exclusive to this train. It is very much like the luxurious lounge cars from the golden age of rail travel.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

Get the schedule for the Coast Starlight and study the stops and times.

If you start in SanDiego get a hotel close to the station as you have an early start to make it to LA by 10:15 am when the Starlight departs.

If you pay for the sleeper (lst class) you get to enjoy the Parlour car, free meals and other amenities. However, if you get off in SanFrancisco (heading north) it will be late--just as you would have been getting ready to retire to your sleeper had you stayed on the train. You paid for the sleeper and now have to pay for a hotel in SF.

We didn't find a good way to break the trip north (other than Portland area) without losing the amenities of the lst class ticket.

Request an even sleeper northing up the coast and odd southing. This usually gives you the preferred view.

We had a standard sleeper on the upper level and preferred this because there was a crying baby and large families with small children downstairs. All but one of the restrooms is downstairs so there's more traffic down there.

quote:

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Originally posted by choochoo:
Request an even sleeper northing up the coast and odd southing. This usually gives you the preferred view.

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Room number has nothing to do with which side of the train you will be on. It all depends on the orientation of the car. On my Starlight trip last week we had two sleepers each oriented in opposite directions. So one car had the even numbered rooms on the left, while the other car had the even numbered rooms on the right. You never know which side you'll be on until you board.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

If you intend to travel from L.A. to Seattle, and want to stop off in, say, Santa Barbara, San Francisco (Oakland/Emeryville), and Portland, you'll need individual tickets for L.A.-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara-San Francisco, San Francisco-Portland, and Portland-Seattle.

In winter, you could throw caution to the wind and purchase each ticket individually, at each stop-off station, as you travel north.

But in summer, you really can't hop on or off any Amtrak long distance train at whim -- unless you want to risk getting stranded. The Coast Starlight runs only once a day. Often, it's sold out weeks in advance (especially true if you plan to travel by sleeper).

So plan your stop-offs and book them all in advance. Otherwise, when you decide to move on to the next town, you might discover you can't get onto the next train.

"The jingle that I use to remember this is: Even Up, Odd Down. In other words, get an even numbered Standard Room (or a Deluxe Room) when heading North and get an odd numbered Standard Room when heading South. That will put you on the ocean side on the way up and the way down. I've heard some people argue that the other side is the better side when traveling through the mountains. That may be, but for the majority of the trip, you will get the best views on the West side of the car. You can always go to the Pacific Parlour Car or the Sightseer Lounge Car for those segments when the train is going through the mountains and the better view is on the East side of the train."

and I read this repeatedly while doing research for the trip. Maybe it's an urban myth but it worked for us.

LA has crime and traffic problems but there's much to see there: Getty Museum, Gene Autry Museum of Western History, television show tapings, studio tours (not Universal Studios), La Bria tarpits, beach combing, mountain hikes and within easy walking distance of Union Station the original old hispanic area and a wonderful old market. I would also recommend San Simeone-the Hearst Castle-the gardens should be beautiful then.

We'll definitely book our tickets in advance as it will be in June/July of next year and most likely book a sleeper for the overnight section to Portland from Sacramento (I think). Now all we've got to do is find some cheap flights.

Thanks to GeoffM for the San Diego recommendation - it cleared up the confusion, as some articles I'd read mentioned the train starting here. It's a place we've always wanted to visit.

I tend to agree with Sutton about missing LA, although I like the idea of visiting Hearst castle and the arrival/departure times for San Francisco are a bit "awkward", but nothings perfect. I'll definitely checkout the Grant Plaza, so thanks for that too.

Thanks to Mr Toy - I'll check out your website. Monterey was one place we had as a "must see". The Columbia River Gorge sounds interesting too.

So, we need to get thinking about our stops now - which is no mean feat as there's so much to see. Maybe we'll have to extend our trip to four weeks!

Thanks again for the info and I'll post an update soon as to how things are progressing.

As I pointed out in my post above, the last train I was on had cars oriented in both directions. So in one car even numbered rooms were on the left, while in the adjacent car the even numbered rooms were on the right. I have also been on trains where all the cars faced the same way, and that may have been by design, but it is not something you can count on.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy