I live in DC and have to go to Denver for a meeting in Sept. It occurred to me that this was a chance to do the CZ from Oakland to Denver. Thought is to fly to Oakland and then home from Denver. Has anyone done the Amtrak/United combination and does it make sense?
Posted by Kairho (Member # 1567) on :
I just did similar, but with Delta/Amtrak. Fly to Denver. Train to Gelenwood Springs and, later, train to Sacramento, and fly home.
In October I'm training to Los Angeles and flying Delta back to Tampa.
As a travel agent my only advice is to check with Amtrak on the price with both Amreak and UA and Amtrak alone. Then check online (Expedia, Orbitz, etc.) for the lowest cost one way flight on UA or other airline. Go for lowest cost as air travel is a commodity these days.
Posted by Mike Smith (Member # 447) on :
For the Y2K scare, my wife and I flew to Denver Dec 30, Amtraked to Emeryville, Seattle, and back to Emeryville, then flew back to Houston from San Fransisco Jan 3. It was not very expensive and allowed us to see the mountains in snow.......LOTS of snow......
I'd highly recommend your suggested itinerary!
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
May I suggest Westward on the Zephyr if at all possible.
Come September, and given a late train, you will be traversing the Rockies at best in twilight, at worst darkness. and regardless of timekeeping or lighting, you will be starting to be afflicted with "are we there yet" mentality as well as thinking of all the things to do when getting ready to detrain and transfer to a hotel (or God forbid, to DIA for a red eye to IAD).