With plane travel becoming increasingly bothersome, trains are making a comeback. Train travel offers many benefits, including excellent sightseeing experiences.
While you can travel by train all over the world, living in the United States, you can opt to travel by train without ever setting foot in an airport.
Options Galore
Amtrak carries more than 31 million people a year and offers 21,000 route miles in 46 states to more than 500 destinations. You can even choose from dozens of vacation packages, many of which combine hotel rooms or even cruises as well as activities in select cities along the way. Take a virtual tour of room types here.
Vacations By Rail offers dozens of U.S. train vacations, including train travel to National Parks, like the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta which includes stops at the Arches and Mesa Verde National Parks. The America’s Beautiful West adventure includes stops at Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Parks. For rail discounts, visit AARP’s Member Advantages travel center.
America by Rail features fully escorted train tour packages throughout the United States, and Pullman Rail Journeys offers train travel in classic cars with modern conveniences.
Train travel doesn’t require a long vacation either. You can add a day trip to a vacation, or find a day trip near you for a fun outing. Frommer’s “10 Best U.S. Day Trips by Train” list includes a trip from Manhattan to Montauk aboard New York’s Long Island Railroad; from Philadelphia to Atlantic City aboard New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line; a ride up the Hudson from New York City; a trip from Chicago to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; a train (and bus) ride from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, Calif.; and a journey from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, Md., aboard a MARC train.
In its article “Top 10 North American Train Trips,” National Geographic adds to the list of great U.S. train travel: Durango to Silverton, Colo.; New York City to Rutland, Vt.; Cass to Bald Knob, W.V.; Chicago to Emeryville, Calif.; Anchorage to Seward, Alaska; Williams to the Grand Canyon, Ariz.; and more.
Sit Back and Relax
Once you’re aboard a train, you can sit back, relax and leave the driving to the conductor! Enjoy the scenery you can’t see while driving and the convenience of having everything in one place. Additional benefits can include cost savings, a lighter environmental footprint and decreased hassle when it comes to things like security lines and baggage restrictions.
Click on the links below and throughout the article to learn more, and then enjoy the charm of traveling by rail.
Resources:
U.S. Train Travel – IndependentTraveler.com
Vacations By Rail AARP Member Advantages – VacationsByRail.com/AARP