Has anyone ever taken the train from NS to Orlando?

[RainbowsMist]

We are driving to Boston and flying out of there for our upcoming trip however we're already talking about our trip afterwards.

We're trying to go with our friends and their children however they won't fly.

Just wondering if we could take the train? I know VIA doesn't go into Maine so how would we do this without having to go from NS to Ontario and then use Amtrak? I've read Amtrak only goes as far as Bangor. We were hoping to go through NB, Maine etc. as you would when you drive.

Looking for suggestions if anyone has them.

Thanks

 

[Sandy22]

What about Greyhound? I've bussed it to NYC and then transferred to the Amtrak train to Orlando. The bus and train terminals are only a couple blocks apart in NYC.

Another option is to drive to Bangor and park your car at the Amtrak station. I've left my car at the Syracuse Amtrak station for 9 days without any problems. Best of all it only cost $5!

A third option is to drive to Lorton, Va and take the autotrain to Orlando.

 

[tribus121]

Amtrac only offers bus service from bangor to portland

 

[GrannyEv]

Good Morning:

I have priced out leaving from London to Orlando and the Greyhound does leave from here. Not sure if it extends to where you live. Just go to their website, greyhound.ca or call them. I know it was alot cheaper than flying but a very long trip!! Good Luck

hugs
GrannyEv

 

[Sandy22]

Good Morning:

I have priced out leaving from London to Orlando and the Greyhound does leave from here. Not sure if it extends to where you live. Just go to their website, greyhound.ca or call them. I know it was alot cheaper than flying but a very long trip!! Good Luck

hugs
GrannyEv

Just as an FYI - I've taken the greyhound bus all the way from Montreal to Orlando. I would not recommend this! I felt that Greyhound in the USA was a whole different thing than Greyhound in Canada. The buses were dirty, the passengers were questionable (we had police raid the bus! ), there were stops along the way where you had to get off the bus and wait a couple of hours in very seedy bus stations (nothing like Canadian bus stations), customer service was non-existant. I did it once and never again. How bad was it? On my next trip to WDW, I flew and I'm terrified of flying! But I figured it couldn't be worse than the bus. Now I drive or take the train.

 

[GrannyEv]

Thanks for the heads up. It was alot cheaper than flying but it sounds like it wouldn't be worth it. Especially with one of my grandkids with me.
Guess I can cross that means of getting to Orlando off my list.

hugs
GrannyEv

 

[Charleyann]

You can take Via rail to Montreal and then cross over from there to Amtrak

 

[GrannyEv]

Thanks, I'll mark that down for future. This October I'm flying but I would love to take the train one of these times. Think it would be cool to see the country by train.

hugs
GrannyEv

 

[Debbie]

Granny Ev-Julie (TimandDansMom) did the Greyhound from SW ONtario one year. We need Julie to fill us in!

 

[GrannyEv]

Well went online for some pricing. It's cheaper to fly and it gets me there quicker!! I priced from London to Montreal -Via($212.00) and couldn't seem to get a price from Montreal to Orlando. So it's cheaper to drive to Detroit and fly form there and gets me there alot quicker. Of course the train ride would probably be spectacular especially through the mountains in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Well still look into it. Hopefully TimnDan's Mom will see this and fill us in.


Hugs
GrannyEv (perhaps I should just buy one of these!! LOL)

 

[TimNDansMom]

LOL Debbie, I was debating if I should add my comments about my bus trip to Orlando!

Yes, indeed GrannyEv, I had a brainwave that I would go down a few days before DH drove down in the car. Greyhound has a "go anywhere" fare which was $200 return, I know they still have it, but not sure if it's gone up. A few years ago, this seemed like a very reasonable price to pay even though I only planned to take the bus one-way. I did have my ticket printed with the return portion so I wouldn't have any problems at the border.

I left Woodstock one morning (I think it was around 9:30am) and arrived in Orlando 37 1/2 hours later! It was a long and tedious trip with many stops in little towns. We all had to get off the bus in Detroit and were questioned. I think the immigration guy thought I was nuts when I told him of my plan. There was a student travelling with friends who was sent back because he didn't have proper ID. That incident held us up for an extra half hour.

Some of the stops on the trip were just for package deliveries or pick-up, which were the most tedious. There were about 4 stop-overs where we had to change buses and although I was a little apprehensive waiting in one bus station in the middle of the night, I had or saw no problems. I was fortunate for part of the way to have a friendly young man sit beside me, who was on his way to visit a friend down south somewhere, before he joined the army. We talked for hours! The rest of the trip, I was able to sit by myself, as the bus was not full the whole time. I found everyone on the bus to be very polite and seemed to be from all walks of life.

Food availability was pretty poor, either vending machines or small counter service in the stations but once we stopped at a place like McDonalds (can't remember which chain). I noticed some people who were better prepared with home made sandwiches and such, than I was. It seemed that once we got to Cincinnati, we took alternate routes other than the I 75. I remember waking up in early hours of the morning and we were just coming out of the mountains in Tennessee and it was so foggy! I didn't really sleep much but did doze now and again. I remember at 9am the next morning we were sitting at the Atlanta bus station and I phoned DH to give him an update.

It was a long trip but I was okay with it until we got to Jacksonville. By then I was so anxious to just "get there" but there were too many people wanting to go to Orlando, along with those waiting to board as well, so instead of getting back on the bus after our stop-over, they sent our bus on to the Gulf coast and we ended up waiting another 1 1/2hrs for another bus to take us all to Orlando! This change made me late getting there and I ended up having to take a cab to my hotel on International drive, rather than catch the last city bus, as I had planned.

So I arrived tired but safe and sound. I spent a couple of days on my own (mainly recovering from the bus trip, LOL) and made my way around on the Lynx city bus until I met up with DH, where we stayed on-site at Disney. (I had travelled with a carry-on bag, while he brought the rest of my luggage in the car.)

Taking the bus is not something that I would really consider doing again, but I know I could do it if I had to. It's definitely an adventure! I wish there was a direct route straight down the I 75 with few stops, but unfortunately there isn't, and at the time I tried to pick what I thought was the best schedule, especially with leaving from Woodstock.

 

[Sandy22]

Oh my goodness Julie! I thought I was the only one crazy enough to take Greyhound all the way to Orlando LOL! I was travelling with an older child so it was a little more inconvenient when we were stranded in bus stations at 3:00 am for an hour or two while they switched buses. I think the worst station was Jacksonville because by then we were so tired and the place was gross...coakroaches in the bathroom and all.

GrannyEv, I have taken a direct charter bus which takes 24 hours and that was much much better. It's a private coach with regularly scheduled stops for meals. There are two drivers so they drive all night. All the charters I found came with hotel packages but if you call and there's availability, you can just book and pay for the transportation portion of the trip.

When pricing a train to Orlando, you might need to break it up from Montreal to NYC (on via or Amtrak) and then NYC to Orlando. I didn't like the "lay-over" time in NYC so I took the canadian greyhound from Montreal to NYC and then transfered to Amtrak to Orlando. Last trip I drove to Syracuse and then took the train from there. The connection time was much better that way.

 

[TimNDansMom]

LOL, I'm glad to know I'm not the only "survivor", Sandy22! I don't recall using the restroom at Jacksonville, but the depot was absolutely packed with travellers and not enough seating and I think, only vending machines for food! It was the worst stop of the entire trip!

Interesting about taking just the bus portion of a charter....how does the fare compare to the "go anywhere fare" of Greyhound?

 

[Sandy22]

Interesting about taking just the bus portion of a charter....how does the fare compare to the "go anywhere fare" of Greyhound?

If I remember correctly it was equivalent to the child's fare which was around $299. Well worth it to get there in 24 hours with a bus full of fellow canucks, friendly drivers, and regular stops for meals at Cracker Barrell. They also played movies (and Daniel O'Donnell....oh boy did it ever take awhile to get that music out of my head LOL!)

I would have bought the package with the hotel but it looked pretty dumpy to me. For the same price I booked somewhere much nicer. Once the bus arrived at the group's hotel, I just took a cab to my hotel.