Anyone know much about Amtrak?

[aussiegirls]

I am sure this will be moved, but I am not sure where else to post it so here will do for the moment.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Amtrak, in particular business class. When we leave the Hojo we are heading off to San Diego. I am still weighing up my options as to how we should get there. At the moment the choices are hiring a car (which I would rather not do), private car transfers, Luxbus, and I have recently come across Amtrak.

The cost from Anaheim to San Diego is quite good on Amtrak, even if we go business class. So i was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it.

Also, I understand that Union Station is the closest station to LAX. Does anybody know if it is actually in LAX or is it just close to it.

Thanks so much

 

[blackjackdelta]

If I remember correctly, I think Molly(Bumbershoot) has Amtak experience. Hope she chimes in. Matter of fact the Bumbershoot festival is going on this weekend in Seattle.(I old so I ramble sometimes). Sorry.

Jack

 

[StageTek]

I use Amtrak often. Rarely business class. However, if the specific trip
is during a very busy time, business class can be nicer; less crowded.

Union Station is about 19 miles from LAX. There is a bus - the LAX
FlyAway - that leaves about every hour.

 

[toby78]

When you leave Hojo's you can get a taxi for about $10 to Angel stadium, which is where the amtrak station is there in anaheim...Business Class is ok, but the $10-$13 difference from unreserved coach is not much, except that you get a reserved seat and a few snacks and drinks....I always take the amtrak from san diego when going to the D-land or watching angels games. I think amtrak WOULD be your best bet for getting to and from san diego....I love it.

 

[skiingfast]

I am sure this will be moved, but I am not sure where else to post it so here will do for the moment.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Amtrak, in particular business class. When we leave the Hojo we are heading off to San Diego. I am still weighing up my options as to how we should get there. At the moment the choices are hiring a car (which I would rather not do), private car transfers, Luxbus, and I have recently come across Amtrak.

The cost from Anaheim to San Diego is quite good on Amtrak, even if we go business class. So i was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it.

Also, I understand that Union Station is the closest station to LAX. Does anybody know if it is actually in LAX or is it just close to it.

Thanks so much

You may not be aware of this but the amtrak only runs about 2 times a day from Union Station to SD. There is however a commuter train the runs about every half hour and it is cheaper. The catch and this is minor, because it takes little time, is that the trains in LA and not in SD. So you transfer in Oceanside CA. In LA it's called the Metrolink and in SD the Coaster.

For convinience use the Anahiem station wich is a few miles from DLR.



http://metrolinktrains.com/

http://www.gonctd.com/coaster_intro.htm

 

[BlueBayou]

We took the Sunset limited to Union Station and the Pacific Surfliner to Anaheim. I believe the Surfliner is the Amtrak you would take to San Diego.

It was very easy to do. I can't recall the cost of the cab from the Disneyland Hotel to the station at Angels Stadium - but it wasn't much. ART actually goes there too - but we did not to bother with that.

Maybe it was luck - but we did not see the need for business class for the Surfliner. We were a family of four and on both trips - we got a four seat area (like a booth) reserved for parties of 3 or more.

It was a nice trip. At the time I thought it would be a nice way to travel to San Diego.

 

[amamax2]

My 83 year old mom travels from LA (further north than DL) to San Diego on Amtrak all the time to visit and loves it! (And we like that she is not dirving ) I think that would be a good option for you. Where in San Diego are you staying?

 

[BlueBayou]

You may not be aware of this but the amtrak only runs about 2 times a day from Union Station to SD. There is however a commuter train the runs about every half hour and it is cheaper. The catch and this is minor, because it takes little time, is that the trains in LA and not in SD. So you transfer in Oceanside CA. In LA it's called the Metrolink and in SD the Coaster.

For convinience use the Anahiem station wich is a few miles from DLR.



http://metrolinktrains.com/

http://www.gonctd.com/coaster_intro.htm

The schedule I am looking at shows 5 times daily to San Diego (old town) and about a dozen daily to what I believe is the main San Diego Amtrak station.

I know the Surfliner had a good number of times for us to choose from to get to Union Station in time for the Sunset Limited.

But like this poster said - the metrolink is always an option too.

 

[aussiegirls]

Thanks so much for your help guys.

Skiingfast, I am not going to San Diego from Union Station I will be going from Anaheim. The reason I asked about Union Station is that I figured whilst I was looking at Amtrak I was curious as to whether or not it would be possible to get from San Diego to LAX.

So what exactly is the difference between coach and business class? As I understand it the seats are a bit bigger and your seats are allocated, is that the only difference? Can you check luggage in both coach and business class? Is there a snack car where you can go and grab some afternoon tea or something?

Amamax2, we are staying at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. I am really not sure which stop would be closest. But I figure that if I can at least get to San Diego Airport (which I am pretty sure I can do on the Amtrak), the hotel runs complimentary shuttles from there, so getting to our actual hotel shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks so much guys. I think we will be going the Amtrak after so many great responses.

xxx

 

[skiingfast]

So what exactly is the difference between coach and business class? As I understand it the seats are a bit bigger and your seats are allocated, is that the only difference? Can you check luggage in both coach and business class? Is there a snack car where you can go and grab some afternoon tea or something?

Amamax2, we are staying at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. I am really not sure which stop would be closest. But I figure that if I can at least get to San Diego Airport (which I am pretty sure I can do on the Amtrak), the hotel runs complimentary shuttles from there, so getting to our actual hotel shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks so much guys. I think we will be going the Amtrak after so many great responses.

xxx

I would most be concerned about which side of the train you sit on not the class. Because on one side you will be looking at the gloreous coast for much of the trip the other will just be ok city and landscapes. But oddly enough I'm not sure how you would do this because, the train run backwards to SD and forward back to LA. So I'm not sure which side would be right or left going down. So you may not want to reserve a seat until you are sure or just use the general seating.

I think that Sheraton is just across the road, so to speak from the airport. So you wouldn't want to take a cab just as far to get on the hotel shuttle.

From the Old Town or San Diego Station it is a toss up to which is easier. The Downtown station is closer but might have a little more traffic. I would just go by schedule. All Amtrak Surfliners go to San Diego but only a few of the runs stop at Old Town. The Coaster goes to both stations also.

 

[kingLouiethe1]

Union Station isn't exactly close to LAX, but there is a bus that will take you directly from Union Station to LAX, and I think its only about $6, but don't quote me on that.

Here is the website for that:
http://www.lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=292

 

[skiingfast]

Union Station isn't exactly close to LAX, but there is a bus that will take you directly from Union Station to LAX, and I think its only about $6, but don't quote me on that.

Here is the website for that:
http://www.lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=292

Yes there is, I think it runs every 30 minutes. And it is fairly cheap.

 

[amamax2]

Yes, the Sheraton is across the street from the airport.

Old Town Station is 4 miles from the Sheraton; Downtown Station (Santa Fe Depot) in 2.5 miles. So agree with skiingfast, see which fits your schedule best - the taxi cost difference is probably not much (although personally I like the downtown location better if everything else is the same).

From the website, it appears the only real differences between the classes are that business class has reserved seats/coach they cannot guarantee; business has wi-fi access; business gets you some free snacks/drinks.

What day/time are you thinking? Depending upon your schedule, the cars may not be very crowded, so reserved seating would not be that important. We rode to San Juan Capistrano on the train one day, on a Sun, late morning and the train was practically empty. When we went home, though, dinner-time, it was more crowded, but both times we did not have reserved seats and had no problems. When my mom comes, she usually does not get a reserved seat, but comes during the week leaving N. LA around 9. If she comes on an earlier train, she will reserve a seat. She always goes home mid-day and doesn't reserve a seat.

But, depending upon the price difference, it might be worth it for your peace of mind to have reserved seats.

I believe you can check luggage either way; there is a snack car, but it seems to me when we took the train, it wasn't very substantial. I'll dig around and see if I can find more.

 

[aussiegirls]

amamax2, we will be travelling on a Monday early afternoon. So we will arrive between about 3 and 4pm, just in time to check into the Sheraton.

So thinking about it now, I really can't picture that time of the day on a Monday being a particularly busy time on the Amtrak, would that be correct?

I think that we might just get the cattle class seats. So long as there is a snack car that we can go to and grab something it should be fine.

xxx

 

[skiingfast]

amamax2, we will be travelling on a Monday early afternoon. So we will arrive between about 3 and 4pm, just in time to check into the Sheraton.

So thinking about it now, I really can't picture that time of the day on a Monday being a particularly busy time on the Amtrak, would that be correct?

I think that we might just get the cattle class seats. So long as there is a snack car that we can go to and grab something it should be fine.

xxx

Yes it should be fine. This line is in many ways a commuter route. Since you aren't using it during rush hour it should be fine. Unless it happens to be right after passengers are connecting coming into Union Station off a train from the north or east.

 

[bumbershoot]

If I remember correctly, I think Molly(Bumbershoot) has Amtak experience. Hope she chimes in. Matter of fact the Bumbershoot festival is going on this weekend in Seattle.(I old so I ramble sometimes). Sorry.

Jack

And here I am in San Diego! What timing.



Just go from HoJo to the Angels stadium station. Normal seats are comfy. I took it the other way, and it was full of businesspeople and private school high school students. An interesting mix!

The normal station in SD, SAN, is right downtown and most likely just fine for your purposes.

 

[nunzia]

I take AMTRAK all the time..usually long distance into Fullerton. I did attemt to take the Surfliner from Anaheim to Union Station to get on my long distance train home (cab from Jolly Roger to Anaheim station was about $10..it's quite close). I say attempted because, although I was on the platform and trying to get on the train, there was only a door at the very front car open which I thought was for the engineer or baggage or something. So, I started walking down the platform to find an open door or an attendant or something to let me in to board. At no time was any other door open and at no time did an attendant ever open a door or notice me pounding on doors to get in. By the time I realized I better hustle to that one open door at the front and get on there even if I wasn't supposed to, it was pulling away. So..lesson...get on ANYPLACE you might see an open door or they will LEAVE you..and also, fyi, it costs $75.00 for a cab to Union Station.