Just like to pass on a little idea I heard this past weekend at Mayfaire By the Lake Art Festival. Our neighbor was Steve Vaughn? We were talking about upcoming shows and got on the subject of the Alexandria, VA show with H.A.E. Steve mentioned that he uses the Amtrak auto train to travel from Florida to Lorton, VA to do the show. He has a full size van and it goes on the train with him so he does not have to drive much as Lorton is close to the show site. I did some price checking and for 2 adults and an "oversize vehicle" like a van the round trip from Sanford, FL to Lorton, Va was about $690. Further calculations for my van revealed fuel costs of approx $500 to drive it plus a night in a hotel each way. Seems like a pretty even trade off and you don't put the miles on your vehicle or drive all those hours. The train leaves at 4pm and arrives 9:30 am the following day.Not a bad way to "fly" if you are heading that way. Just thought I'd pass this on.
I've used the auto train several times. The earlier you get your ticket, the cheaper it will be. Be sure to allow extra time on both ends for loading and unloading your vehicle. The train leaves at 4 but you will need to be there earlier so your vehicle can be loaded and it can take up to 2 or 3 hours for them to unload your vehicle on the other end. Extra long vehicles are okay but you need to pay an extra fee and let them know in advance. There is a height restriction. If you have a taller than normal van it most likely won't fit. The compartment is definitely more comfortable and sometimes you can get last minute deals if they have an empty one.
I also was getting very excited as I have 3 sons living all over the country until I see it is only one area of the country. Darn!! I will have to keep checking on it just in case it ever changes. What a great idea.
I have also used the ferry across Lake Michigan. I loved it. It was so relaxing. We did it one way with the plan to drive back to Michigan on our way home. I can't tell you how many times we mentioned on the way home, stuck in the Chicago traffic jams, how we wished we were going back on the ferry. We plan to do that again sometime.
I got really interested when I read this and looked up the Amtrack info. I was really disappointed when I realized that this is only done on this one route and not everywhere amtrack travels...Too bad is is not available on all routes around the country.
We took the auto train a few years ago and really liked it. You have to pay for your vehicle plus coach seats or you can get a sleeper (2 pull out bunk beds that are rather small [and hard - I recommend a mattress topper] especially the top one). Going down we did not have a sleeper and I had a hard time with the reclining seat - for me it was very uncomfortable. Took a small sleeper on the way home and it was much better.
I highly recommend it unless you just LOVE to drive.
Someone else posted about Amtrak's Auto Train recently. If you search "Amtrak" and "Auto Train" you'll find the information. To save you the aggravation that I went through while visiting their site, know in advance that they don't list ticket prices conveniently on a single web page. What you have to do is actually begin the process of buying a ticket, so their online "wizard" can walk you through your vehicle type, number of passengers, etc. Then, if you don't want to buy, just bail out before the payment options section.
I'm going to try it out when I go up to New Jersey in July. I promise a full review of the experience.
Comments
I've used the auto train several times. The earlier you get your ticket, the cheaper it will be. Be sure to allow extra time on both ends for loading and unloading your vehicle. The train leaves at 4 but you will need to be there earlier so your vehicle can be loaded and it can take up to 2 or 3 hours for them to unload your vehicle on the other end. Extra long vehicles are okay but you need to pay an extra fee and let them know in advance. There is a height restriction. If you have a taller than normal van it most likely won't fit. The compartment is definitely more comfortable and sometimes you can get last minute deals if they have an empty one.
I also was getting very excited as I have 3 sons living all over the country until I see it is only one area of the country. Darn!! I will have to keep checking on it just in case it ever changes. What a great idea.
I have also used the ferry across Lake Michigan. I loved it. It was so relaxing. We did it one way with the plan to drive back to Michigan on our way home. I can't tell you how many times we mentioned on the way home, stuck in the Chicago traffic jams, how we wished we were going back on the ferry. We plan to do that again sometime.
Wow, thanks Steve! This is really great information. I'll have to look further into it for traveling from Virginia cities.
I got really interested when I read this and looked up the Amtrack info. I was really disappointed when I realized that this is only done on this one route and not everywhere amtrack travels...Too bad is is not available on all routes around the country.
We took the auto train a few years ago and really liked it. You have to pay for your vehicle plus coach seats or you can get a sleeper (2 pull out bunk beds that are rather small [and hard - I recommend a mattress topper] especially the top one). Going down we did not have a sleeper and I had a hard time with the reclining seat - for me it was very uncomfortable. Took a small sleeper on the way home and it was much better.
I highly recommend it unless you just LOVE to drive.
Someone else posted about Amtrak's Auto Train recently. If you search "Amtrak" and "Auto Train" you'll find the information. To save you the aggravation that I went through while visiting their site, know in advance that they don't list ticket prices conveniently on a single web page. What you have to do is actually begin the process of buying a ticket, so their online "wizard" can walk you through your vehicle type, number of passengers, etc. Then, if you don't want to buy, just bail out before the payment options section.
I'm going to try it out when I go up to New Jersey in July. I promise a full review of the experience.
what a good idea, I think I'll check that out for Chicago, thanks Steve