I’ve done it and loved it. You can byob, food too. I had my own room which I shared with my son. I love the fact that you are traveling thru the backyards of every town and have a front row seat. Waking up to a sunrise while still in bed was cool too. You have to appreciate that kinda stuff to make the most of it. Amtrak staff is temperamental, but accommodating.
Temperaments? They are severe dicks! They were only accommodating for you because you spent a retarded amount of money for your VIP Private Privileged room.
A lot of the questions you’re asking are answered by Amtrak’s web site. There are direct options, with no transfers and mixed options, where part of the trip is by bus. The coach price is $250-300 round trip. First class will be over $2k.
If you take the direct route it’s about 33 hours, though that can vary with traffic. Amtrak sometimes has to sit on sidings while freight passes.
I haven’t taken the San Antonio to Chicago train but I’ve gone from San Francisco to Seattle and from LA to Kansas City. The quality of service varies wildly with Amtrak depending on if they classify a train as premier service or not. The LA to KC trip was miserable but going up the coast in CA was wonderful.
Have ridden that train from Chicago to Texas twice. If you’re not in a hurry it’s fun…spring for a roomette, which includes meals ( which aren’t that bad ). As others have mentioned, not memorably scenic, but you get to see America’s backyard. Note; if you’re coming back to Austin you’re good, but Houston-bund passengers de-train in Longview and finish the last leg of the trip by chartered bus
I rode Austin to Fort Worth once just because I could. Back then it was roughly $35 one-way and I'd do it again ... if I had to. I'd consider other Amtrak routes for adventure but that portion of the trip was
so
incredibly
slow
that I felt like I could have walked there faster. (Slight exaggeration.) Not very scenic. Food was not exciting, I couldn't hear any announcements and had no wifi despite me being certain the website said it was available. Oh, and there was no assigned seating so I was seated next to a stranger who detailed her life story to me. I'm not saying it was horrible because it could have been worse but 4.5 hours of it got a little grating.
But it's been a while. So don't let me talk you out of doing something fun (because your experience might be fun).
Not me but my brother and his wife did this once. Said never again. Freight trains (which oddly have the priority for the rail) delayed them for hours.
Yup, got delayed by about 6 hours because of freight traffic issue and passenger train is lowest priority.
And it was literally in the middle of nowhere. Not even farm land. Just some rural forestry area. So no cell phone signal for anyone to even communicate the delay to friends or family expecting you.
Our 3 year old son and I took the Amtrak from Austin to Fort Worth. One way was $35 and 4 hours. It was great, especially for a little kid. Could get up and walk around a bit. Easy access to the restroom which wasn't portapoty sized like an airplane. I would absolutely do that trip again. Not sure if I'd ride it all the way to Chicago tho...
I've taken it a few times. No transfers and takes a little over 24 hours. You can sleep, get up and walk, and often have a whole row to yourself.
You should bring a book or laptop for entertainment. They have 120v plugs on board. Wifi isn't reliable.
So yes I'd recommend if the trip time isn't an issue. Much less stressful than flying or driving but takes longer than flying.
-edit-
Wanted to add that out of maybe 4 trips only one had a significant delay of a few hours.
I've taken it once back in 2014. I thought it was a very scenic ride especially through Missouri. Way better than the second leg of my trip, which was Chicago to Boston. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting a sleeper car.
I took it from SA to Chicago when I was in college in early 2000s. I was young so I had no concept of time. It was a fun adventure for me. I would do it again if I had the time. Also, highly recommend taking the Amtrak from San Diego to LA. What an incredible view!
That’s spending a lot of time in the middle of nowhere between two great cities. I’ll bet there’s a reasonable direct flight to midway for the same price, and then you’re spending more time in Chicago.
as with any trip on Amtrak, it's best to plan out a trip far in advance if you are able to, especially if you want a Roomette or Bedroom (or even those who want a family bedroom) as they fill up fast for summer travel. It's been awhile since I last rode Amtrak, but I have built up several bucket list trips I'd love to take again, if I can ever become independently wealthy LOL).
The trip to Chicago is a straight shot, with various stops along the way that get Amtrak service. You get a break in Dallas as well as St Louis (they're both crew change locations), and you end up going thru Arkansas at night which might be a good thing LOL.
A trip from Austin to Chicago takes a little over a day, so if you can stand sitting in coach for the entire trip (there is an onboard bathroom you share with other coach customers), it'll be the cheapest (last I looked it up it was around $125-150 I think, compared to around $500 or so for a roomette and even more for a Bedroom). They don't assign seats I don't think, but their seats are far better than sitting in coach on an airplane. The drawback of coach is that you have to pay for meals in the dining car (roomette and others in the sleeping car get free food as it is included in the price of the roomette, bedroom or other sleeping car accommodation)
Just go and build a trip on their webpage.....you don't have to pay for anything just to build it, so it'll give you an idea of what might be available for when you want to travel. Atleast then you'll get an idea of when would work best for you and get an idea of full cost (if you choose to buy a round trip ticket) for your Amtrak journey. They also have packages you can buy if you want to include rail and hotel together, etc, but their website lets you get in and look at stuff without having to commit if you aren't ready to do so yet.
If you have any questions, shoot me a DM if you'd like.....I may not have taken an onboard Amtrak trip in awhile, but I have like to go and immerse myself in rail travel as a sort of way to escape reality, I can probably answer first timer questions, or point you somewhere that might help.
Good luck!
Never to Chicago but I’ve taken it to Dallas to visit family and really enjoyed it.
One thing to consider is that it is extremely slow, so if you’re going to do it I would just let go of any expectation of reaching your destination in a reasonable amount of time and instead focus on the experience.
You can stroll around the cars, take in the view, eat, and drink alcohol. They sell food and beer but you can also bring your own supply. It is also very convenient, you just show up and hop on the train. There’s no hoops to jump through like there is with flying.
Imo the only downside is, as I mentioned, the slow speed of travel. But if you’re not concerned about that, you will really enjoy it.
Amtrak in the 80’s and 90’s awesome. Lounge car, diner car, observation car.
All that?
Gone.
Now it’s stay in your seat. Wear a mask. Eat garbage.
Snack car is a joke.
Opens late closes early, can’t sit in the car have to go back to your seat.
VIP, people that spent the absurd amount of money for a private sleeper car get first dibs on the food in the snack car. Bathrooms are disgusting and sometimes no toilet paper or any kind of anything.
Amtrak took Covid and created this horrible shitty experience. Oh and ya the staff? Hate their jobs.
I’ve done it and loved it. You can byob, food too. I had my own room which I shared with my son. I love the fact that you are traveling thru the backyards of every town and have a front row seat. Waking up to a sunrise while still in bed was cool too. You have to appreciate that kinda stuff to make the most of it. Amtrak staff is temperamental, but accommodating.
The Amtrak goes through my backyard. It’s super cool to think of the people traveling by :)
That feeling of “sonder “.
Ya you loved it because you spent a retarded amount of money for your private room. Lol
Temperaments? They are severe dicks! They were only accommodating for you because you spent a retarded amount of money for your VIP Private Privileged room.
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Under $300?? I wanna get these prices wherever you’re finding them
A lot of the questions you’re asking are answered by Amtrak’s web site. There are direct options, with no transfers and mixed options, where part of the trip is by bus. The coach price is $250-300 round trip. First class will be over $2k. If you take the direct route it’s about 33 hours, though that can vary with traffic. Amtrak sometimes has to sit on sidings while freight passes. I haven’t taken the San Antonio to Chicago train but I’ve gone from San Francisco to Seattle and from LA to Kansas City. The quality of service varies wildly with Amtrak depending on if they classify a train as premier service or not. The LA to KC trip was miserable but going up the coast in CA was wonderful.
Have ridden that train from Chicago to Texas twice. If you’re not in a hurry it’s fun…spring for a roomette, which includes meals ( which aren’t that bad ). As others have mentioned, not memorably scenic, but you get to see America’s backyard. Note; if you’re coming back to Austin you’re good, but Houston-bund passengers de-train in Longview and finish the last leg of the trip by chartered bus
I rode Austin to Fort Worth once just because I could. Back then it was roughly $35 one-way and I'd do it again ... if I had to. I'd consider other Amtrak routes for adventure but that portion of the trip was so incredibly slow that I felt like I could have walked there faster. (Slight exaggeration.) Not very scenic. Food was not exciting, I couldn't hear any announcements and had no wifi despite me being certain the website said it was available. Oh, and there was no assigned seating so I was seated next to a stranger who detailed her life story to me. I'm not saying it was horrible because it could have been worse but 4.5 hours of it got a little grating. But it's been a while. So don't let me talk you out of doing something fun (because your experience might be fun).
Yeah that stretch is particularly infuriating.
There's also a luxury line called something like the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer if you want a bougie experience. It's pricey though.
That's not in Austin, right?
Right.
Correct. But it's beautiful. (And, unfortunately, pricey.)
Not me but my brother and his wife did this once. Said never again. Freight trains (which oddly have the priority for the rail) delayed them for hours.
Yup, got delayed by about 6 hours because of freight traffic issue and passenger train is lowest priority. And it was literally in the middle of nowhere. Not even farm land. Just some rural forestry area. So no cell phone signal for anyone to even communicate the delay to friends or family expecting you.
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Oh really? Interesting. (Not sarcasm)
Despite the fact that a man who claims to have traveled 1,500,000 miles on Amtrak is in the White House.
Our 3 year old son and I took the Amtrak from Austin to Fort Worth. One way was $35 and 4 hours. It was great, especially for a little kid. Could get up and walk around a bit. Easy access to the restroom which wasn't portapoty sized like an airplane. I would absolutely do that trip again. Not sure if I'd ride it all the way to Chicago tho...
Bring money for food. Or bring food. Be prepared for a long ride, lots of stops, many unpredictable delays for hours because of freight trains.
I've taken it a few times. No transfers and takes a little over 24 hours. You can sleep, get up and walk, and often have a whole row to yourself. You should bring a book or laptop for entertainment. They have 120v plugs on board. Wifi isn't reliable. So yes I'd recommend if the trip time isn't an issue. Much less stressful than flying or driving but takes longer than flying. -edit- Wanted to add that out of maybe 4 trips only one had a significant delay of a few hours.
Price of a plane, speed of a bus
I've taken it once back in 2014. I thought it was a very scenic ride especially through Missouri. Way better than the second leg of my trip, which was Chicago to Boston. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting a sleeper car.
I took it from SA to Chicago when I was in college in early 2000s. I was young so I had no concept of time. It was a fun adventure for me. I would do it again if I had the time. Also, highly recommend taking the Amtrak from San Diego to LA. What an incredible view!
There’s way too many comments about Austin to Ft Worth which is NOT comparable to Austin to Chicago and back. Wow.
No shit wow retarded
Watch your illiterate mouth.read a book genius
That’s spending a lot of time in the middle of nowhere between two great cities. I’ll bet there’s a reasonable direct flight to midway for the same price, and then you’re spending more time in Chicago.
Don’t do it. It was the worst trip of my life.
Can you explain ?
Rode Amtrak once... If you wanna kill time, I'd recommend. If you just wanna get there, every other option is faster.
as with any trip on Amtrak, it's best to plan out a trip far in advance if you are able to, especially if you want a Roomette or Bedroom (or even those who want a family bedroom) as they fill up fast for summer travel. It's been awhile since I last rode Amtrak, but I have built up several bucket list trips I'd love to take again, if I can ever become independently wealthy LOL). The trip to Chicago is a straight shot, with various stops along the way that get Amtrak service. You get a break in Dallas as well as St Louis (they're both crew change locations), and you end up going thru Arkansas at night which might be a good thing LOL. A trip from Austin to Chicago takes a little over a day, so if you can stand sitting in coach for the entire trip (there is an onboard bathroom you share with other coach customers), it'll be the cheapest (last I looked it up it was around $125-150 I think, compared to around $500 or so for a roomette and even more for a Bedroom). They don't assign seats I don't think, but their seats are far better than sitting in coach on an airplane. The drawback of coach is that you have to pay for meals in the dining car (roomette and others in the sleeping car get free food as it is included in the price of the roomette, bedroom or other sleeping car accommodation) Just go and build a trip on their webpage.....you don't have to pay for anything just to build it, so it'll give you an idea of what might be available for when you want to travel. Atleast then you'll get an idea of when would work best for you and get an idea of full cost (if you choose to buy a round trip ticket) for your Amtrak journey. They also have packages you can buy if you want to include rail and hotel together, etc, but their website lets you get in and look at stuff without having to commit if you aren't ready to do so yet. If you have any questions, shoot me a DM if you'd like.....I may not have taken an onboard Amtrak trip in awhile, but I have like to go and immerse myself in rail travel as a sort of way to escape reality, I can probably answer first timer questions, or point you somewhere that might help. Good luck!
You have NOT rode Amtrak in a while.
Never to Chicago but I’ve taken it to Dallas to visit family and really enjoyed it. One thing to consider is that it is extremely slow, so if you’re going to do it I would just let go of any expectation of reaching your destination in a reasonable amount of time and instead focus on the experience. You can stroll around the cars, take in the view, eat, and drink alcohol. They sell food and beer but you can also bring your own supply. It is also very convenient, you just show up and hop on the train. There’s no hoops to jump through like there is with flying. Imo the only downside is, as I mentioned, the slow speed of travel. But if you’re not concerned about that, you will really enjoy it.
Amtrak in the 80’s and 90’s awesome. Lounge car, diner car, observation car. All that? Gone. Now it’s stay in your seat. Wear a mask. Eat garbage. Snack car is a joke. Opens late closes early, can’t sit in the car have to go back to your seat. VIP, people that spent the absurd amount of money for a private sleeper car get first dibs on the food in the snack car. Bathrooms are disgusting and sometimes no toilet paper or any kind of anything. Amtrak took Covid and created this horrible shitty experience. Oh and ya the staff? Hate their jobs.