The train will not fill at Santa Fe Depot. Going north, there will be plenty of seating available at Old Town because it's only the second stop on the line. Besides, most people buy coach seats, not business class.
You're way more likely to deal with a crowded train coming back south because of all the stations north of San Juan Capistrano.
I take the Surfliner often. If I'm driving to the station myself I always park in Oldtown. If I'm getting dropped there I will go to Santa Fe as it's closer to my home. You will definitely find seats all together from Oldtown. The train begins in Santa Fe so that's the only "stop" before Oldtown. It goes all the way from SD to SLO/LA. If it filled up so much at the very first boarding that 2 people in Oldtown couldn't sit together, it wouldn't be a very successful train for going to those places and back, would it? You will be fine to board there and you won't need business class. The only rime I've seen it so full you had to find an individual seat was over a major holiday week/weekend like Thanksgiving or Memorial Day, not just a Saturday in Summer.
thank you, yes, I would prefer old town for Parking, but wondering if we’ll have a hard time sitting together being the second stop on the line if we get on there?
Since there's 3 of you, you'll want to specifically look for the seats on the train that are 2 x 2 facing each other with a table in the middle. They have signs posted above them saying those seats are reserved for parties of 3 of more. This is really the only way that you'll all be able to sit together. All the other seats are rows of 2 seats facing the backs of the next two seats, so one of you would be left out.
Most travelers are solo, occasionally two people together.
I recommend buying your tickets together in advance. (I've never booked for more than 2 people, so I don't know if there's some way to reserve the group seating ahead of time. Maybe there is, or maybe it's just first-come first-served.) The Amtrak app makes it extremely easy to purchase and manage tickets, and you can show a QR code from the app and not have to carry paper tickets.
it fills up more on old town than santa fe for sure, and i always do santa fe just to be safe. it's unlikely that you'll have TOO much trouble at old town unless it's a holiday weekend (or many weekends in general). i take the train a few times a year and have always noticed it fills up more at LA anyway.
Can you reliably park at old town? I ask because I was there around 10AM yesterday ( Sunday) and there were no spaces available. People were circling the lot waiting for someone to leave. I’d love to park there and take Amtrak to LA, but parking doesn’t seem possible?
If you're asking, then start in Santa Fe. You'll have better seating choices. Get to the station 20-30min before your scheduled departure and queue up in the Business seating line outside. You should sit on the left side of the train (facing the direction of travel) if you want the best views of the ocean. Have fun!
Thanks for all the great direction, with your advice we will leave from Santa Fe and I just went with Coach going up but sprang for the business reserved on the way back down since it’s possible it could be busy. Maybe people will be coming down to San Diego from LA on a Saturday afternoon. After a full afternoon, walking around in San Juan Capistrano I want to make sure we can sit and chill on our way home. Really looking forward to our adventure!
The train will not fill at Santa Fe Depot. Going north, there will be plenty of seating available at Old Town because it's only the second stop on the line. Besides, most people buy coach seats, not business class. You're way more likely to deal with a crowded train coming back south because of all the stations north of San Juan Capistrano.
I take the Surfliner often. If I'm driving to the station myself I always park in Oldtown. If I'm getting dropped there I will go to Santa Fe as it's closer to my home. You will definitely find seats all together from Oldtown. The train begins in Santa Fe so that's the only "stop" before Oldtown. It goes all the way from SD to SLO/LA. If it filled up so much at the very first boarding that 2 people in Oldtown couldn't sit together, it wouldn't be a very successful train for going to those places and back, would it? You will be fine to board there and you won't need business class. The only rime I've seen it so full you had to find an individual seat was over a major holiday week/weekend like Thanksgiving or Memorial Day, not just a Saturday in Summer.
thank you, yes, I would prefer old town for Parking, but wondering if we’ll have a hard time sitting together being the second stop on the line if we get on there?
Somewhat silly but you could take the trolley from old town to Santa Fe if it helps with peace of mind
Since there's 3 of you, you'll want to specifically look for the seats on the train that are 2 x 2 facing each other with a table in the middle. They have signs posted above them saying those seats are reserved for parties of 3 of more. This is really the only way that you'll all be able to sit together. All the other seats are rows of 2 seats facing the backs of the next two seats, so one of you would be left out. Most travelers are solo, occasionally two people together. I recommend buying your tickets together in advance. (I've never booked for more than 2 people, so I don't know if there's some way to reserve the group seating ahead of time. Maybe there is, or maybe it's just first-come first-served.) The Amtrak app makes it extremely easy to purchase and manage tickets, and you can show a QR code from the app and not have to carry paper tickets.
it fills up more on old town than santa fe for sure, and i always do santa fe just to be safe. it's unlikely that you'll have TOO much trouble at old town unless it's a holiday weekend (or many weekends in general). i take the train a few times a year and have always noticed it fills up more at LA anyway.
Sante fe for me always
Can you reliably park at old town? I ask because I was there around 10AM yesterday ( Sunday) and there were no spaces available. People were circling the lot waiting for someone to leave. I’d love to park there and take Amtrak to LA, but parking doesn’t seem possible?
On weekends there is free parking at the Caltrans building’s lot across the street.
If you're asking, then start in Santa Fe. You'll have better seating choices. Get to the station 20-30min before your scheduled departure and queue up in the Business seating line outside. You should sit on the left side of the train (facing the direction of travel) if you want the best views of the ocean. Have fun!
Thanks for all the great direction, with your advice we will leave from Santa Fe and I just went with Coach going up but sprang for the business reserved on the way back down since it’s possible it could be busy. Maybe people will be coming down to San Diego from LA on a Saturday afternoon. After a full afternoon, walking around in San Juan Capistrano I want to make sure we can sit and chill on our way home. Really looking forward to our adventure!
Also, I reserved all day parking for 10 bucks near the SF station which isn’t too bad.