Train Travel
This page provides detailed information about four
major railroads (Amtrak, Rail Australia, Rail Europe, VIA Rail Canada)
and annotated links to dozens of other tourist railroads in North
America.
Amtrak
~ Rail Australia ~
Rail Europe ~ VIA Rail Canada
~ Other Railroads
Amtrak is the United States' national passenger rail
service.
Booking: We have booked Amtrak tickets online
and by phone (1-800-USA-RAIL). Booking online is relatively easy—but
not as easy as booking by phone, unless you call at a busy time and end
up listening to hold music forever. Amtrak occasionally offers discounts
for booking online, however, so it's worth checking out. Even if you
book by phone, visit their web page before you call to help you plan
your trip. Also, consider buying a rail pass if you'd like to explore
the United States and Canada by rail over a 30-day period; rail passes
can only be purchased by phone, but check the
rail passes
page for details before calling.
Hot spots: If you'd like to plan your
honeymoon around train travel but aren't sure where to go, start with
the trains and
destinations page. Or visit
Amtrak Vacations
(1-800-YES-RAIL) for vacation packages to dozens of destinations.
Check whether Amtrak is offering a discount for
booking online; the promotion is usually displayed on the home page.
Also visit the
savings and promotions page; if you're a student, veteran, or senior
citizen, you might qualify for special savings, and even if you're not,
you might be interested in the special promotions. Oddly, the savings
and promotions page does not mention that AAA members receive a 10%
discount off rail reservations.
And finally, if you're planning an overnight
trip, definitely check out the
sleeper cars.
The fine print: Before booking your
reservation, you'll definitely want to read the
special policies
page, including the
refund policy (most tickets are refundable, minus a $30 per ticket
charge).
Amtrak
~ Rail Australia ~
Rail Europe ~ VIA Rail Canada
~ Other Railroads
Rail Australia is a relatively simple website that
serves as a launching point to Queensland Rail, Countrylink, and the
Great Southern Railway.
Booking: Booking can be completed online at
the individual rail services' websites, or through the booking agents
listed on the
booking page. The website is probably best used to explore
possibilities before contacting a travel agent to book a point-to-point
ticket or a rail pass.
Hot spots: Check out the cool interactive
route map on the
trains page as well as the information on
rail passes.
The fine print: Be sure to check the
cancellation and refund policies on the individual rail services'
websites.
Amtrak
~ Rail Australia ~
Rail Europe ~ VIA Rail Canada
~ Other Railroads
Rail Europe is the U.S. representative of more than
60 European rail services. (If you live outside the United States, the
U.S. Rail Europe site provides links to its sites for other countries at
the top of the home page.) You can read a review of the Rail Europe web
site at
Consumer Reports.
Booking: Book online or by phone
(1-877-257-2887). If you plan to buy a rail pass (which allows flexible,
unlimited travel in a certain area over a certain period of time), you
should have little problem booking one at this site (once you determine
which of the many different passes you want). The process for booking a
simple point-to-point ticket is much more lengthy and confusing; you
might be better off booking by phone or through a travel agent.
Hot spots: If you are unfamiliar with the
different options for traveling by rail in Europe, we recommend starting
at the
product overview page, which describes more than a dozen different
types of passes, tickets, and other travel options. Then read over the
accommodations page for a description of your different
accommodation options, including the distinction between a seat and a
couchette, among other things. If you have further questions, go to the
site's extensive
FAQ page.
If you plan on exploring a country or countries
by rail, than the flexibility of a rail pass is the way to go. Rail
Europe offers many different
single country passes and
multiple country passes. If you're not sure what kind of pass is
best for you, go to the
perfect pass page, where you'll find a helpful comparison chart.
Rail Europe offers
vacation package deals that include airfare departing from more than
150 U.S. airports. Sample some featured packages at the
rail packages page. Also be sure to check out the
specials and
promotions page.
The fine print: You'll find most of Rail
Europe's fine print on their
policies FAQ and the
terms and conditions page. Note also that while tickets and rail
passes allow you to board the train, they do not guarantee you a seat or
sleeping accommodations, which must be reserved separately.
Amtrak
~ Rail Australia ~
Rail Europe ~ VIA Rail Canada
~ Other Railroads
VIA Rail Canada is the Canadian national passenger
railroad. You can read a review of the VIA Rail Canada web site at
Consumer Reports.
Booking: Book online or by phone
(1-888-VIA-RAIL). Buying rail passes involves filling out a simple form,
but purchasing point-to-point tickets requires a little more work on a
somewhat clunky reservations site. Download
schedules
in PDF format or through the
eScheduler
downloadable software program you can run from your desktop.
Hot spots: Before booking, check out various
destinations in VIA Rail Canada's extensive
tourist
information pages, or through the pages of the railway's
Destinations magazine (available online in PDF format). VIA Rail
Canada also offers all-inclusive
vacation
packages.
Then check out the different
classes of
travel; don't miss the
romance by rail page for information on special sleeper suites and
services just for romantic couples. Also note that VIA Rail Canada
allows you to board and disembark the train almost anywhere on certain
routes by prior arrangement; check out the
special
stops page for details.
Be sure to visit the
ways to save
page for special offers, rail passes, and special discounts.
The
information
for non-Canadians page contains links to travel tips, the current
exchange rate, and descriptions of Canadian attractions, among others.
The fine print: Read VIA Rail Canada's
exchange and
refund policy.
Amtrak
~ Rail Australia ~
Rail Europe ~ VIA Rail Canada
~ Other Railroads
Rail Travel at Google Directory
The world's passenger railroads organized by Google.
Last updated:
March 9, 2004 |
