Originally Posted by
doczim
We will be travelling from DC to Boston on 2nd of July (Sunday). We have been considering train or plane. Plane by far is quickest but train, for us is part of the journey rather than just a "trip" to get from A to B.
I have both flown and taken Amtrak (the Regional, though, not the higher-speed Acela) and I would strongly recommend flying. This is from someone who always opts for the train from DC to NY and from NY to Boston.
DC to Boston is just a slog on the train. It doesn't help that while NY is more or less equidistant between Boston and DC, the BOS-NYC trip is about an hour longer than the DC-NYC trip. (It's because the train takes a meandering route that limits its speed along the southeast Connecticut shore on tracks built in the 1800s.) When I took it, by the time we got to Rhode Island I was dying to get off the train.
Compared to some other routes in North America, such as the Cascades, the scenery is not awe-inspiring. I guess parts of the Connecticut coastline are nice, but if you're coming from DC you'll likely be a little restless by then. I also wouldn't consider the NE Corridor trains romantic in any sense -- they are very well-patronized and have by far the best passenger rail service in the US, but it's not atmospheric in any sense.
If you do fly, and assuming you're staying in DC, you can improve your experience significantly by choosing to fly out of DCA, which is right across the river from DC in Arlington, VA. It has much better transit links to DC and is a less expensive cab ride.
Travel on July 4th is likely only "nightmarish" if you are driving. Air/rail will be standard crowded high-season in the northeast. Don't give it a second thought.
I agree. Where automobile travel is most likely to jam up over the Fourth of July weekend is on routes from major cities out to beach/natural destinations (and then back at the end of the weekend), such as NYC to the Hamptons, Philadelphia to the Jersey shore, DC to the Chesapeake/Atlantic shore, Boston to Cape Cod, etc.