birdseye

My husband and 2 sons (5 and 7) love trains, and we have never been on a long Amtrak trip. I have more points than money right now, and want to plan a vacation this summer around an Amtrak trip. We live near Seattle, I thought about taking the Coast Starlight to LA and going to Disney Land, but then I saw how much Disney tickets are, multi-day tickets aren't in the budget right now! Maybe a day at Sea World and a day or two at the beach might be a more affordable option for us.

I saw an ad in a magazine for trainholidays.com, scenic guided tours of the National Parks by train. The tours are too expensive for us, but I'm wondering what National Parks we could visit by Amtrak? What are stations near National Parks, and what are the transportation options once you get there? We have 103,000 Chase Sapphire points that can transfer to Amtrak, and lots of Hilton and Priority Club points for hotels. I thought this would be a good time to book a sleeper car before redemption rates go up. The train trip would be a big part of the adventure, but I'd like to have something planned at a destination, as well.

I would appreciate suggestions!

darben

Grand canyon by train is almost perfect for your trip. Amtrak takes you to Williams, AZ and a private company puts you up in Williams hotel and takes you by train to Grand Canyon. There are also other options
Of course the Empire Builder out of Seattle will take you to Glacier National park


You can order printed brochures here

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...=1241267288202.

I recommend these three

Amtrak System Timetable

Amtrak Vacations Brochure: Vacation packages to popular destinations include rail, hotel accommodations, sightseeing tours and more.

Amtrak America: Guide to Amtrak's routes and services.

amamba

www.amtraktoparks.com

I think they launched that last year to help promote taking amtrak to the national parks. I hope this is helpful to you. Enjoy your train trip!

AlanB

Birdseye,

Unfortunately, unless you want to rent a car, getting around most National Parks is rather difficult and in many cases even getting to one would be hard without a car. As noted by Darben, there are two that you can get to via the train without too much trouble, and you can even get around somewhat in those two parks without a car. Unfortunately I'm not real sure that you're going to find any hotel that will accept your points in either place. So that could well be a deal breaker for you.

So I could well see your idea about taking the train to SoCal and then spending a few days at the beach to be one of your better options. If you can get the Family Room which has 4 beds, 2 child sized, you'd need 40,000 AGR points for that trip. And it is a very nice ride, providing both views on mountains & the Pacific Ocean along the way. And the odds of finding a Hilton Family property or a Priority property go way up too!

Personally I'd put the National Parks idea on hold until you can afford a car and potentially an off brand hotel that won't take points.

ElPresidente

Does this actually work for you?

With me, I place my "house" and then.... nothing.

Some tracks, but no parks shown.

nerd

I wasn't able to get the park listings/search page to work. Some column headers but no content.

Armani

If you choose to visit the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend visiting Sedona as well. The Southwest Chief also stops in Flagstaff, which is conveniently located between the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Flagstaff also has a lot more hotel options than Williams, but is further from the Grand Canyon.

Ispolkom

[QUOTE=darben;17871360Of course the Empire Builder out of Seattle will take you to Glacier National park.[/QUOTE]

I took the train to West Glacier, was picked up by the lodge van, and spent three days at the Lake MacDonald Lodge. There are free shuttle buses over the Going to the Sun Road, as well as the Red Bus jammer tours that aren't free. I didn't see everything I might have if I had a car, but I did see a lot.

Another option is Yosemite. You can book a ticket on Amtrak straight to the park (the last leg is a bus, of course).

What's going to get you is hotels. As others have said, it's often hard to find a chain hotel (especially Hilton) near National Parks.

In any case, the Coast Starlight is a wonderful train, and the one-zone redemption for the family bedroom can be a great deal.

alben

+1 on Empire Builder out of Seattle will take you to Glacier National park.

I have friends that have taken the Empire Builder from Minneapolis to Glacier National Park. They loved their trip. The hotel is a walk of about 3 blocks away, if that, from the train stop.

shel

Great idea to visit Glacier National Park without a car.

I did some research, and found there are 3 stops near GNP -- West Glacier, Essex, and East Glacier. West Glacier looks to be the best option, with connection to free shuttle nearby.

The only concern is the 2.5 mile gap between train station (West Glacier) and shuttle terminal (Agpar Transit Center). Is that piece of road pedestrian friendly? Is it safe to walk with a young child? Is taxi available if weather is bad?

I would appreciate any suggestion.

Ted

Yosemite.

Coast Starlight to Sacramento or Martienez, San Joaquin to Merced, bus in to the park. All on one ticket. There is also a free shuttle bus within Yosemite Valley or you can rent bikes, etc. Park accomidations ragne from a four star hotel to lodge rooms to canvas tents to campsites.

sdsearch

Finidng chain hotels of "budget" chains is not actually hard in the "access towns" near many parks. But you have to forget about Hyatt and SPG and probably Hilton and concentrate on Best Western and Choice and WyndhamRewards. For example, you can get a fine (but of course not fancy) Choice hotel on points in Oakhurst, the closest town with full facilities outside Yosemite, and I think BW too, but you have to go another hour further to Merced or Fresno to find a Hampton Inn (Hilton program).

But staying there of course means you're not connecting to the bus to the park from the train, you have to somehow get from the train to the hotel and then from the hotel the long trek to the park.

That's why I consider most national parks iffy with public transport if you want to not spend a lot on hotels. They are so much easier with a car (a rental if you don't live within driving distance of the park). I find it generally way more affordable to rent a car and then stay at a hotel on points or at an inexpensive hotel a bit out of the way, than to not rent a car but then have to pay through the nose for a hotel that keeps you captive and then makes you spend even more on hotel food.

jb64

We stayed at a motel across the street from West Glacier station last summer. We did not walk all the way to the Apgar Transit Center but did walk to the West Glacier Mercantile area. There was a sidewalk the entire way there. There may be transportation available from there. We stayed at the Glacier Highland Resort and enjoyed it. It was a modest, clean family run establishment with a great diner. You could give them a call and they could probably fill you in on transportation options to and from the park from that area.