In late August My Beloved and I are taking Amtrak from Portland to Los Angeles to go to Worldcon, around 30 hours (no sleeper). Has anyone ever done this route? Any tips on what to take, do or see along the way?
My ex and I took a similarly long Amtrak trip, but not the same one as yours. Ours was from Whitefish, MT to Seattle, WA for an Alaskan Cruise. On the trip out, like you we opted for no sleeper thinking we could sleep in the seats, and even though the seats were fairly comfortable, the train kept stopping along the way, as trains do, with people boarding and leaving and everyone talking loudly and that made it virtually impossible to sleep. On the trip back home we paid for the sleeper and it was the best money I have every spent. YMMV.
My wife and I took Amtrak from LA to Emeryville (Bay Area), and we got a roomette. We weren’t traveling overnight, but it got us meals included, and a private compartment. That was in 2022 when having our own breathing space was a priority for us. The pacific coast Amtrak route is gorgeous!
We’ve done DC to Jacksonville FL many times. Always seats, never a room. Every trip was pleasant except for one, in which we were seated at the end of a car under the safety light that never went out. That plus the door constantly opening (plus my wife being pregnant at the time) made that trip somewhat of a nightmare.
I still love trains and train trips. My wife could take or leave them.
Paging @WildaBeast
My only experience on the Coast Starlight was northbound from SLO to San Jose years ago. We did seats for that and it was fine for a shorter trip like that, but man, I would want the room for anything longer.
Just know that altho the name of the route includes the word “Coast”, you are only on the coast for the section south of Pismo Beach to Ventura, and includes a section where there are no roads around Vandenberg north of Santa Barbara. Not to say the mountains and valleys aren’t beautiful in their own right, but truth in advertising and all that.
I took a round trip from SF (Oakland) to Salem and back maybe 20 years ago, so it may have changed.
Tip 1: note how many hours and what part of the route will be in darkness. If I recall correctly, it was most of southern Oregon and a good bit of northern California, i.e. some of the best mountain scenery. But the schedule may well have changed. And of course you will want to be sleeping during some of that time.
Tip 2: The seat I had was awful. The cushioning was flat and after 30 minutes felt hard and uncomfortable. I could no more sleep than fly. On the trip up I had to keep getting up to move around, just to keep from cramping up. On the trip down, after the snack bar closed and that car was dark-ish, I was able to lay down on the long bench seats and get a little sleep. I really regretted not getting a roomette, but maybe the seats have been upgraded since then. I don’t think there will be any way to find out in advance.
Tip 3: Don’t expect much from the food. It was okay.
I hope you enjoy your trip.
Re: food, you’ll have two options - the full service dining car, and the cafe.
The cafe is located on the lower level of the observation car (where you’ll usually find the Mennonites camped out all day) and serves microwaved meals like hot dogs, cheese pizza, cheeseburgers, and grab-and-go stuff like sandwiches, salads, candy, soda, beer and mini bottles of liquor, etc. Expect to pay movie theater prices. If you have room to pack some snacks and beverages in your carryon, I’d recommend doing so. (No outside alcohol, though.) It’s open most of the day, but it occasionally closes for the attendant’s breaks and meals, and I think it closes for the night around 9 or 10.
Dining car meals are included with a sleeper fare, but since you’ll be in coach, it’s prix fixe per meal - I think it’s something like $25 for breakfast, $30 for lunch, and $50 for dinner. You’ll almost definitely be seated with strangers, since the booths seat four people and they try to use all of the seats. You’ll usually get a chance to meet someone and have a short friendly conversation. Soda/coffee/juice is included. Breakfast starts at 6 and ends at 10 or so, lunch is from like noon to 2, and dinner from 5 to 8. You need to make reservations for dinner and you can do that through the conductor. The Coast Starlight actually has a full kitchen where they’ll cook food to order, though the menu is obviously limited (you can’t have a deep fryer on a train for pretty obvious reasons). Breakfast is a choice of egg dishes with home fries, French toast, or continental with oatmeal and yogurt, and you can order a breakfast meat on the side. Lunch is a few light dishes most of which come with Kettle Chips. Dinner is a three-course meal that includes an appetizer, a main with a side or two, dessert, and an alcoholic beverage of your choice. I recommend the steak dinner, which they’ll cook to your liking and comes with a baked potato, veggies, and port wine sauce. If they have the flourless chocolate torte for dessert, absolutely go for that.
Protip: If you have more than one electronic device you want to keep charged, I’d recommend bringing a power strip with you - the Superliner cars which make up Amtrak’s west coast fleet date to the '70s and only have one outlet per seat.
You rang?
I did the Coast Starlight round trip between Sacramento and Santa Barbara in coach back in 2014. And I’m literally leaving next week to take it northbound to Portland (and connecting to the Empire Builder), this time in a sleeper.
As @snowthx mentioned, the most scenic section is from just south of San Luis Obispo to just north of Santa Barbara. Heading southbound, I would head to the observation car when the train is stopped in SLO and try to snag a seat on the right side for the best views. Seats in the observation car are first come, first serve. But I think the section between Paso Robles and SLO when you’re descending the Cuesta Grade is pretty scenic in its own right, and if you want to be in the observation car for that section try to sit on the left. On the right you’ll pretty much just be staring at a rock wall. So, TLDR for the best views, in Paso Robles try to get a seat on the left side of the observation car, then when you get to San Luis Obispo try to switch to the right side.
As I said, I’ve not done the section north of Sacramento yet, but if you’re on schedule most of that section will be during the night anyway.
I think the food in the actual dining car is actually quite good, or at least some items are. The stuff from the cafe car is basically microwaved convenience store fare.
From what I understand, Amtrak is allowing coach passengers to eat in the dining car again, for an additional charge, of course. Heading south from Portland you should have the option to get dinner in the dining car the first evening, and at least breakfast and lunch the next day. I’m not if they serve dinner before you get to Los Angeles, since I only went as far south as Santa Barbara. Note that lunch and dinner in the dining car require a reservation. The conductor should come around taking reservations before mealtimes. In my experience they take reservations from the sleeper passengers first, then coach, so coach passengers tend to get the less desirable seatings. Breakfast is first come, first served.
If you do choose to eat in the dining car, I highly recommend the steak for dinner. The french toast for breakfast is pretty good, too. The lunch options are all pretty descent albeit not spectacular.
For additional food options, the aforementioned cafe is on the lower level of the observation car, and like I said serves more or less convenience store type fare. Stuff like microwavable hot dogs and pizzas, snacks, soft drinks, beer, wine, etc.
For reference, the typical train layout is sleeper cars at the front, then the dining car behind them, then the observation car, then the coach cars at the back.
Unless it’s changed since I took the Empire Builder in 2023, only dinner requires a reservation.
You might be right. I remember needing to make a reservation for lunch on the Coast Starlight in 2014, but that might not be the case anymore.
Were they letting coach passengers eat in the dining car yet in 2023, or was it still just sleeper passengers? I can’t remember when I did my trip in the California Zephyr, 2022 or 23. At that time they indeed didn’t require a reservation for lunch, but it was only open to sleeper passengers. I’m wondering if they might require reservations again now that it’s open to coach passengers.
My favorite dessert was by far the cheesecake. One steak I had was superb, another was merely good. I had a roomette (Empire Builder La Crosse to Everett and back).
Brian
I was in a roomette, but I believe the dining car was open to coach passengers at that point. They did offer sleeper passengers the option of having dinner delivered to their room, which I absolutely partook of the first night.
I took pictures of that dinner;
I did the full route from Seattle to Chicago and loved it. The morning of the second day, passing through the Rocky Mountains in western Montana while they were still covered with snow, was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I caught rotavirus from the sleeper bathroom and wound up in the hospital a few days later, but as that’s unlikely to happen twice I’d absolutely do it again.
$20 for breakfast, $25 for, $45 for dinner~which includes wine or a cocktail of your choice.
There is a series on YouTube called “Grounded Life” that is excellent. There is a lot of them so you can tiptoe around until you find the best one to answer your questions.
I took that train in 2000. The excitement and biggest problem was that someone decided to exit the train between stops somewhere in Oregon in the middle of the night. The train stopped for at least two hours while they looked for her. I don’t know if they ever found her.
By the time we got going we were so far behind schedule that when we got to all the good scenery it was dark. And we missed our connection. Thanks, nameless selfish person!
I believe that we leave around 2pm on Sunday and get to our destination around 10pm the next day. Two trains, Portland to LA then LA to Anaheim (second trip around an hour). If the first train comes in too late there are multiple ways to get to Anaheim. I think the plan is to hit the dining car the first night for dinner, then have a large lunch there the next day. Because they usually fill the table with two other people we usually have a great time swapping tales and expectations with our tablemates.
Honestly, I would never take an overnight AmTrak without a sleeper again. I did it years ago from Seattle to MSP and it was just misery. The sleepers aren’t great, because you are still subject to the swaying and clanking, starting and stopping, but at least you’re not having to listen to everyone around you.
The incredible cost jump wasn’t in the budget.
For just one night I imagine it’s no worse than an overnight flight in coach. Maybe slightly better since the train has way more legroom. I wouldn’t want to do multiple nights in coach, though.
The price jumps from $211 each way to around $1400 each way if we try get a roomette.