Amtrak Tips And Tricks | Beginners Guide 

Written information on essential Amtrak travel items and extra tips are available on our blog: www.groundedlifetravel.com/9-essential-items-you-need-on-your-first-amtrak-vacation/

I appreciate videos like this SO MUCH ❤️ I have social anxiety and I need to know every detail before traveling or doing new things in general. I love informative videos like this that allow me to feel prepared and at ease.

Light jacket, small pillow, water bottle, snacks, and laptop. Got it!

Ty so much. Never traveled alone and NEVER by train. I wanna go to GA to see my son, whom I haven't seen in 4yrs..wish me luck

I've never traveled by train and I really want to try it. Thank you for your videos.

Thank you a bunch for this! I'm in Florida for school and using Amtrak to go back to PA for the holiday. Ive never been on long term transport before, let alone doing it alone, and, as someone with anxiety, this makes things so much less nerve wracking for my first trip.

My recommendations include: 1. The staircases on the train are VERY STEEP & NARROW. From the upper to the lower level, I highly recommend BACKING down the staircase, if you have any kind of mobility issues. 2. Locate the handicapped accessible bathrooms at the beginning of your trip. They are MUCH larger.

My tip is that Don't worry and be happy. I love trains!

The wife and I used to bring wipes with us for the bathrooms. Even in our sleeping compartment the wipes helped keep things clean and smelling nice. Just remember each train is different and has different amenities and styles of cars with different seating. Food on the trains is pricy, but pre-Covid food was good and worth splurging for it. I strongly advise getting a room for long trips, expensive yes, but being bottled up in a car for days on end with people can wear you out, literally. I've taken Amtrak three time to Florida, not Autotrain, out of NYC and Philly, it's a wonderful ride, just remember it's like flying, you have delays and holdups.

My family took the train California Zephyr to Chicago and back at Christmas about 4 years ago. We didn't have sleeper berths--just the regular seats. Here are a few suggestions I have. 1) Meals aren't included if you don't have a sleeper berth so you have a choice of going to the dining car, picking up some simple food options in the snack bar or eating food you brought with you. We did some of each. 2) We met super nice people sitting near us one direction and had happy hour with them. I wished we brought more wine noshing food to share. 3) Because the foot rests are so far from your seat, you may be more comfortable have a bag or a cooler to put under your feet when you are sleeping. 4) The bags you "check," i.e. don't have with you at your seat, are stored in a place accessible to all passengers so make sure anything valuable is in the bags you are keeping with you at your seat. 4) Seats are in pairs so if you have an odd number of travelers most likely one of you will be sleeping next to a complete stranger. It is really nice to have a blanket you can kind of hide under at night. 5)Think about having clothes that will be comfortable to sleep in but be in public. Sweats? Flannel pants?

I had horrible bathroom experiences on the Crescent line while traveling from Birmingham to NOLA and Atlanta to New York via coach. Definitely pack a restroom kit with cleaning supplies, wipes, and soap. Even gloves. People are not considerate especially men when using a public restroom on a train

I am a travel agent. This is very helpful to give clients to watch your videos in the future. Thank you.

I am a nurse, and I haven’t traveled in so long I am now preparing to travel for the first time in a long time. I need some relaxation and some downtime for myself so I am prepared to take two weeks off just to travel and see different things on the Amtrak road trip ..thank you so much for your tips and I appreciate this video and all your other videos very much peace and blessings to you and Rob ❤

I love Amtrak. My grandpa was a conductor x 39 years on the Croton-Harmon to NYC line.

*My tip.* *Once the train is moving, you can ask the conductor if there are any empty seats in the business class and can you move.* *I did this on my daily commute from MD to PA.*

Another useful tip: If your Amtrak train is going to travel for a lengthy time through mountain ranges, the cafe car's card reader might be out of commission until the train is out of the mountains. I found out this the hard way while on The Adirondack last summer. But, there was no novel coronavirus spreading last summer, so I had cash to use in the alternative. I'll never forget the cafe car attendant saying, "Remember, cash is king." Yeah, except for this year and next (and hopefully not 2022), cash no longer is king on Amtrak. As you mentioned, Amtrak trains are cashless -- during the Covid-19 pandemic -- so, yes, bring snacks and beverages. I also bring meals that won't give me food poisoning, such as pop-top cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli, spaghetti. I bring dried fruit -- OK, yeah, that's under the "snacks" category. I've read over the years (about bringing food on airplanes, trains and buses) not to bring "stinky" snacks, so please be mindful that what you think doesn't stink, other passenger think does. Basically, don't bring highly "fragrant" foods, if that's the best adjective. I learned the hard way: I love empanadas; just about any type of empanada. For example, one time I rode The Adirondack, I thought it wise to tear into my beef patty, which was sandwiched in coco bread. Oh my goodness! No one ELSE said anything, but it was too fragrant and didn't taste so good either. I opened my patty from the aluminum foil wrapper (which was in a Ziploc bag) around 2 p.m., so this was six hours after the train had departed from New York City's Penn Station. It just was a horrible snacking experience, but I was so hungry and didn't want to spend $15 on a full lumch in the cafe car. I've changed my ways in bringing only snacks and beverages. What I've also been doing, although I don't know if I'd do it while Covid-19 is rampant, is: An hour prior to joining the queue at the boarding gate, I go to one of the nice cafes in NYC Penn to buy a breakfast sandwich, which I slowly devour. It's usually a grilled cheese or grilled cheese w/bacon or just bacon on a buttered roll -- because eating eggs before getting on a train can be a tricky situation (nuff said). After I enjoy my breakfast sandwich, I usually have a bit of orange juice or half a cup of hot coffee or hot tea. But I'm good for a number of hours. No need for expensive food fare on the train -- unless I get hungry six to eight hours in. Anyhoo, I always buy at least one snack and at least two cups of hot coffee and/or tea in the cafe car (on long rail journeys) to support Amtrak or the Amtrak cafe car attendants. During this Covid-19 pandemic, so for me it's my upcoming trip in December (an almost 10-hour rail journey), I plan to bring: my usual number of bottled water and thermoses containing bottled water or distilled water; an empty insulated travel mug into which I will pour hot coffee purchased before joining the boarding line at the Amtrak gate. (After cleaning out my insulated travel mug, I will reuse that mug after purchasing hot coffee in the cafe car. That way, I will not worry about contagions traveling from the air into my sealed travel mug.) I don't mean to come across as paranoid; I simply would feel comfortable as well as safe bringing more of my own apparatuses during a pandemic of such major proportions as what this world is experiencing now. Be safe on your travels, everyone!

You are a fantastic presenter. The presentation was concise and your are a great articulator.

I have not watched this whole video. But I have two huge tips. Bring earplugs for whatever. Noisy kids, cellphone users, the train horn at night, drinking people. Don't ask questions -- just bring them. 2nd hint: They turn down the thermostat at night. Have a coat or blanket. This is not in the Amtrak literature; I learned the hard way. (You cannot make requests late at night because staff disappears.)

Bringing a travel edition of a board game, or a non-gambling card game to the lounge table/booths is not unheard of! Great way to entertain the kids and still see the passing sights of wonder!

I've only traveled by amtrak. I was impressed. I traveled from Salt Lake City to Reno NV. It is no comparison to bus travel. Grayhound treats you like cattle. The car attendant was nice and so we're the people in the dining car. I'd recommend it so put it on your bucket list.

I’m on the train right now and I was trying to figure out how to work the leg rest lol this helped

Thank you. I'm taking my first Amtrak trip in March from Boston to Seattle.

I am all set to have first Amtrak experience with my family from Denver to Glenwood Springs (6hrs). This video is helpful and reduced my stress :)

Going on a train next week for the first time ever with my kids so I thank you oh so much!

I’m planing my first long haul train ride with Amtrak and I have layovers which is super stressful for me lol so glad I found your videos thanks for all this info

I've travelling on Amtrak train even before Amtrak merged private Railroad Company for over 52 years. I hopped once or twice a year acrossing in any part of USA as I love it and no matter if the train is delays or on time because trains travel is a blast with a wonderful socially different people from all over the places and a beauty by looking a view passing in different areas too.

Shaking in between the cars is the best part!

Thanks for creating this video! For the 1st time last month. Took one trip to the next station to try it. it was a good experience. Then later that month rode to the end of the line, took connecting bus, then lyft to final destination to friends house on the beach. It was such a relaxing trip vs driving in car for 6 hours and dealing with other drivers. Also love that I could charge my phone and tablet on the train and bus. Glad they allowed snacks and drinks. Made the 6.5 hour trip very comfortable.

I’ve got my first train ride tomorrow NC to Washington DC. So glad you put this content out. Super helpful in prepping for the trip

I traveled to New Orleans with my mom in my youth and again as an adult. I loved both experiences. All travel tips you gave were great

Thank you for this great video! It makes me feel that I'm ready for my very first Amtrak trip. Again, thank you so much 😁

Excellent video! Actionable, real-world ideas. Thanks for doing it.

taking my first trip from new york to Michigan, I'm nervous but I'm so excited!! thank you for this video

great video

I have accidentally been binging your channel. My dad who is aging fast said he'd love a train trip. I researched our local station to Chicago, but then looked into long distance rail trips. How fun, right?! That's how I found you guys. We watched a few of your long trip videos. He really enjoyed them, and now I want to figure out a trip all over. I'm super excited now. Maybe we'll run into each other one day! Thanks again for your videos! ❤

I haven't taken Amtrak since the 1990's from New York City to Boston but now I'm going from New York to Washington and a lot has changed. Thanks for this video

You guys make train travel sound exciting and adventurous. I’m really looking forward to it now. Thanks for the wonderful videos!

Great and informative! I'm a regular train and air traveler, but this is a perfect video for Amtrak... wonderful!

This honestly helped so much. I'm taking my first train ride from Illinois to Nebraska and my grandmas always telling me how fun and beautiful it is on the trains but I had absolutely no idea what it was like, what I could and couldn't bring and this just really settled me nerves, thank you so much ☺

You did a very good job of educating me on being a passenger on an Amtrak Train! Thank You!

when I stay in a roomette or bedroom with my son, we lower the top bed and put our luggage there. so it's like a bunk bed with storage on top and a sofa on the bottom. unless you are super tall, this is a great way to keep your stuff in the room. at night we just store all the luggage near the door, which also kinda make sure your kiddo doesn't wonder off at night.

This is the Best Video Thank you soo much, I booked my very first Amatrak Train Ride on the 20th next week to Portsmouth, VA But have to get off at Norfolk station and this video helped me out alot to be prepare for when I get on Amtrak..

Super helpful. I leave for PA from FL and this was great. Thank You, great video!

Great video, from one channel to another. Good job!

Booking a 1st trip now. You were very helpful.

I've traveled Amtrak over the past 40 years. I definitely like the "double-decker" cars and the disabled seating and bedrooms on the lower floor. Amtrak food used to be very good and the comment about meals are included with ALL BEDROOMS (roomettes, bedrooms, family bedrooms, and disabled bedrooms. It's actually more restful and comfortable to buy a ticket for a room including all meals. I haven't ridden since the new meals have been introduced. I DO have a cat now, which their policy does accommodate a cat or dog for $26 (certain restrictions apply). The trains do stop every now and then and you can take them out while you both stretch your legs. I also carry wet, flushable wipes so I don't have to feel too dry.

Pro trip: PLAN FOR THAT BATHROOM. She speaks the truth! There is nothing like seeing in person what people do to the bathroom after a few hours of traveling. Just had a 16 hr trip, it was magical other then that.

This is super helpful! Thank you for making this!

I've ridden Amtrak before but these tips still proved helpful. Thank you.

We're taking our first Amtrak trip in 13 days and this video was extremely helpful! Thank you!

This video was so helpful! I drive an electric vehicle with a limited battery range that won't feasibly make an out-of-town trip for me. Normally, I would just borrow a friends car or rent one, but I don't like solo road trips or its carbon footprint so I have decided to do my first Amtrak trip. I appreciate your helpful tips!

Awesome video, exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

Thanks! Super helpful!! 💓👍🏻

Thanks! Taking our first Amtrak trip in August and this really helps. Blessings!

Planning to take my first train ride on the Sunset Limited in a few weeks and was confused about the overall process, but your detailed video helped a lot! Thank you 😊 Also, your shoes look super cute and comfy! I need a pair lol

Great information! Very helpful!

Thank you for such an informative video!

Helped me out a lot I’m taking the Amtrak to Raleigh North Carolina from Washington DC IN March!

My son & I will be traveling to Disney on the train on December. It's our first time. Your video was very helpful. Thank you for the info!

You are incredibly amazing. Thanks for so much information, God bless you!

Excellent video and great tips!

This video should be titled "Amtrak Coach Tips and Tricks". Here's some tips and tricks for sleepers. I've taken several long distance western routes on Amtrak and found that the roomette (small sleeper for 2) is a much better value than many people realize. It's easy to get turned off by sticker shock, but there's ways around that and you also have to understand that your experience in a sleeper is far more relaxing and restorative than traveling in coach. In fact, it's hardly like traveling at all. First, you only pay for the roomette once, but two people can stay. (As long as your companion has a coach ticket, that is) All formal dining car meals are included in the cost of the roomette, for both you AND your companion at no extra charge! (Also, tipping is not expected.) So while people in coach are eating potato chips for breakfast, the sleeper car passengers are eating three proper hot meals a day, cooked in the train galley by Amtrak chefs. (Note that as of writing, routes east of Chicago have converted to a sad airplane food type microwave meal model and are no longer providing freshly prepared meals). Coach passengers can purchase hot meals in the dining car, but the cost is extremely expensive for what you get. Consider that when you're pricing tickets. Hot showers are provided only for sleeper car passengers, and Amtrak provides towels, washcloths and soap. If you walk through the coach cabin after several days of long-distance travel, you'll come to experience the Funk of Coach. It's not pretty. The roomette itself locks from the inside, has a privacy curtain, and is remarkably soundproof. The cabin attendant knows who belongs in the car and keeps an eye on your things for you while you're away. Lastly, always buy Amtrak tickets far in advance. They use a "bucket pricing" system where they sell the bucket of cheapest tickets first. Once they're gone, they go to the next highest tickets, and so on. If somebody cancels a cheap ticket the day before departure, that cheap ticket becomes available for sale. So it's possible to get lucky, but the most reliable way is to book far in advance. Two cheap bucket coach tickets plus a roomette might not cost that much more than two expensive bucket coach tickets. Play around with it and see. All of this means that if you travel with someone and average out the cost of tickets (including hot meals for two people, accommodations on a flatbed, hot showers and a car attendant) your experience on Amtrak might not cost as much as you think, and you'll have a far better overall quality experience. Always tip your car attendant- no less than $5 per day of travel (but more if you can afford it). All attendants I've encountered are competent, but some are more proactive than others and that can really make you the experience that much better. We had one attendant who would convert our roomette to beds while we were at dinner, without having to ask. Also, you can have your attendant bring your meals for you to eat in your room, so if you use their services more you should factor this into the tip you give them.

9:52 As someone with misophonia, I can't tell you HOW FREAKIN HAPPY I was when you mentioned sound issues.

I'm not even planning to go to the USA but I know this info will be utterly valuable if I ever travel on the Amtrak.

Thank you so much for sharing all this info. Very thorough indeed!

I am travelling from New York to Los Angeles, and this video has been so so helpful to me. God bless you.

My brother and I are going on our first Amtrak trip this weekend, I am so happy I found your channel!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! These are great tips, I’m so happy I found this so we can better enjoy our first trip 🥳🥳

thank you so much, this will be my third trip and you gave great advice.

Thanks for these videos. I am considering my first after COVID trip. The roomette looks like a great option.

Thank you!

Thank you so much Godbless you🙏❤️ this is very helpful

Your videos are priceless to me. I am contemplating taking a train this summer. Knowing what to expect is vital to me. I will be watching more videos.

Lots of good tips. Thank you!

planning on a cross country trip this year! this was super helpful!! thank you!!

Thanks for sharing. Planning a trip with my Mom from DC to Seattle

Very important information!!! Thank you!!!

Thank you for the advice on Amtrack and how to do things on it, this will be my first time on an Amtrack train trip with my service dog.

Amtrak is the only way to go if you want to see America and are not pressed for time. I've only travelled once by train, but enjoyed it immensely!

Can't wait going from lorton, VA to Sanford, FL soon! Thanks for the helpful info!

Lots of good tips! Thank you!

Great tips! Thanks!! 💙

Thank you 🙏🏾

My personal tip for first timers bring books no magazines because u can go through that quick or load books/ movies on your tablet I used to bring DVD player and movies till I realized that I had too much crap to keep track of I learned to travel light far as something to pass the time not only do I bring tablet I bring digital camera to take photos of things in distance my camera phone isn’t powerful enough to capture and for night time I bring a travel blanket a sleep mask a pillow and a hoodie and kick off shoes and lean back and enjoy

This is super helpful! Doing Arizona to Rhode Island in a month

NEW SUB!!! So helpful, thank you so much🤗🤗 ❤

Thank You

Thank you! Very informative and helpful video. I'm thinking of taking my teenage son on a trip from Chicago to Seattle via the Empire Builder in the summer.

Super helpful! Thank you for sharing

exceptional video - thank you

I traveled by train years ago from Topeka, KS to Albuquerque NM. I was in coach and loved it. I watch your videos all the time. My daughter and I are thinking of taking a vacation on the train with her husband and 2 kids.

Thank you so much this helps so much

Thank You! Great introduction.

You are the greatest. Clear, practical tips with good visuals. Took one trip on Amtrak turn of millenium, Washington Union Station to Ft Lauderdale. Got off in Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville. Pretty slow but got us there.

Appreciate all these tips! Taking my first train ride between Pittsburgh and Lancaster next week. This helped a lot. Have a great Christmas!

Thank you for your video. The bathroom situation convinced me to pay for a room great tips.

Thank you so much for this helpful video!

GREAT VIDEO!!!

We enjoyed your video. Nice job! We like to suggest decks of cards, and games for adults & children, as well. Great for after dark when you cannot see the mountains anymore! Best wishes and safe journeys to you all! *Cheers!*

Traveling between Boston and NYC a lot, I’m really looking forward to the new Acela and hopeful the new trains will have more amenities.

Great tips! I always wanted to do an Amtrak trip.