America & intra-railing?

cotwold

Has anyone traveled around America with amtrak? They have a rail pass similar to the inter-rail in europe and am considering getting it for this summer. Any suggestions of experiences, advice would be appreciated.

(Theres a lot less to read about this kind of holiday than the inter-rail or some of the more conventional backpacker holidays)

Neamhshuntasach

Traveled a bit with Amtrak while i lived in the US. The longest was from LA to Jacksonville in Florida. Stopped in a few places along the way. This was a few years ago and that line has since been discontinued due to Hurricane Katrina. From experience Amtrak doesn't run too well. It's heavily underfunded and there are always delays. I never boarded or got off anywhere on time. And the feckers wouldnt let you drink on the train. You had to buy it from their overpriced snack bar. It was too expensive for the sleeper cars and they book up pretty quick apparently. The sights were pretty good and you get to meet a good few people. I don't think too many tourists/backpackers do the whole US train thing.

tipp86

Went san fran to santa b on amtrak. Unreal comfortable but pretty slow loads of room and good observation decks. Would travel with them again