CheshireCat Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Yes I know flying is much quicker and probably cheaper, but I am thinking of making this trip by train in October. I've never been to the area before and I hope to be able to see more of the Fall colour in upper NY State this way than if I fly.But I have no experience of US rail travel so can anyone comment:- Is it worth paying for the business class seat (it's a 12 hour journey)?- Any views on the availability and quality of food on the train or should I bring a picnic?- Any other helpful advice?I have found a way of saving 20% off the train fare (using the code V148 that I got from my "Trip Rewards" hotel card is good for this trip but the code V822 that I found on a couple of websites isn't). Are there any better savings to be made?Thanks everyone. Link to comment
TravelGuy Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 I've taken the same train from Niagara Falls to Toronto. The coach cars are old and beaten up. I didn't see the business class ones, but I would assume they would be better. If the extra price of business class is not a lot to you, it might very well be worth it. The food in the Cafe Car is marginal, so I would by all means bring a picnic. If you'd like to view the Falls, I would check with Amtrak to see if there are any good fares with stopovers available. If you've never been to Buffalo, I think that's a surprisingly underrated city that would be well worth a stopover as well. (If Amtrak doesn't allow stopovers, you could get a r/t on Greyhound from Buffalo for about only $30, with a free stopover at the Falls.)The fall color in upstate NY should be quite nice; however the scenery from Niagara Falls to Toronto is uninspiring.The train is operated by Amtrak up to the border, where ViaRail takes over, although there is no change of equipment. The ViaRail conductor I had was a vibrant 20-something Quebecois man, overflowing with life and personality, who made the trip memorable despite the ugly equipment and scenery. Lastly, I think the 20% off is about as good as you're going to find. Link to comment
MJRBIM Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 I've taken the train from Toronto to Albany in the past, and would NEVER do it again....The cars are beaten-up, the food is terrible/expensive and runs out quickly....and worst of all - the border crossing was painfully slow 2 1/2 hours (and that was before 9/11). Link to comment
thesqueegeekid Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 We have a smaller Canadian airline which usually has good deals to Toronto from LGA or EWR...www.jetsgo.netI put in the dates of your Toronto hotel purchase ... Oct 5-7 and it is only $52 each way ... with taxes $198 Canadian total from either airport. Link to comment
CheshireCat Posted September 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Thanks for the input.As I said originally, I know flying will be quicker and cheaper but thanks thesqueegeekid for the info on Jetsgo. I'd never come across them before.Given the info on the state of the cars and food, if I do decide to take the train then I will go business class and take some food.But my main reason for considering travelling by rail is the view and I was particuallrly thinking about the journey up the Hudson valley. So does anyone have any info on this? I will be picking up a car in Toronto and will do Niagara then. Link to comment
CheshireCat Posted October 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 :) Well we took the train. The business classs seats were very comfortable, much like an airline business class seat. The views all the way up the Hudson valley were really nice. The conductor on the US sidewas a helpful, friendly guy who kept coming by to point things out to us and the other passengers. We did take some bread, ham and cheese with us. I am glad we did. There was good coffee available but the microwave pizzas and hotdogs looked awful.We arrived in Toronto on time and totally non-stressed. After 5 days of New York's noise and bussle it was nice to sit back and relax. I'd recommend this trip to others. Link to comment
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