auto train to florida

[familyaffair]

has anyone taken the amtrak auto train?? the only issue i have with it is 4 hours away from the port but the good news it will save us like 1200 on airfare :D

[moonmom]

yes...i actually JUST returned on sunday from florida on the auto train...anything specific you'd like to know? be glad to answer any q's that i can.....

jane

[familyaffair]

did you enjoy the ride?? did you have children with you i will be taking 4:eek:, i found the driving directions to the port so i know we will be there in time. i also heard it is the party train

[I&MsMom]

Just curious - were you able to find good rates? Anytime I've looked into it, it was a LOT more expensive than flying and renting a car put together! :eek: We're a family of 4.

[moonmom]

No i did not have kids with me...just my mom...;) but we each had a sleeper car ("roomette") so it made the trip a little less painful. We both had our cars in FL as we stayed there for the better part of the winter and needed to bring them back up north...and she did not feel that she could do the driving alone. The rates seem to vary depending on the day of the week and time of year and of course the sleepers add a bit to the cost. They do offer modest aaa discounts (maybe 10%) but it does not apply to the auto. I have an suv so that added more $...so no it was not inexpensive...but less than shipping both cars and flying....our total was ~1100...but again that was for 2 cars, 2 sleepers and 2 passengers....

 

I have gone coach before and found that it really wasn't that bad as far as sleeping....i would allow a day to catch up though...it still took me a day or so to recover from the tough sleep in the train.

 

If you have any other questions i'd be happy to try to answer...oh and amtrak's website is pretty good for checking out rates!

 

jane

[infoprof56]

has anyone taken the amtrak auto train?? the only issue i have with it is 4 hours away from the port but the good news it will save us like 1200 on airfare :D

 

Are you sailing out of Miami? We took the autotrain last year for our cruise out or Port Canaveral which is only a little over an hour from the train because AMtrak had a really good deal going then. Miami or Lauderdale you need to allow more than 4 hours. Traffic in South Florida can be really bad some times. My teenage kids hated the trip on the train by the way. Also, our trip down arrived several hours late because of heavy frieght train traffic. So definately do not cut your time close if you chose this option. If you are going out of a south Florida port based on our experience I would be worried if there was less than 12 hours time between scheduled arrival and ship boarding deadline. Our train was at least 4 hours late arriving in Sanford and if your car is one of the last to come off you need to figure time for that too. As far as the party train thing, I didn't really find that to be the case. Of course we were heading to a short Carnival cruise to the Bahamas so in comparison to that the train was full of teatotalers. There were a few drinkers on baord but it was very quiet overnight. Still don't count on much sleep in coach unless you are the type that can sleep anywhere.

[familyaffair]

Just curious - were you able to find good rates? Anytime I've looked into it, it was a LOT more expensive than flying and renting a car put together! :eek: We're a family of 4.

 

I&MsMom - We thinking about taking the train down on a sat. with a return on sunday and my price was a 1000.28 (made a mistake yesterday and forgot to do round trip):confused: anyhoo i price the airfare for us and that would be 2001. and some change

infoprof56 - yes we are selling out of miami it's about a 4 hour drive according to the timeframe we should get in about 8:30 am then again we could always leave on a friday our cruise is not til sunday a day of travel stay with family and we could be on our way (i am thinking out loud) and then i would not have the stress of missing the boat :D

[infoprof56]

I&MsMom - We thinking about taking the train down on a sat. with a return on sunday and my price was a 1000.28 (made a mistake yesterday and forgot to do round trip):confused: anyhoo i price the airfare for us and that would be 2001. and some change

 

infoprof56 - yes we are selling out of miami it's about a 4 hour drive according to the timeframe we should get in about 8:30 am then again we could always leave on a friday our cruise is not til sunday a day of travel stay with family and we could be on our way (i am thinking out loud) and then i would not have the stress of missing the boat :D

 

As I said we got in very late when we used the autotrain and the train crew did not seem to be acting like it was an unusual thing. It was around 1:00 when we got on the road to the port from Sanford. Also, I have made the trip from Orlando to South FLorida many times as I had relatives in both towns. While four hours travel is correct in perfect conditions I know that it can take much longer then that due to traffic and or weather conditions. If you choose the autotrain you should definately consider arriving a day early.

[tsgators]

We took the auto train last summer going in the opposite direction. As stated before, we were also late arriving into Lorton, Va. It really depends on the freight train traffic. If you are one of the lucky ones to get your car off early, great!! Otherwise, it can take a couple of hours to unload all the vehicles.

 

We traveled with my 5 y/o daughter. We had a family room. The nice thing about reserving rooms is your dinner options are also upgraded. The ride was comfortable, it was nice having privacy. As far as the "party train", we did not see that at all. As a matter of fact, it was a very quiet and sedate group.

 

Hope that helps.:)

[familyaffair]

we are still thinking about it now and we may just fly I would hate to miss the boat

[marco]

If you do, I would DEFINATELY plan on arriving the day prior and staying overnight. Twice, my parents used it and both times there were "late arrivals" once almost 4 hours.