Avoid Autotrain during the Summer

[Yorio]

We used to travel by car to The Villages stopping over over night at a nice B&B not far from 1-95 or at a motel next to 1-95. But since we started to bring two cars, we have been using Autotrain successfully. One of the pleasant activities on the train is having dinner with strangers or breakfast with different couples. We had very pleasant conversation with couples during the snowbird seasons and when they say they never heard of The Villages, my wife says I go into a sales presentation mode. They usually are very intrigued. I also learn a lot about other retirement communities and their amenities. However, we have learned that summer is different. We had college kids going back to school or on vacation or families with children. It's a different world out there and we realized that we didn't know how to continue a conversation. I thought I was going to have indigestion. I guess we were young once so not to complain.

[MikeV]

Good to know.

[asianthree]

i like to watch out the window and read..so as long as the kids are under control i would be fine

[cquick]

I have always wanted to take the train from Vancouver, Canada to San Francisco, CA! Some day, maybe

[John_W]

I'm currently in the middle of a round-trip on the Autotrain. Arrived in Maryland last Wednesday and returning to TV on Thursday of this week. We had a totally different impression from our train ride up. As I wrote on another thread, we sat with a brother and sister who were in college and high school, but had a positive experience. They were Iranian looking and the girl wore a scarf around her head. They were probably people who we would of never shared a dining table with but after our encounter I learned a lot about what a young lady attending UCF working on her Phd is going through. Her brother, a high schooler, was also very intelligent and they had great manners. I suggest to anyone, take the Autotrain if possible, it's great and if you have an open mind, you'll meet some wonderful people. This was our second time on the Autotrain, the first was in 2011 while we were on our LSV.

[Villageswimmer]

Agree, JohnW! It's always an adventure meeting and dining with random folks on the AT. Part of the fun and none of the stress of I95.

I've met some very interesting people of all walks of life on the train. It's my favorite way to go back and forth.

[shcisamax]

We will be using the train for our daughter taking her car back to school next summer. Not having taken this train before, could I defer to those who have and ask which accommodations are appropriate for students?

[Bavarian]

Remember what was Autotrain designed and built for. It was to take families to Disney World. It was designed for kids, there was supposed to be movies onboard. When it did not succeed, Amtrak took it over and now seems to be used by less young people going to/from FL. But the original plan was for families.

[skyguy79]

We will be using the train for our daughter taking her car back to school next summer. Not having taken this train before, could I defer to those who have and ask which accommodations are appropriate for students?A coach seat would be the most economical, but if a private accommodation is desired, then a roomette would be best for one person. You can price out reservations at Amtrak - Reservations - Auto Train - Fare Finder (http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/autotrain) as well as find further information in general.

[John_W]

Those rates are seasonal just like golf in TV. Two years ago we traveled in April and paid $800 each way for two adults and one car. This time in August we paid $750 round-trip. I figured traveling by car with motels, gas, meals, wear and tear on the car, etc., that the summer round-trip rate was a pretty good deal.

[skyguy79]

Those rates are seasonal just like golf in TV. Two years ago we traveled in April and paid $800 each way for two adults and one car. This time in August we paid $750 round-trip. I figured traveling by car with motels, gas, meals, wear and tear on the car, etc., that the summer round-trip rate was a pretty good deal.There is some seasonal effects of pricing, but prices are more determined by a system called the "bucket system." I wrote about that in a post several months ago and have provided a copy of it here:

Your information is accurate designerko. This pricing system is called the "bucket'" system, and I'd like to note that prices can change within minutes on not only AutoTrain, but any train reservation you might be making. It happened to us when we called to make reservations a number of years back.

I called to get the pricing and ended the call once I had it. Checked with my wife and we decided to go for it. Called back about 10 minutes later and the price went up. If possible one should be prepared to make a decision while on the line with Amtrak or risk paying a higher price later.

BTW, just as a matter of useless information, I have a total of 23,263 lifetime rail miles and have acquired enough Amtrak rail points that between my wife and I, we could travel by rail from Florida to the West Coast round trip twice in a bedroom twice without paying a cent. I wasn't going to join their program because we didn't travel by rail often, but someone talked me into is and I've been glad they did. For information about their rail point program go to https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/

Someone mentioned about dogs on the train. I don't know how anyone would get away with it. We had pets and went through considerable extra expense because we could not bring them on the train. The only animals that are allowed onboard are law enforcement dogs (usually sniffing for drugs) and those with legitimate accompanying needs. More details are provided on their website.