New York to Phoenix

I plan to travel from New York to Phoenix later this year and would

prefer to travel on Amtrak. Amtrak does not pass through Phoenix,

but offers Maricopa, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ as alternate stations.

There is bus travel from Flagstaff but apparently nothing from Maricopa.

Has anyone taken Amtrak to Phoenix? If so, would you recommend Flagstaff

or Maricopa. I would welcome any advice.

Shanghai said:

There is bus travel from Flagstaff but apparently nothing from Maricopa.

Has anyone taken Amtrak to Phoenix? If so, would you recommend Flagstaff

or Maricopa. I would welcome any advice.

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Hubby and I rode the Sunset Limited from LFT to Maricopa last December. Our daughter lives in Mesa, so she was able to pick us up (the train arrives in the middle of the night)

Since then we have found out about a shuttle bus that has two round trips per day, but it is not affiliated with Amtrak. That might be why you can't find any info on Amtrak's website. The shuttle is operated by the Town of Maricopa.

You can see the route info and get fare info here:

Maricopa shuttle info

Shanghai said:

I plan to travel from New York to Phoenix later this year and would

prefer to travel on Amtrak. Amtrak does not pass through Phoenix,

but offers Maricopa, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ as alternate stations.

There is bus travel from Flagstaff but apparently nothing from Maricopa.

Has anyone taken Amtrak to Phoenix? If so, would you recommend Flagstaff

or Maricopa. I would welcome any advice.

Click to expand...

:hi: Dick: Think youre better off taking the SWC to Flagstaff, most members will probably agree with this also! Even though the Eagle/Sunsets are my Home Trains, I recommend the SWC over them for this trip! If you havent been to the Grand Canyon (you probably have! ^_^ )this is an excellent chance to go over and check it out! I wouldnt depend on the so called shuttle and there are NO Taxis to meet the Train in the middle of the night @ there's no there Maricopa!! The Flagstaff/Phoenix bus connection is EZ,or you can rent a car! Google it up on here or other sites, weve had this thread several times before! Nice Trip, I'm envious down here in 108 degree Phoenix East! Jim

My 3 cents -- I agree with getting off in Flagstaff and renting a car. I did think and in fact, there was a Hertz station right in the terminal there and someone from Hertz met me, gave me the keys and sent me on my way. I am not sure if they take walk-ups however, so you may want to make a reservation.

As I recall that train arrives in the early to mid-evening.

After getting off the train, I did drive to Phoenix in the dark and I don't recommend it unless driving with your eyes closed is OK with you. (Yes, it was *THAT* dark!!!).

-- Jackie

I too might suggest taking the train to FLG, renting a car and driving ti Phoenix. (You'll need one there anyway.)

In FLG, the road that the train station is on turns into the beginning of I-17 - which goes right to the center of Phoenix! There are many hotels in FLG to stay at before you start driving. There is not many places to stop overnight on the way. I would do this drive in the daylight - even though it's only a few hours.

I too have driven I-17 at night (when I lived in AZ) - and even broke down at night! Not recommended!

Ditto…….take the train to Flagstaff, rent a car, and stay the night. Drive to Phoenix the next day.

The train gets in at a decent hour (though often is running an hour behind), so you can get to your hotel and in bed before midnight. The drive down I-17 is very pretty during the day.

If you don't need a car and decide to just jump on the bus from Flagstaff to Phoenix, be aware that it's about a mile from the Flagstaff train station to the Flagstaff greyhound station, and there's no provided transportation. You can take a taxi and if I recall it's only like $2 or $3. I haven't done this but I've traveled to Flagstaff twice now on Amtrak and I recall many passengers who were a little surprised by this added cost, since when you book through Amtrak they make no mention of this.

If you have never been to Sedona, I'd highly recommend it! As a matter of fact, on my first & only trip to Arizona, I found there are tons of interesting places to visit!!!

I took Amtrak SWC to flagstaff then took a cab to the greyhound station a few blocks away its like a 4 hour trip via greyhound to the phoenix station. my mom and I visited her brother back in 07 and he met us in phoenix since he lives in surprise Arizona.

Rail Freak said:

If you have never been to Sedona, I'd highly recommend it! As a matter of fact, on my first & only trip to Arizona, I found there are tons of interesting places to visit!!!

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Agreed! I'd stay over in Flag and rent a car and drive down the next day. Hop on US89 south out of Flag and hit Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Prescott, and Jerome....then into Phoenix. Basically just a very scenic outer loop instead of the boring Interstate. I remember leaving Flag on a Memorial Day morning years ago....it was 32 degrees. 132 miles later in Phoenix it was 97!