Should I rail or fly? What do you do during long layovers?

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dexterous

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Excuse me for being clueless. I would appreciate the advice.

I would like to visit my friend in Austin, TX (coming from Atlanta). I hate flying. I have my own business and I'm flexible. Want to be there for a weekend in the next month.

It's crazy the routes Amtrak suggests... which include going all the way to DC and Chicago! Through customizing, I came up with this:

  • Tuesday, April 29, 2014
  • Atlanta to New Orleans
  • 8:38 am - 7:32 pm
  • 11 hr, 54 min

  • Wednesday, April 30, 2014
  • New Orleans to San Antonio
  • 9:00 am - 12:05 am (Thu, May 1)
  • 15 hr, 5 min
Then San Antonio to Austin has one for 7am on Thursday (2 hours).

First of all, is this the best route? Second, what do I do in these long layovers? Are there places to sleep, hotels? Is this a terrible idea? I thought about renting a car at certain stops, even from New Orleans (7 hours)... but it starts to really not be worth it and I should just fly.

The flights on Monday are much cheaper, and I'm willing to fly home for $100.

My route is $74 + $75 $ 14, nearly the same as the $150 flying to get there. I know it's a lot longer, but I have the freedom and kind of wanted to treat it like a site-seeing trip... I've never ridden on rail. Am I crazy?

Advice is appreciated!
 
you might try to call to see if a route from Atlanta to Washington to Chicago to Austin might work. Might have time to sightsee in Washington and Chicago.
 
You may get a slightly better price booking as a multi-city trip. I would enter ATL-SAS (Atlanta-San Antonio) in the first segment block; just be sure to time it for one of the three days a week that the Sunset Limited operates from New Orleans. Enter SAS-AUS in the second segment block for the next day, and see what you come up with.

You will need to book a hotel room for the overnight in New Orleans at your own expense. A decent bed and breakfast can be had for close to $100; I have stayed at the Fairchild House in the Garden District and at the Ambassador Hotel near Harrah's casino; I can recommend both establishments.

The seven hour layover in San Antonio is really too short for a hotel stay. If you are a party animal, I would recommend sampling the night life on the San Antonio Riverwalk until two or three in the morning, then sober up with some hot coffee and an early breakfast at the Denny's two blocks from the San Antonio station.

If I were making the trip I would take the Crescent and Sunset Limited via New Orleans, then check and see if my friend felt up to driving down from Austin to San Antonio to pick me up.
 
There is no really good way (i.e., fast and convenient) to take Amtrak from Atlanta to Austin, Every routing takes at least two days, and more than 3 days on some routings. It will be much faster -- and much less expensive -- to fly than to rail between does two destinations.
 
Simply there is no good(nor ANY) way to go east to/from west south of Chicago or north of New Orleans -- a crying shame. Excepting the overnight stop in Memphis by CONO, there is absolutely no Amtrak service in Tennessee. Totally POLITICS!
 
I would do rail myself. Overnighting in N.O., what can possibly be wrong with that? The overnight in SAS, different story......you could, as suggested, hit the Riverwalk till 2:00 AM, but you still have 4 hours to fill........there are several good hotels, but for that short a time it may or may not be worth it to you.

The idea to get someone from Austin to meet you in SAS for some Riverwalk is a quite good one.
 
The only thing wrong with overnighting in New Orleans is the guaranteed lack if sobriety.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I overnight in N.O. from time to time, many times several nights at a time. There is a lot to do there, from graveyard and "haunted" tours with Bloody Mary's Tours to Dixieland jazz @ Preservation Hall to Zydeco and bowling @ Mid City Lanes (AKA Rock & Bowl), with much more between these, and I have been sober for nearly 19 years, enjoying life for every minute of it!
 
You may get a slightly better price booking as a multi-city trip. I would enter ATL-SAS (Atlanta-San Antonio) in the first segment block; just be sure to time it for one of the three days a week that the Sunset Limited operates from New Orleans. Enter SAS-AUS in the second segment block for the next day, and see what you come up with.
I realize that I may not have been clear for someone who is unfamiliar with Amtrak. Since the Sunset Limited will be the second day of your trip, you need to time your Atlanta departure for the day before it operates. Since the SL operates westbound on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays you need to schedule your Atlanta departure for either a Sunday, Tuesday, or a Friday. Clear as mud?
 
The only thing wrong with overnighting in New Orleans is the guaranteed lack if sobriety.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I overnight in N.O. from time to time, many times several nights at a time. There is a lot to do there, from graveyard and "haunted" tours with Bloody Mary's Tours to Dixieland jazz @ Preservation Hall to Zydeco and bowling @ Mid City Lanes (AKA Rock & Bowl), with much more between these, and I have been sober for nearly 19 years, enjoying life for every minute of it!
The dinner jazz cruise on the steamboat Natchez is a blast. Unfortunately, the Crescent's arrival is late enough to make a same-day cruise problematic.

If you're staying two nights, though...don't miss it!
 
I know this is a site for fans of train travel, but I would certainly fly on this route. It is a given that trains take longer on long routes between cities, but this is just too much extra time and money to justify taking the train.

I would fly Delta non-stop for 2.5hrs. They have one-way tickets on the day you mentioned for $199, or just $278 for first class.

I would save my money for a trip in a sleeper, on a route that is better suited for Amtrak's schedules.
 
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My two cents - Your question is a reasonable one, with frustrating answers. While I encourage train travel, I would be inclined to fly this one. If you have a leisurely schedule and would like to spend a night or two in New Orleans and then continue to San Antonio, have your friend meet you, and then fly back from Austin ( or perhaps in reverse ) I might consider that idea. Spending the night in San Antonio hanging out for a third short train segment would definitely not be my idea of fun. Good luck.
 
As others have said, Amtrak is basically missing the routes it should have from the Southeast to the Southwest. There's only the Crescent (New Orleans-Atlanta-DC-NYC). It's unfortunate.

The Amtrak system map is informative in this regard. http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/948/674/System0211_101web,0.pdf

Worse, the train from New Orleans to San Antonio (the Sunset Limited) only runs 3 days a week. This is why Amtrak is suggesting routes through DC and Chicago -- if you travel on the "wrong day of the week", the only route is through Chicago. (This route is actually in some senses quicker than the route you found, but it's more expensive.)

Almost all Amtrak trains run daily or more often. The two exceptions are the Sunset Limited (New Orleans-Houston-San Antonio-Tucson-Los Angeles) and the Cardinal (NYC-DC-Charlottesville VA - Charleston WV-Cincinnati OH-Indianapolis IN-Chicago), and there are daily trains for part of the Cardinal's route. If you hang out on any Amtrak fan forum for a while, you'll hear a lot of complaining about this three-trains-a-week business.

Since you hate flying, I'd still try to not fly. But Atlanta to Austin is a trip which is barely possible on Amtrak. (At least you're not trying to go to Columbus Ohio.)

Then San Antonio to Austin has one for 7am on Thursday (2 hours).
First of all, is this the best route?
Yes. You'll note that it takes nearly as long as the route through DC and Chicago, but it's cheaper.

Second, what do I do in these long layovers? Are there places to sleep, hotels?
The train station in New Orleans is in an *excellent* location and is connected to the New Orleans streetcar network. http://www.norta.com/Maps-Schedules/Streetcar-Schedules-Maps.aspxIt's a great place for a layover. You should be able to find a hotel without even needing a taxi.

In San Antonio, the station is downtown. It's not really long enough to sleep, unfortunately. E H Bowen's suggestion of the San Antonio Riverwalk is the best I've heard.

(On the route thorough DC and Chicago, again, both stations are downtown and you can just walk to major attractions while you're waiting. That's what you do on the layovers. It's one of the things I like about train travel; you aren't stuck "behind security" in a boring airport.)

The train is a lot slower than the roads in Texas. If you don't mind driving, you might want to consider options involving driving, as you noted.

If you had to rent a car in Austin, you would probably want to rent a car and drive from Houston at least... so I'm guessing that you're planning to go without renting a car in Austin. Austin isn't exactly a walkable city, so it's possible your friend might have a car? It might work to have your friend pick you up from San Antonio or Houston.

Is this a terrible idea? I thought about renting a car at certain stops, even from New Orleans (7 hours)... but it starts to really not be worth it and I should just fly.

The flights on Monday are much cheaper, and I'm willing to fly home for $100.

My route is $74 + $75 $ 14, nearly the same as the $150 flying to get there. I know it's a lot longer, but I have the freedom and kind of wanted to treat it like a site-seeing trip... I've never ridden on rail. Am I crazy?
Only a little. :) You would be pretty much seeing the worst side of Amtrak, unfortunately -- the slowest, least frequent, and least direct routes. You could make it quite a nice sightseeing trip if you want to, though.
 
I live in Austin, love New Orleans and have made the Train trip you ask about several times! I agree with the others to ride the Train from ATL-NOL, spend the night, then take the Sunset Ltd to SAS and have your friend pick you up, Austin is 80 miles up I35!

Then book a cheap ticket and fly home to ATL!
 
My two cents - Your question is a reasonable one, with frustrating answers. While I encourage train travel, I would be inclined to fly this one. If you have a leisurely schedule and would like to spend a night or two in New Orleans and then continue to San Antonio, have your friend meet you, and then fly back from Austin ( or perhaps in reverse ) I might consider that idea. Spending the night in San Antonio hanging out for a third short train segment would definitely not be my idea of fun. Good luck.
I agree with this wholeheartedly.
 
Austin isn't exactly a walkable city, so it's possible your friend might have a car?
Austin has a decent bus system though (and is super cheap $2 for a day pass) I have a friend who lives there and chooses not to own a car. She has a driver's license and I know could afford one.

I was there without a car and buses and walking got me around fine (a lot better than other cities I've been too without a car).
 
I would fly Delta non-stop for 2.5hrs. They have one-way tickets on the day you mentioned for $199, or just $278 for first class.

I would save my money for a trip in a sleeper, on a route that is better suited for Amtrak's schedules.
I would fly and if it's within reason I'd fly first class (and $79 dollars is very reasonable.) At Atlanta you'll get to go to the front of the TSA line, have snacks and drinks at Delta's first class lounge, board the plane first, have another drink, a meal and be the first off the plane 2.5 hours later. It's the first class travel experience we all wish Amtrak would offer sleeper passengers.

That being said... you should definitely try Amtrak on a better route (like Atlanta to New York.)
 
There are times when choosing Amtrak is simple and easy. Unfortunately you're traveling between cities that Amtrak struggles to reach with practical connections in a reasonable time frame. That being said if you really want to make this work then there are several suggestions already given. If you need more details just let us know. Also keep in mind that there are hotels near the station in San Antonio. In fact there is one that is literally just across the street. Any further advice would depend on whether just you want this to be an easy trip or are willing to turn it into some kind of bizarre adventure.
 
The only thing wrong with overnighting in New Orleans is the guaranteed lack if sobriety.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I overnight in N.O. from time to time, many times several nights at a time. There is a lot to do there, from graveyard and "haunted" tours with Bloody Mary's Tours to Dixieland jazz @ Preservation Hall to Zydeco and bowling @ Mid City Lanes (AKA Rock & Bowl), with much more between these, and I have been sober for nearly 19 years, enjoying life for every minute of it!
If your sober in NOL you are doing it wrong. That being said congrats on kicking your habit.
 
you might try to call to see if a route from Atlanta to Washington to Chicago to Austin might work. Might have time to sightsee in Washington and Chicago.
Yeah - that's the smartest all-train routing. But it's a day longer and for those dates, about $350 - $400 in coach. Advantage is no overnight in a hotel, if you can call that an advantage from being in coach.

Spend the night in New Orleans.
 
Not everyone needs booze to enjoy NOL.
 
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