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Gabbytony

Gabbytony

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Messages
82
After a week in Vegas I want to catch the CZ back to Illinois. I hear the route is very beautiful and it is a great trip. My trip is next March but I want to get my ticket now so I can get a sleeper.

My question is: Where should I fly to from Vegas to catch the CZ with the least amount of hassle?

I see I can fly to Reno and catch it for fly to California to catch it.

What say you?

Thank you
 
I don't know how easy it is to fly into the Bay Area to catch the CZ with a minimum of hassle at Emeryville, but if I were doing it, given my personal lack of knowledge of the Bay area, I'd fly into Sacramento. I'd want to see the trip over Donner Pass which is why I'd opt for Sacramento at least than Reno. And if it would be easy to fly into any city in the Bay Area and board at Emeryville without much problem, then so much the better!!!
 
Gabbytony said:
After a week in Vegas I want to catch the CZ back to Illinois. I hear the route is very beautiful and it is a great trip. My trip is next March but I want to get my ticket now so I can get a sleeper.

My question is: Where should I fly to from Vegas to catch the CZ with the least amount of hassle?

I see I can fly to Reno and catch it for fly to California to catch it.

What say you?

Thank you
Click to expand...
Flights from Vegas to the Bay Area are not that much longer than Vegas to Reno and are about the same price. In order to get the full effect of trip and include the crossing of the Sierra Nevada over Donner Pass, I would fly into northern California to catch it. If you want to connect the same day, the Zephyr leaves in the morning and you'd almost certainly have to stay overnight in the Bay Area to comfortably catch it in the morning. A reasonable compromise might be to fly into Sacramento, as the train doesn't leave Sac until 11 or so. You could reasonably get to Sac with an early morning flight out of Vegas. The entire Sierra Nevada crossing is east of Sacramento.

If avoiding hassle is your primary concern, the least amount of hassle is to fly to Reno, since it doesn't get to Reno until late afternoon. But you are missing a major part of the run.

Lots of flights to Oakland and Sacramento from Vegas. One note is getting from SMF to downtown Sacramento is kind of expensive. Not a lot of good transit options and the only real good way is a taxi.
 
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There are 2 very scenic stretches on the CZ route. One is the crossing of the Sierra Nevada range and Donner Pass. The other is the crossing of the Colorado Rockies.

Assuming you are going eastbound, if you fly to Reno, you'll miss the 1st one, as that is between CA and Reno. You should fly to one of the SF Bay area airports (but it can be a pain to get to EMY) or even Sacramento. Even if you fly to Reno, you will see the 2nd one.

The good news is that both crossings are all day long, and are both in daylight!
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Thanks to what you guys have said, I have now eliminated Reno as my departure city as I don't want to miss the Sierra Nevada and the Donner Pass view.

Now I have to figure out my best departure city from California that is easily accessible from a Vegas flight.
 
Gabbytony said:
Thanks to what you guys have said, I have now eliminated Reno as my departure city as I don't want to miss the Sierra Nevada and the Donner Pass view.

Now I have to figure out my best departure city from California that is easily accessible from a Vegas flight.
Click to expand...
NO NO NO

Fly to Sacramento!

The Yolo Bus 42A runs nonstop on the I-5 from Sacramento Airport direct to the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento. It's the first stop after the bus gets off the freeway. The bus runs once an hour, leaving the airport at 22 past the hour. So try and time a Southwest flight from Vegas to Sacramento to give you enough time to catch the bus and get to the station, where the CZ will probably be on time.

You don't miss much on the CZ between Emeryville and Sacramento, just a bit of a nice view of San Pablo Bay (part of the San Francisco Bay area) and some views of Sacramento Delta farmland.
 
LA Resident said:
Gabbytony said:
Thanks to what you guys have said, I have now eliminated Reno as my departure city as I don't want to miss the Sierra Nevada and the Donner Pass view.

Now I have to figure out my best departure city from California that is easily accessible from a Vegas flight.
Click to expand...
NO NO NO

Fly to Sacramento!

The Yolo Bus 42A runs nonstop on the I-5 from Sacramento Airport direct to the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento. It's the first stop after the bus gets off the freeway. The bus runs once an hour, leaving the airport at 22 past the hour. So try and time a Southwest flight from Vegas to Sacramento to give you enough time to catch the bus and get to the station, where the CZ will probably be on time.

You don't miss much on the CZ between Emeryville and Sacramento, just a bit of a nice view of San Pablo Bay (part of the San Francisco Bay area) and some views of Sacramento Delta farmland.
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Umm, last time I looked, Sacramento was indeed in California. Kinda makes sense, being the state capital and all. So what is the NO, NO, NO about?

The fact that the bus only runs hourly was one of the problems I had with Sacramento, and chose to take a cab.

I, too think Sacramento is probably the best bet. Pretty reasonable amount of service LAS-SMF, so getting a morning flight is entirely practical. The second best is to cut Vegas short, fly to the Bay Area the day before, and stay overnight in Emeryville at the Woodfin, which is right across a pedestrian overpass from the station.
 
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The Sacramento idea seems the easiest and most logical, unless you want to spend the night in North Oakland (ie Emeryville), then catch the Zephyr there! Not much going on in Emeryville, so I vote for Sacramento!
 
zephyr17 said:
LA Resident said:
Gabbytony said:
Thanks to what you guys have said, I have now eliminated Reno as my departure city as I don't want to miss the Sierra Nevada and the Donner Pass view.

Now I have to figure out my best departure city from California that is easily accessible from a Vegas flight.
Click to expand...
NO NO NO

Fly to Sacramento!

The Yolo Bus 42A runs nonstop on the I-5 from Sacramento Airport direct to the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento. It's the first stop after the bus gets off the freeway. The bus runs once an hour, leaving the airport at 22 past the hour. So try and time a Southwest flight from Vegas to Sacramento to give you enough time to catch the bus and get to the station, where the CZ will probably be on time.

You don't miss much on the CZ between Emeryville and Sacramento, just a bit of a nice view of San Pablo Bay (part of the San Francisco Bay area) and some views of Sacramento Delta farmland.
Click to expand...
Umm, last time I looked, Sacramento was indeed in California. Kinda makes sense, being the state capital and all. So what is the NO, NO, NO about?

The fact that the bus only runs hourly was one of the problems I had with Sacramento, and chose to take a cab.

I, too think Sacramento is probably the best bet. Pretty reasonable amount of service LAS-SMF, so getting a morning flight is entirely practical. The second best is to cut Vegas short, fly to the Bay Area the day before, and stay overnight in Emeryville at the Woodfin, which is right across a pedestrian overpass from the station.
Click to expand...
Oh please. My sentence was in reference to the postings urging the OP to fly into the Bay area.
 
LA Resident said:
Oh please. My sentence was in reference to the postings urging the OP to fly into the Bay area.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you could have quoted one of those posts, then in order to make your meaning clear. Quoting a post that says they're going to take your preferred option and opening it with "NO NO NO" doesn't convey the message that you're intending it to.
 
Ryan said:
LA Resident said:
Oh please. My sentence was in reference to the postings urging the OP to fly into the Bay area.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you could have quoted one of those posts, then in order to make your meaning clear. Quoting a post that says they're going to take your preferred option and opening it with "NO NO NO" doesn't convey the message that you're intending it to.
Click to expand...
Geez. This is truly a great forum. You not only get the best info around on Amtrak and related rail issues, you also get free unsolicited advice from would-be syntax experts, wanna be grammarians, and self-appointed editors. Priceless! :giggle:
 
[moderator hat on]

Please let's keep this civil!

I too had trouble at first following the "NO NO NO" since the OP said (in the very previous post) that he has to fly to a California City, and you were saying "NO" and to fly to Sacramento instead! Last time I looked at a map, Sacramento was a city in California - in fact the CAPITAL city of the state!
rolleyes.gif
The post without the "NO NO NO" would have made much more sense.

[moderator hat off]
 
"No, No, No" isn't that part of the Amy Winehouse song? :unsure: I would vote to fly into SAC as well. Not sure what time your flight will get there but "if" you choose to fly in the night before we stayed at an inexpensive hotel 5 minutes away from the train station. The hotel was right by "Old Town" and walking distance to the California RR musuem. Can anyone help me on the name of the hotel? It was my honeymoon so we weren't paying much attention to the "name" of the hotel, just how easy it was to get off the CZ and catch the CS.
 
RailFanLNK said:
"No, No, No" isn't that part of the Amy Winehouse song?
Click to expand...
Sadly, the decision reflected by the song with "no, no, no" in the lyrics may have not been a wise move on Ms Winehouse's part. It's sad to have a great talent lost so young.

The Zephyr departs Sacramento just after 11am. It is certainly possible to fly in from Las Vegas that morning and make the train, but it requires everything between LAS and SAC (SMF airport) to work just right. As suggested, it might be wise to fly in the day before and stay in downtown Sacramento. Now, I can understand a certain reluctance to trade a night in Vegas for a night in Sacramento, but it could save some angst the next day.
 
Should you decide to go for the Bay Area, I would say avoid SFO and go into Oakland. Much easier airport to get through. Getting from there to Emeryville I will have to leave for someone else to guide you.
 
I have decided to fly to Sacramento and then board there.

Thank you all for your advice.
 
jimhudson said:
The Sacramento idea seems the easiest and most logical, unless you want to spend the night in North Oakland (ie Emeryville), then catch the Zephyr there! Not much going on in Emeryville, so I vote for Sacramento!
Click to expand...
Maybe we've been to different Emeryvilles. The one I've been to has two lively shopping centers near the train station (EmeryBay and Bay Street).
I'd suggest flying into San Francisco or San Jose, so as not to miss the beautiful views along the bays and delta. And I wouldn't call a night in San Francisco a waste of time, either....
 
Oakland airport is 20 minutes from Amtrak in Emeryville. Southwest Airlines have late evening flights to Oakland, then a cab to the hotel right across the tracks from the station. The CZ leaves about 9:00 AM next morning. You wouldn't have to lose a day for travel to the train.
 
RailFanLNK said:
"No, No, No" isn't that part of the Amy Winehouse song? :unsure: I would vote to fly into SAC as well. Not sure what time your flight will get there but "if" you choose to fly in the night before we stayed at an inexpensive hotel 5 minutes away from the train station. The hotel was right by "Old Town" and walking distance to the California RR musuem. Can anyone help me on the name of the hotel? It was my honeymoon so we weren't paying much attention to the "name" of the hotel, just how easy it was to get off the CZ and catch the CS.
Click to expand...
Al: Could it be "The Vagabond Inn Oldtown", Ive stayed there and it isnt bad, cheap/clean and convienent to the Train Station/Museum/Old Town/River etc. as you said! (i wasnt on my honeymoon so I noticed these places! :lol: )
 
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