Spring break adventure coast to coast.

[winged_foot]

Me and a college buddy are looking some adventure this spring break. This will be my first time riding amtrak so I am looking for some advice that will be greatly appreciated We're planning a trip to San Diego, CA some time between March 3 thru March 12. I was looking into leaving from New York on March 3 to Chicago via the Lakeshore Limited, then catching the Southwest Chief on the 4th to Los Angeles, and arriving in San Diego March 6th. We plan to fly back to New York, Newark, or Philly on the 11th or 12th

Right now we're trying to plan the trip reasonably cheap debating weather or not its worth it to get a room on the Southwest Chief. We're not afraid of ruffling it on little sleep in coach seats the entire way but we would like to know the risks, pros, and cons. Last year we took a road trip down south from Philly to Tampa, Panama City, Biloxi, Memphis, Nashville, and back, spending a couple of those nights at the axle inn. What’s that you might ask? Well its any rest stop between here and Tampa. I hope we didn't give you the wrong impression we just don't mind no frills travel. We're just young (well mannered, and groomed) guys looking for a good experience and from reading some amtrak sites we feel if we plan our trip right we'll have a good experience

Any and all advice and recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

 

[AlanB]

Well I'm not sure that there are any risks to roughing it in coach, other than maybe not being able to take a shower for 3 days. However, if you can get a good price on a roomette, there are certainly many advantages.

You get beds to sleep in, you get free coffee, juice, and water in the sleeper. You have access to a shower and the bathrooms tend to be cleaner than in coach. Perhaps the best thing of all however, is the fact that you'll both get free meals in the dining car. When you add up the cost of the meals over the length of the trip, you may well find that the sleeper doesn't cost much more than riding in coach and paying for your meals.

By the way I've moved this post to the main forum, where more people will see it and hopefully add their own ideas and advice.

Have a great trip!