The Most Civilized Way to Travel

I grew up on the East Coast and lived there until I was 27, so I make a point of visiting at least a couple times a year. This summer, I decided to take the long way getting there.

I had taken a handful of long Amtrak rides before, mostly on the Coast Starlight, which runs from Los Angeles to Seattle. But this was the longest by a wide margin. As a straight shot, it would have taken about three days; when you include the stopovers my partner and I made in Denver and Chicago, the total travel time was more like a week and a half in one direction. Clearly, this is not the way to get around if you’re in a hurry.

But if you’ve got the time, it’s well worth doing at least once in your life. Everything about train travel feels more civilized than flying: people are generally more relaxed and kinder to one another, the boarding process is easier, the accommodations are far more comfortable, the food is better, and the view out your window is often transcendent. For example:

I’ve long been an Amtrak evangelist. Yes, the state of American rail is embarrassing for a wealthy, developed country. Yes, it should be much faster and the network should be more extensive. Yes, all things considered, I’ve often rather be riding the Shinkansen. But that’s not really a fair comparison when it comes to long-distance Amtrak, which makes up for its inefficiency as a means of transportation through the sheer pleasure of riding it.

Having said that, if you’re going to travel cross-country on Amtrak, it’s a good idea to be prepared. Here are some tips for the uninitiated:

1.) The sleeper roomette is worth it.

If you ride coach, at least you’ll be spending less money than you would on a flight. Getting a roomette, on the other hand, could be anywhere from three to five times as expensive as a one-way plane ticket across the country.

Here’s what you get for that amount: Three free meals in the dining car each day, along with a complimentary alcoholic beverage at dinner. Shower access. The ability to lay flat when you’re trying to sleep. And, maybe most important, you get quiet and privacy. There’s something profoundly peaceful and meditative about spending the day in your own little space, gazing at the landscape or reading a book. It feels somehow both monastic and a little bit decadent.

As for the free dining car meals: they’re really not bad! Certainly better than plane food or the snack car fare you would probably be eating in coach. There’s even a perfectly serviceable steak on the dinner menu if that’s your thing.

2.) Get an Amtrak credit card.

The roomette is worth it, but it’s really worth it if you’re not paying. I have never paid full fare for a long-distance Amtrak ride; my cross-country travel was complete free. That’s because I have an Amtrak credit card, and I’ve been hoarding points for years so that I could do a trip like this. (At this point I should probably note that The Bristlecone does not publish sponsored content, although we would seriously consider making an exception for Amtrak.)

3.) Take the California to Denver leg of the Zephyr line.

There’s a lot to see on most Amtrak routes, but the California to Denver route gives you some of the most stunning vistas I’ve seen on any mode of transportation anywhere. Over about a day and a half, you go from the Sierras to the Nevada salt flats, then to the Utah buttes, and finally to the Colorado River and the Rocky Mountains. Then there’s the final descent through the Rockies, with the Denver skyline gleaming in the distance. The whole journey was breathtaking and unexpectedly moving in a way that I’m not sure I could articulate without starting to sound like a bad Walt Whitman imitator.

4.) Take the official timetables with a grain of salt.

Long-distance Amtrak trains are often late to arrive or depart, sometimes by a few hours. That doesn’t have to be a big deal, provided you can get comfortable and keep yourself entertained while you wait to get wherever you’re going. After all, if you were pressed for time, wouldn’t you have booked a flight?

5.) Bring lots of reading material and other diversions that don’t require an internet connection.

The Utah desert does not yet have 5G, and the train itself won’t have wi-fi. So make sure you’ve got something to do during the long stretches of the trip where your phone won’t have any reception. If you’re anything like me, you’ll savor being forced offline for a few hours at a time.

6.) Take advantage of the smoke breaks.

Most stops on the trip won’t give you enough time to get off and stretch your legs. But the conductor will let you know when a smoke break is coming up, which means the train will be in the station for ten minutes or so. That’s a good opportunity for a brisk walk around the platform to make sure you don’t totally atrophy in your roomette.

7.) Try to avoid spending multiple consecutive nights on the train.

My partner and I had some ulterior motives for our extended layovers on the trip: I’ve got a couple of dear friends in Denver who I wanted to visit, and, to paraphrase Craig Finn, I’d never been to Chicago.

But even with all that aside, spending a couple nights off the train in each location was a good idea. Sleeping arrangements in the roomette can be pretty tight; if, like me, you’re not the greatest sleeper under normal conditions, then you probably won’t wake up feeling totally refreshed. Arranging for a layover of a night or two also allows you to get in some walking and exercise to break up the sedentary days in your roomette.

8.) Denver has the best Amtrak station.

If you’re going to get stuck for a few hours waiting for your train, this is the best place to get stuck. Denver’s Union Station has ample comfortable couch space in the main waiting area, and a truly excellent cocktail bar on the upper level. (Get the house Old Fashioned or Manhattan, both of which use a thoughtfully chosen, rotating selection of base liquors.) There’s also great food, including, bizarrely, a terrific seafood restaurant called Stoic & Genuine.

You may wonder how a landlocked city in the Mountain West could have such good seafood; the answer is evidently that Stoic & Genuine imports fish via plane on a daily basis. The food there is best enjoyed if you can rationalize your train ride as a sort of carbon offset for your meal.

9.) Make train travel a group activity (or don’t).

A long distance train ride is a great opportunity to enjoy some quiet and solitude: to spend hours at a time reading a great book or writing one of your own. But if you bring along friends or loved ones, it can also be a tremendous amount of fun. My recommendation is to try both on different occasions. Better save up those points first, though.