So far I've taken 8 trips by AMTRAK with destinations to Reno, South Lake
Tahoe & Las Vegas. Have not yet figured out how to practically get to Laughlin
yet.
Minuses:
1. Travel times are about 50% longer than by car & twice the time of going
by plane.
2. One or two transfers to bus to complete the trip. (However, people who
have traveled Greyhound say the AMTRAK buses are not only nicer but so are the
customers.)
Pluses:
1. Lots of legroom & full-size tables to spread out your work/entertainment
device.
2. You're not tired when you get there & there's a dining car!
3. Most towns have a station or at least an AMTRAK pickup point so it's as
close to door-to-door as I can get.
4. I get to the station 10 min before departure, no rearrangement of
contents by inspectors & I'm not strip-searched.
5. It's cheap if you buy passes. Compared to driving, it can be about a
third to half the cost of gas for me depending on how frequently I use the
passes. For example, gas only to Las Vegas used to cost $170 round-trip when it was
$3.50. A California Rail Pass is $159 & I can get 3 round-trips out of it
(Due to its 21-day life, I've only gotten 2 round-trips twice & 1 round-trip
once.)
6. I'm not tired when I get there.
7. DROP OFF Points. I'm putting this one separate to emphasize how
convenient these are to where we want to go:
Sacramento - Reno/Sparks Bus Drop-offs:
Reno drop-off is AMTRAK station right next door to Harrahs & 1.5 blocks to
Silver Legacy, Eldorado or Circus Circus.
There is also a Sparks dropoff.
Sacramento - S Lake Tahoe/Carson City Drop-offs
S Lake Tahoe drop-off is Embassy Suites right next to Harrahs.
Carson City drop-off is at the Nugget.
Las Vegas Drop-off is at the Greyhound station next to the Plaza downtown.
AMTRAK buses arrive here from Bakersfield or Los Angeles.
In order to be dropped off by an AMTRAK bus, part of your trip must be on an
AMTRAK train. In the case of taking AMTRAK from Bakersfield or any town
closer to Las Vegas than Bakersfield, I was advised to buy a ticket from Wasco
(about 25 mi from Bakersfield & one stop over) & then get on the bus at one of
its scheduled stops along the way.
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