Amtrak vs Flying

[MaeMaesMagic]

Im looking into the best way to travel. Normally we fly from newark, nj to orlando early am in and late evening out. But i cant seem to find anything to meet my needs. :brick: So I looked into train service its much cheaper but with 2 kids not sure about the long ride via train. Just looking for advice. We are traveling Jan 09, Im a bit frustrated with this. :shrug: Thanks for your help!

 

[CatsMeow]

We took Amtrak once back in 2000 when they were running a 2-for-1 deal and we saved quite a bit. We traveled in March from Philly and were actually surprised they were offering deals at that time. The trip south was okay, but rather long (not that I did not expect it to be). We dozed on and off through the night in our seats, which are pretty comfortable and do recline. We had some little ones in our car who were quite well behaved and really adorable.

The trip back home was awful. The train was over-crowded, loud and dirty. (It was spring break time.) They ran out of food (we had snacks, so we did not "starve") and the conductor was really grumpy (not that I blame him!:hammer. The train ran way behind schedule, which is not uncommon.

Would I do it again? If I had more time, perhaps. And I do want to try the Auto Train one day. But we did not have kids with us and I think they would get bored after awhile. There is not much scenery to speak off on this route. Reading and coloring get old after a while.

 

[tazhughes]

You might also consider looking into Spirit Airlines out of Atlantic City. They have a flight that leaves at 6 something in the morning and has you on the ground before 9. They also do return flights around 7 or 8 at night.

AC is a great airport to fly out of also. Good luck with your planning.