6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Booking Your Cross Country Train Trip

Before making strides on any travel dreams, some research and thought needs to be conducted first.

I mean that is the responsible thing to do, I personally would tell you to just say ‘yolo’ (ironically of course) and book the trip and go. But alas, we do need to think about our choices before we make them, and traveling is no exception…especially traveling the country via train.

Before you book your ticket on Amtrak and request your time off, ask yourself these 6 questions to help you plan easier.

Where do you want to go?

If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, then the Amtrak website is your oyster. For arguments sake, let’s say you are starting on the east coast. Your end destination will affect which train you will take and all the other stops along the way. Your options if your end destination is the west coast are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon, and Washington, which are all very different places. And vice versa if you are coming from the west coast; Maine, Boston, Washington DC, etc.

OR, if you want to be lame and not go all the way across (jk, not lame at all) then that is also something you will want to know, basically just know where you want to end up, capiche?

How much time do you have?

If you are considering banging out this trip over a weekend, think again. From coast to coast the trip will take about four days total, at least, and that is if you don’t make any stops and just go straight across. And that doesn’t even take into consideration how you will get back. So really, how much time you have to dedicate to this trip can determine your end destination and how much you can plan along the way.

What is your budget?

Thankfully, train travel is not too expensive! It’s more about the experience anyway so in that regard it’s even more worth the money because you are getting transportation and adventure all in one. The biggest portion of expenses will be the train ticket itself, and the price will vary based on distance and accommodations if you are traveling overnight. There are options available for all budgets.

If you are on a lower budget you should book a standard seat.

If you have a larger budget and want a little more luxury (as much luxury as you can get on a train) then you have the option to book a private room.

Amtrak is highly reliable and is always offering deals too!

Will you be making any stops?/ Is there anything specific you want to see?

The whole point of traveling by train across the country is to see the country, is it not? While you don’t have to make any formal stops (we didn’t!) you can. If you do plan on making stops then it will affect your booking experience. Don’t worry! It’s easy, Amtrak has a ‘multi-city’ booking option where you can put in multiple destinations with different dates. Or you could book all tickets separately. Here is an example of a trip with four segments: (I don’t know if this trip would actually work, just wanted to give an example of what the booking page would look like).

Of course making stops on your trip will add in extra costs such as food and hotels. Refer back to the budget question.

If you are taking this trip for the experience of the train with no real set itinerary, cool! If there are certain landmarks or family members you want to see this can help narrow down your route.

Are you traveling alone or with someone else?

I’m a huge fan of solo travel. I recently went to Portugal by myself last November and it was amazing. My first solo trip was to Colombus, Ohio, not too crazy, it was a great first solo trip. Anyway, a cross country train trip is the best of both worlds because it’s a great trip to do solo or with someone else.

I would not recommend this as a group trip, mainly due to the size of the accommodations. 3 people maximum. And also you probably won’t be sleeping much so better to be around less people when you are grouchy.

If you do want to do this trip with someone else, make sure it’s someone you trust and can tolerate being in close spaces with for a long period of time! Trust me on this one, don’t bring an acquaintance or someone who you aren’t comfortable around. I went with my closest friend and by the end of the trip we were positively sick of each other.

No need to write all these questions down, I did that for you! Supply your info below and download a PDF fillable worksheet with all these questions so you can write it all out. And then receive the full, very, very detailed guide to planning your entire trip!