Los Angeles or Bust – Part 1

Don’t take the train!

I’ve just begun to plan for the perfect summer vacation to Los Angeles. The City of Angels displays an allure and mystery for many Southerners. Hollywood, movie stars and Rodeo Drive appear so fascinating on TV. Heck, California is all the way on the other side of the country. Who wouldn’t want to visit? There are three ways to get to Los Angeles; plane, train or automobile. My goal is to get a family of 4 to Los Angeles from South Carolina in the most inexpensive and less stressful way. In the Los Angeles or Bust series, I will examine the best method of travel for my family. Let’s start with a train.

Step one: See if there is a direct route from Columbia to Los Angeles on Amtrak. Answer: Of course, NOT! My best bet would be to catch the train in Charlotte. Cool… we love The Queen City. Fortunately, Amtrak offers two routes. Unfortunately, both choices take over 65 hours one way! Can you imagine 65 hours with a 9 and 13 year old asking you how long the trip is going to take? All I see in my future is pure torture. The train does offer family suites to make the ride more comfortable but that adds an extra $2500 to the overall cost. So... we can either sit upright in a chair for over 130 hours or purchase a very small moving apartment.

The layover on the train is FAB-U-LOUS. We would switch trains midway through the trip in New Orleans. The layover is about 13 hours. We would arrive in NO at 7:38pm and leave the next morning at 11:55am. That gives time for a great dinner, shopping and sightseeing. FAB-U-LOUS… until you consider you would need a hotel room to sleep until the train leaves in the morning… more money. Not to mention a hotel in Los Angeles and another 65 hours return trip.

Diva Conclusion: Traveling by train from Columbia to Los Angeles is very costly and not time efficient. For a family of 4, using the train would cost upwards of $5,000 for a one week trip. Most of the trip would be spent in a confined railcar. I know there is a theatre car and a dining car but who wants to be confined for 65 hours. Heck, it only takes 21 hours and $1,800 to fly to Africa. I think we will use Amtrak for short trips to places like Florida. At least there is a direct route from Columbia. Looks like the train is out for going to Los Angeles. I think I’ll try the plane next.


Smooches