You can take your vehicle with you on the Amtrak Auto Train when you travel to the Washington, DC, and Orlando, FL, metro areas.
An early web tagline for Backroad Planet was “Your Road Trip and Fly-Drive Travel Source.” One of our Twitter followers recently inquired, “What is a fly-drive?” I explained that a fly-drive is when you fly to a destination, rent a car, and take a road trip. For example, when Jerry and I visited Costa Rica, we flew into San José, rented a car, and drove around the country for a week visiting incredible locations such as Villa Hermosa and La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
Although rental cars are great, wouldn’t it be even better to have your own vehicle at those distant destinations? If your distant destination happens to be in the Orlando, FL, or Washington, DC, metro areas, you just might be in luck.
Enter Amtrak’s Auto Train.
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Take the Amtrak Auto Train
This specialty train is similar to most other Amtrak trains, but the Auto Train let’s you take your vehicle with you. Following the same general route as Interstate Highway 95, the Amtrak Auto Train runs daily in both directions between its northern terminus in Lorton, Virginia, and its southern terminus in Sanford, Florida.
Arriving at the Sanford Auto Train station.
We took the northbound Auto Train from Sanford to Lorton to expedite one of our more epic road trips. From Lorton, we drove north to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and then made our way back home to Central Florida through the course of the following week.
The week-long itinerary included:
- Manassas National Battlefield Park
- George Washington’s Mt. Vernon
- Gettysburg National Military Park for the 150th Anniversary
- Eisenhower National Historic Site
- Antietam National Battlefield
- Harper’s Ferry National Historical Park
- Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
- Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park
- Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina
- Smoky Mountains National Park
- Pinebox, my North Georgia mountain cabin
- Jimmy Carter’s Sunday School class in Plains, Georgia
You could say I’m a bit of an overplanner, but hey, we had a blast driving through all the scenic and historical sites along our southbound route.
Our trusty Mercury Mountaineer waiting to load up on the autorack.
One of the benefits of Auto Train travel is that you don’t have to check baggage. Your luggage is safely packed in your car. You will, however, need a small overnight bag or daypack because your vehicle will be inaccessible during the 17.5-hour Auto Train ride.
Cool station art!
The Sanford station was packed.
More cool art!
Check-in.
Jerry ready to board.
Shortly after boarding we attended a welcome wine and cheese tasting in the lounge car. Note: We have read this amenity was discontinued in March of 2014.
The bi-level Amtrak Superliner sleeping car options are a bedroom with private restroom and shower, or a convertible roomette that accommodates one or two passengers. You may also book regular passenger coach seats. We opted for a roomette with nearby restroom and shower facilities.
How long until we leave?
I don’t think we’re moving.
The dining car.
Meals are included with your ticket purchase, and our evening dinner was a pleasant and entertaining part of the journey. We were seated with a mother and her adult son and enjoyed casual conversation during the several courses of the meal.
When we returned to our roomette, our sleeping car attendant had converted it for sleeping. The two lower seats created a comfortable bed for one, and an upper berth had been lowered. I claimed the roomy bottom bed, and Jerry got the windowless claustrophobic upper berth. Perhaps not ideal sleeping arrangements, but definitely better than sitting in a coach seat for the overnight run.
The lower bed.
Complimentary bottled water and coffee are readily available in the sleeping cars. Believe it or not, the onboard coffee dispenser produced some of the most flavorful joe I have ever tasted. When I returned home, I ordered some of the Dutch Douwe Egbert coffee online, but alas it was not the same.
Crossing the James River near Richmond, Virginia.
The Lorton, Virginia, clock tower.
Let’s go pick up the car!
After disembarking in Lorton, we waited an hour or so in a lovely outdoor waiting area for the Mountaineer to be offloaded, although the wait would have been lovelier if we had not spent the time dodging smokers who typically gravitate to us. You can avoid the wait for your car by purchasing Priority Vehicle Offloading, a $50.00 upgrade.
Did I miss something? I haven’t seen the costs for the different services listed anywhere.
Hi Charlie! You didn’t miss anything. This blog post is an account of our journey on the Amtrak auto train. For current fare and service prices you would need to navigate to the Amtrak website.
This is SUCH a fun idea! I’ve traveled by train in Europe several times, but haven’t set foot on a train in America since I took a day trip to the next town over with my preschool back in the late ’80s. My husband and I were just talking about doing something with Amtrak on an upcoming trip, and I’m going to have to remember this. We love road trips, too, and I’d love to take our car with us–we’d save some money by not renting a car!
We had a blast, Natalie! You should definitely do it some time. I loved having my own car up north without having to drive it all the way there. The rail travel experience was fun, too, but I definitely recommend getting a roomette.
Wow, I would love to do a fly drive trip! I want to do it in Canada. This was a really nice article to read. It’s too bad they stopped the cheese and crackers!
I knew somehow we were kindred spirits, Francesca. Crossing Canada by train is near the top of my wanderlist.
Wow I’ve never even thought of something like that! What a neat way to travel!
I know, Jessica! There are a lot of inventive people out there who dream up clever things that would never even enter my mind.
This is pretty cool! I didn’t know they had auto trains. Admittedly, I’ve never done a train ride in America. I’d love to!
It’s a crazy feeling, Bailey, to arrive at your destination after a long train ride and hop in your own car.
HI Howard:) I had no idea that you can travel on the train and also have car with you. That is for me new to know. I also enjoy traveling by train recently – its so much more comfortable than to drive…you can sleep, read or have chat with friends. Anyway, thanks for your post.
True, Veronika! Even though we are big road trip guys, we still enjoy train travel as well.
How did I not know about Auto Train?! We travel from VA to FL all the time. My husband & I are now talking about giving this a try once we’re back in the states. Thanks for the great idea!
I know what you mean, Dana! Sometimes things are right under our noses and we never see them. Glad we could provide an eye-opener!
SOunds like a fun way to travel thanks for the tips Howard! Too bad the welcome wine and cheese tasting has been discontinued!
I agree, Meg! Wine and cheese makes any experience better . . . . 🙂
This is an awesome post as always, Howard! I just found out that Europe has something of the same, which is Eurostar and it’s indeed a nice concept especially for those people who want to bring along their car. Anyhow, should I ever be on that side of the world, I’ll take note of Amtrak!
Thanks for the heads up, Aileen! I had no idea that Eurostar had an auto train. Will definitely keep that in mind!
Great! I didn’t even know that was an option. I love train travel especially with kids because you really have the most freedom to move around. The ability to bring your car makes that even better!
I don’t have kids, Mary, but I see what you mean with the mobility. As a middle school teacher, I know how hard it is when kids have to be boxed in.
We LOVE traveling by rail – it’s really our preferred mode – but have yet to do it in North America. Why have we waited so long? This looks like a marvelous option. Also, I love your itinerary of Civil War and historical stops for the road trip home.
If I have anything to do with designing the itinerary, Betsy, there WILL be historical stops. We want to do more train travel in NA, too! We have considered the train from Williams, AZ, to the Grand Canyon, for one, but I would also love to take the train across Canada.
I love the Auto Train! Used it when we moved to Orlando from Baltimore 20 years ago, and use it often when going back up to visit my mother in Baltimore! I just sleep in the comfy reclining chairs in coach; catch up with sleep the night I arrive! Love how they sit you with strangers to fill the tables at meals; always pleasant conversation!
I agree, Michele! We meet cool people most of the time when seated with random people on trains or cruises.
I enjoyed reading a few days back, on AMTRAKS’s Twitter feed, the little snippet about Amtrak security dog teams playing a critical role, aiding in ensuring US rail passenger system users, get to their desired safely. These dogs and their highly trained human handlers, deserve genuine thanks and support. So, if you’ve secured yourself, a great value train ticket, well done, but your AMTRAK travel experience is, every trip, a serious “top collar” committed effort, from the experts, including the four legged ones, behind the scenes, sniffing away, on the job!
Thanks for sharing, Nan! We love train travel, and we love our 4-legged creatures great and small.
I rode the auto train as a young child and barely remember it. Time for another visit.
How cool, I mean McCool, is that! It was definitely an awesome experience to take our car with us. We would definitely do it again!
This sounds like a fun way to travel. A bit like the Eurostar we have here in Europe.
I love train rides and also the freedom of having a car too. I was a little put off by those crowded pictures in the waiting room yet I guess with your own sleeper cabin it doesn’t feel quite so crammed. 17 hours is a long journey so the dining facilities look like a necessity to me.
I have always fantasized about buying a Eurail pass and seeing Europe by rail. Much more cost-effective than a road trip, I’m sure. Great to hear your perspective. Cheers!