I haven't heard of anyone ever getting robbed on a train. Tell your mom from THIS mom, that I would feel more than comfortable putting my teenager or young adult on a train here. And if you tell them it's your "first time", the train employees are sometimes real nice and helpful and show you where everythings is.
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Trains in the US (at least the non-overnight, 7-10 hour variety I've traveled on) are safe. Plenty of conductors on the trains. Can't speak for the overnight trains (though I haven't heard of any bad situations on it before).
Oh, an additional info point: Odds are, the posted times are the EARLIEST arrival times. You'll arrive withink a half-hour of that time 75% of the time, later than a half-hour 24% of the time, and between 1-20 minutes early 1% of the time.
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I think you're pretty safe, from a robbery perspective, on a train in the US. Are you likely to get held up on trains in Europe? The US passenger train system doesn't have the best safety record in the world though, I'm afraid. I'm not sure how Amtrak stacks up against other methods of travel, statistically; it's probably safer than cars to be honest. I do know, though, that train wrecks seem to be in the news more often than one would expect. Anybody have any hard data on this?
::wishes Kayla were still around::
You know what would be really fun? For a bunch of us to all get one of those 2 week passes, and just have a half month roving Hatrackon across the country. Probably not feasible, but fun.
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My mom will be happy to hear that, Farmgirl (and others - I type too slow). Trains in Poland are not the safest way to travel, and she's overprotective.
I can't believe she's letting me do this.
[ January 23, 2004, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: Kama ]
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Fly into New York (it will be the most expensive, and you don't want to go there last when you're almost broke), meet Frisco, talk him into a road trip, and end with Chicago Con Jatrequero. Posts: 1753 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Trains, particularly locals, in Europe have a reputation for being a bit unsavory... Sort of like a mediocre Greyhound deal. Or like the NYC subway, circa early-80s.
Busses in the USA are sketchy. Just a few weeks ago, my girlfriend's sister took a bus from NYC to her hometown, and there was an "altercation" on the bus. Basically, 2 riders were kicked off of it halfway to their destination, ON THE HIGHWAY, in sub-freezing temps, at night. Another friend of mine had a bus die in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina. He had to wait a couple hours for another bus, and had a chat with a lady who though Maryland was a city in South Carolina... Or the time the same friend went to North Carolina, to get picked up by a friend, but he didn't realize the Greyhound station was in the red light district in Charlotte!
As for Southwest, mack, it may be quicker, but it will be more expensive (it looks like 158 bucks, before taxes for the round trip), and it isn't as convenient (yes, Manchester, NH is convenient to you, mack ), unless she wants to meet with the DC/Baltimore crew and then take the train north through Philly/NYC/Beantown.
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Yeah, well, it's not like she could forbid me to go, but she can voice her opinion in a very "convincing" way Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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My dad threw a fit when I wanted to go to Europe.
Literally. Yelled, disparaged, and swore he wouldn't bail me out if I blew all my money. I told him to bite me and went anyway.
This would be a much more inspiring story if I hadn't gotten hit by a truck, spent a week in a German hospital, and had my doctor bills paid by my dad. <oops>
Still, I am very, very glad I went.
[ January 23, 2004, 04:27 PM: Message edited by: Javert Hugo ]
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I wish Kama, but I'm probably going to be in Mexico (not that I'm complaining about that, mind you).
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Kat, talking me into a road trip is about as hard as tossing me a set of car keys.
In a week with me behind the wheel, you could see the entire Eastern seaboard, Kama. I'm already trying to figure out a way to get to the Beatles exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in D.C.
And NYC-Chicago is a very easy drive. No more than 18 hours.
If you fly into NYC, I can promise that I'll be there. And Leto could probably use a trip to the city, too. Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Though its quite common in the US for the bus station and the train station to be the same place.
Also, every greyhound station I've ever been in has had a police officer, security guard, or both on duty 24 hours a day.
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- fly in to NYC - meet Frisco and explore the city - get a train to Chicago/drive to Chicago with Frisco and a bunch of other strangers - have fun at the Con Which Cannot be Named - get a train/drive to Philly/Boston, stay with Grisha and Bok respectively - go back to New York, fly back home
Now, I realize New York is an expensive city, but is there a way to find a not-so-very-expensive place to sleep there?
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I'm happily taken, Tom, thank you very much. *pies Tom*
How inexpensive, though, Kama? $75 is a cheap night in the city for a hotel room.
NYC has a good bunch of hostels, too, that go for around $20 a night. The Jazz on the Park/Town Hostel has gotten the best reviews from my visitors.
Of course, you're welcome to stay wherever I'll be staying. My old roommates still have two futons, and if I stay with other friends, I'll be doing the couch or floor thing.
So, those are the varying levels of "not-so-expensive". There are plenty more cheap hotels and hostels I could dig up--just let me know how much you want to spend.
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Kama, the $130-140s deal is doubtlessly for coach fare (i.e., you sleep sitting in a tilted-back chair, not terribly comfortable). On the other hand, booking a sleeping cabin the whole way could be prohibitively expensive.
What is not prohibitively expensive is the little-known option of booking a sleeping cabin for only the overnight part of the trip. Time it right, and you get supper and breakfast free, as meals are free with the sleeper cabin. The cabin also gives you access to a shower that night or morning, free coffee and juices, and is much much more pleasant. Private, quiet, and individually climate-controlled.
Don't forget that any food you bring on the train might need to be bought after you get through Customs (e.g., fruit and the like, though prepackaged items should be okay). While the dining car on the train is expensive, the snack bar (where you can get a little individual microwave pizza for $2.50 US or so) is not so bad.
If I recall correctly, adding an overnight sleeper on one of my trips to Canada way long ago cost an extra $79 or so. That included a $10 breakfast and $15 supper, and I was rocked gently to sleep while lying flat, looking at the stars outside my window. Nice!
By the way, for anyone travelling with someone else by train, if you share a sleeper, there's only the one extra cost. Easy to split, and you both get free meals. Sweet.
[Edit: either the prices have gone way up, or my sweetie and I were calculating at about $79 each. Looks like one-way New York to Chicago, with sleeper (7pm to 7am) covering two meals, is about $260, at least on my first calculation.]
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Frisco, I would appreciate staying wherever you'll be staying, if it's ok with your friends As for the hotels, I definitely want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want to save on my safety The hostel thing looks nice - is it safe for a lonely tiny girl, though? Otherwise, I'd be willing to pay up to 75/80 USD a night.
CT, thanks for the info. I'm actually quite used to travelling on buses for 20+ hours, so I don't think that would be much of a problem. Of course, I haven't yet decided whether I'll be taking a train or not. I'm very indecisive.
[ January 26, 2004, 02:17 AM: Message edited by: Kama ]
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Another question. In the case of online reservations and such, do I need a credit card, or is my debit card (Visa) suficient?
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The problem with using your debit card, unless you have a HUGE account backing it, is that it will run out quickly.
Not because of actual money SPENT, but because of holds against your money. One of the Wenchcon threads discussed this when Taalcon (I think it was he) had some (minor) trouble getting them to "give back" his deposit.
Each hotel will put a hold on your credit/debit card to the tune of several hundred dollars, just in case you destroy the room or something. That'll add up REAL fast if it's a debit card, where holds tie up 'real' money, and not just part of a credit line.
So you likely can use your debit card, but you really don't want to.
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Hmmmm.... I think the WenchCon thing was with Macc.
But yeah, use a credit card instead. There are protections, you won't run out of money, if you get fleeced you won't lose everything - it's just better.
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