Best US Train Routes That Rival a European Getaway

Three Amtrak scenic routes ranked by price and payoff, with real fares in USD, GBP, EUR and more. Find the best travel itineraries before you book a flight.

## The Night Train Test: Three US Rail Routes That Beat a Budget Flight to Europe The Lake Shore Limited leaves Chicago at 9:30pm. By midnight you are asleep somewhere east of Toledo, and by breakfast the Berkshires are sliding past the window. I paid $118 for a coach seat in September and woke up in New York. Compare that to a $640 return flight from Chicago to Rome, plus a night in an airport hotel, and the maths starts to look less like a compromise and more like a plan. That is the frame for this piece. If you are pricing a European getaway from the US, the UK or the Gulf and the flight alone eats your budget, the **[best travel itineraries](/blog/uk-rail-chaos-how-to-survive-train-disruptions-this-week)** may be sitting on your own continent's rails. Amtrak's scenic routes are not the Orient Express. But three of them do something a cheap flight cannot: they turn the journey into the trip. ### How we ranked them We judged every route on five things, in this order: 1. **Scenery per dollar.** What you see from the window divided by what you paid. 2. **Overnight value.** Does the train replace a hotel night, or just a flight? 3. **Walkability at the far end.** A great train into a car-dependent suburb is half a trip. 4. **Bookability from abroad.** Can a UK, Indian or Emirati traveller book it without a US phone number or a US billing address? 5. **Carbon.** Rail beats short-haul flying on almost every corridor we looked at, and we weighted that. Prices below are one-way, booked roughly six to eight weeks out, and converted at October 2026 rates. Coach unless stated. ## 1. The Coast Starlight (Los Angeles to Seattle). The one to buy. Thirty-five hours, 1,377 miles, and the only Amtrak route where the scenery does not let up. You get the Pacific on one side for long stretches, the Cascades, and a parlour car that feels like a 1940s hotel lounge with better coffee. A coach seat runs about **$98 to $140** (roughly £75 to £108, €87 to €124, AED 360 to 515, KWD 30 to 43, INR 8,200 to 11,700). A roomette, which includes meals, starts around **$550** (about £420, €485, AED 2,020, KWD 170, INR 46,000). That sounds steep until you subtract two hotel nights and every meal. Why it wins: the far end is Seattle, a city you can walk. Book it from the UK or Germany through Amtrak's own site with a foreign card and it works. Skip it if you cannot handle 35 hours without a shower in coach. Take the roomette or take the Empire Builder instead. ## 2. The California Zephyr (Chicago to Emeryville). The value pick. This is the one travel advisors keep naming, and they are right about the middle third. The climb into the Rockies out of Denver, then the Sierra Nevada descent into California, is the single best day of window scenery in the US. The problem is the other 30 hours. Coach from Chicago to the Bay Area: **$130 to $190** (about £100 to £145, €115 to £168, AED 477 to 698, KWD 40 to 58, INR 10,900 to 15,900). A roomette for two, all meals included, lands near **$900** (about £690, €795, AED 3,300, KWD 277, INR 75,500). Here is the honest advice: do not ride the whole thing. Book Chicago to Denver overnight, spend two days in Denver, then rejoin for the mountain leg. You get the best scenery, you sleep in a bed, and you spend less than a single through-roomette. Skip the full route in coach if you are over 40 and value your spine. ## 3. The Adirondack (New York to Montreal). The underrated one. Ten hours, the Hudson Valley on your left for the first three, then Lake Champlain, then the border. It is the cheapest of the three and the easiest to bolt onto a European trip: fly into New York, ride to Montreal, fly home from there. Fares sit around **$75 to $95** (about £57 to £73, €66 to £84, AED 275 to 349, KWD 23 to 29, INR 6,300 to 8,000). No sleeper, no dining car worth the name. Bring food. The catch, and it is a real one: the Montreal leg has been suspended on and off for track work, so check the timetable the week you book, not the month before. Skip it if you want a bed or a restaurant car. Take it if you want the cheapest taste of European-style rail on the continent. ### The comparison, in one table | Route | Coach fare | Sleeper | Best for | Skip if | |---|---|---|---|---| | Coast Starlight | $98 to $140 | from $550 | Scenery, walkable city at both ends | You need speed | | California Zephyr | $130 to $190 | about $900 (two) | The Rockies, on a budget | You plan to ride it end to end in coach | | Adirondack | $75 to $95 | None | Cheap New York to Montreal | You want meals and a bed | ## Our take **Buy the Coast Starlight roomette** if you have one rail splurge in you. It is the closest thing the US has to a European night train that actually works, and it replaces two hotel nights. **Take the California Zephyr in segments** as the value pick. Chicago to Denver, a night on the ground, Denver to Emeryville. You see the best of it for under $250. **Avoid the Adirondack's full run until the Montreal timetable is stable.** Ride New York to Albany or Plattsburgh instead and take a bus across the border. The scenery is the same; the risk is not. One more thing for readers booking from abroad: Amtrak's site now accepts most international cards, but the app still wants a US phone number for some sleeper upgrades. Book on the desktop site, print the ticket, and you will be fine. And if the honest answer is that none of these fit your dates, say so and fly. A train you resent is worse than a flight you forget. ## FAQ **Can I book these Amtrak routes from the UK or Europe?** Yes. Use the desktop site with a Visa or Mastercard, and print your ticket. Sleeper upgrades occasionally ask for a US phone number, so book those on desktop too. **Is coach on a 35-hour train actually bearable?** For one night, yes, if you bring an eye mask, a refillable bottle and snacks. For two nights, book a roomette or break the trip. **How far ahead should I book?** Six to eight weeks gets you the fares quoted here. Sleeper rooms sell out first on the Coast Starlight and the Zephyr in summer.

Best US Train Routes That Rival a European Getaway

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