{"id":89707,"date":"2014-02-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelstartblg.wpenginepowered.com\/across-america-by-rail\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:51:53","slug":"across-america-by-rail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/across-america-by-rail\/","title":{"rendered":"Across America by Rail"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Man in Seat Sixty-One<\/a> told us it was one of the Top 10 Train Journeys in the World. And when the Man in Seat Sixty-One says that, you listen. (What\u2019s that? You don\u2019t know who he is? He\u2019s a fount of knowledge about train travel all over the world \u2013 he\u2019s saved us from dodgy trains all across South-East Asia and Europe and somehow manages to have a handle on train travel in every continent. Bookmark the site now!)<\/p>\n

It sounded pretty epic. From Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr: 51 hours 20 minutes across two nights, three days, passing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver, across the Mississippi River, across the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City and through the Colorado Canyons (I\u2019m pretty sure I got that order wrong, though \u2013 that\u2019s what a few days of train travel will do for you!)<\/p>\n

You can choose whether to take a seat that reclines (don\u2019t do it) or a roomette, or a more spacious room. We chose the roomette and got two giant chairs next to a picture window, that then converted into bunks at night. There was a shared shower and bathroom, plenty of tea, coffee and water, and all our meals were included. The first day of meals was pretty exciting, but I have to admit that by day 3 the Amtrak burger was starting to taste a little too familiar\u2026<\/p>\n

And was it one of the world\u2019s most beautiful train trips? Yes. Certainly as far as I can imagine. It was absolutely breathtaking \u2013 from desert to high mountain, along rivers that only kayakers and the train can reach, through the most vast and lovely landscapes and through cities and towns. It was a view of America like I\u2019ve never seen it before, and I loved every minute of it.<\/p>\n

Want to cross the whole of the USA? Think about doing it by rail\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Man in Seat Sixty-One told us it was one of the Top 10 Train Journeys in the World. And when the Man in Seat Sixty-One says that, you listen. (What\u2019s that? You don\u2019t know who he is? He\u2019s a fount of knowledge about train travel all over the world \u2013 he\u2019s saved us from dodgy trains all across South-East Asia and Europe and somehow … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":89708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_destination_ratings":[],"_destination_review_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\nAcross America by Rail - Travelstart Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/across-america-by-rail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Across America by Rail - Travelstart Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Man in Seat Sixty-One told us it was one of the Top 10 Train Journeys in the World. 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