I’m often asked by people planning their first long-distance train ride if they should work with a travel agent. Really, it depends on how complicated your itinerary and other details are going to be. If you’re traveling solo or as a couple and it’s one train from Point A to Point B, there’s really no…
I carry a skinny reporter’s notebook when I travel, jotting things down as I go. Some result in entire posts, but most are just snapshots of something that strikes me as unusual or interesting. Here are a few from my recent trip on VIA Rail Canada from Vancouver to Toronto. My car attendant…
I’m asked a lot of questions about train travel. Among the most common ones, even among people who have taken long-distance train trips, is “How much should I tip the sleeping car car attendant?” I’ve written about this previously, but it sure seems to bear repeating. As a basic rule of thumb, and assuming…
People are surprised to hear that most of my travel on the mainland is by train—whether it’s a three-hour ride up the East Coast or clear across the county. When they find out that’s my preferred mode of travel, that’s when I have conversations like this one: I hear you’re going to Chicago. It’s…