Did you know that there is a train that you can take from Los Angeles, California to Seattle, Washington? Well, the Amtrak Coast Starlight does just that! It’s considered one of the most scenic train rides in the United States.
Starting in Los Angeles, California, this two day train ride takes you along the west coast beaches, through the beautiful farmland, wind farms, cities and mountains of California to the forests and lakes of Oregon and the hills of Washington ending in Seattle, Washington. It is truly one of the most unique travel experiences in the United States.
I am going to explain all of the basics about the Amtrak Coast Starlight. From our experience to cost to the food and service of the train and overall, what it’s like. This 36 hour train ride was one of the most interesting trips I have ever taken. And, I didn’t have to leave the country!
This is a breakdown of what the Amtrak Coast Starlight train ride is. I have a full breakdown of our trip as well as what to know before your trip on the Amtrak Coast Starlight. If you are planning your trip, I would highly recommend reading through all of my blog posts before you leave!
Amtrak Coast Starlight
What is the Amtrak Coast Starlight?
This 36 hour train ride starts in Los Angeles, California and takes you all the way up to Seattle, Washington. You can also take it going the opposite direction. This is a train that you can take all the way through or use it for a smaller trip.
The Amtrak Coast Starlight takes you along the beaches of California then up through the hills and farmland of California and even cities and mountains! The views on this trip are truly incredible and considered one of the most unique and beautiful travel opportunities in the United States.
Some of the most popular cities you will travel through are Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Mt. Shasta, Albany, Portland, Tacoma and Seattle. Over 36 hours, you will experience many of these unique cities via train!
Our Experience of the Amtrak Coast Starlight
We had an incredible experience on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. We took our trip in April 2024. Our trip started in Los Angeles and we went all the way to Seattle. There were many people who were traveling just like we were but also others who were traveling for personal or work reasons. Some were traveling to other cities of California and others got on half way through our trip in the middle of the night to go further north.
Traveling in April, we didn’t know exactly what kind of weather we would experience. The more popular months to book this trip are the spring and summer months. This is because the sun stays out later and you can see more of the scenic views for longer. However, we wanted to see mountains with snow. This created an interesting timing of our trip.
We didn’t want to book our trip during the winter months because the sun would set so much earlier. However, if we delayed it much later, we wouldn’t see any of the snow. This is quite the gamble but we figured we would try for the first weekend of April. It ended up working out perfectly and we got beautiful weather for the beaches, sunny showers for the farmland, and snow for the mountains! It was remarkable!
We heard that this train is known for running late. While sometimes they can’t control delays, they have worked very hard to remedy their reputation. Our trip overall got delayed by an hour and a half with stops due to freight trains that had priority for passage. Overall, it was a very easy trip and they informed us of any stops that we would make and what they were for.
Overall, our experience was incredible! We met amazing people, saw wonderful scenery and got to experience something so unique. You can read all about our experience in another blog post with more in depth details.
Cost
The cost of the Amtrak Coast Starlight varies depending on what time of year you go and what ticket you purchase. If you go in the winter months, the tickets run slightly cheaper since there is not as much daylight. The prices range from $101 to $170 for coach depending on the time of year you book.
As for seating options, they have Coach or a Sleeper Car. Coach is by far the least expensive option. They have rows of two seats that are decently sized. The seats are much larger and more comfortable than an airplane seat. They have a pull down tray on the seat in front and you can recline all the way back without impeding on the guest’s behind you space.
The sleeper cars have their own suite with two beds, private bathrooms and first access to the meal car. They have great privacy and are perfect if you are traveling a long way and want to get decent sleep. These are significantly more expensive starting at $625 per person.
Again, these tickets vary by month, day and time of year that you travel. The weekdays tend to be cheaper than the weekend. The winter months tend to be cheaper than the summer months. It really just depends on what you want to experience and the type of trip that you want to book.
Food
The Amtrak Coast Starlight does offer food! They have a meal car which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lunch and dinner are reserved for the sleeper cars first and then if they have any more availability after them, they open up those times to coach travelers. They also have a cafe car which serves meals for coach travelers if they want.
The cafe offers very simple meals such as breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, snacks, coffee and some alcoholic beverages. The food was much better than either of us anticipated and we ended up eating a few of our meals here. The meal car offers chef prepared 3-course meals for lunch and dinner. You get a choice of drink, the first alcoholic drink is on the house. For breakfast, the meal car is open to everyone and they offer it first come first serve. If you do this, I recommend getting there early!
You can also try food delivery. However, please be aware that times can change due to delays or other changes in the travel. We ordered Chipotle through UberEats in San Luis Obispo, California and while we received our order, we were way too scared to try it again! You can read all about that hilarious and crazy story in this blog post about our experience on the Amtrak Coast Starlight!
Scenery
The scenery on the Amtrak Coast Starlight is truly incredible. While all of the scenery is spectacular, there are some spots that I wrote down that stuck out to me specifically as a spot to look out for.
For the beach, the first hour of beach views is the most beautiful. My favorite views were around Summerland, California, right before Santa Barbara as well as Goleta, California. You get to see city or hillside land on one side and the beach on the other!
We saw the most beautiful hill country of California in San Luis Obispo and then farmland in San Ardo. The farmland was incredible mostly because you get to see some of the intricacies of how farming is laid out. I thought it was very interesting to see but can see how others would find it a more dull point in the trip.
For the mountains, we began to see the beautiful landscapes around Redding, California the next morning. Crescent Lake in Oregon was probably my favorite part of the trip landscape wise! We were in the forest covered in snow! I truly can’t put into words how incredible this scenery was!
Oakridge, Oregon had the most beautiful lake! It comes right after the forest and you can see it through the beautiful evergreen trees! After this, you have to look out for the Willamette Falls in Oregon City. It is a natural waterfall on the Willamette river and such a great thing to see, especially if you have kids! After that, you visit Portland, Oregon and a lot of towns until you get to Seattle.
Where To Sit
I recommend you sit on the left side of the train if you are traveling north! This is an ocean view and, in my opinion, the best side for views along the entire trip. Most of the scenery is on the left side of the train so whenever you check in for your trip in Los Angeles, ask for a seat on the left side. If you are traveling south from Seattle, ask for the right side.
For the best views, make sure you venture to the observation car. This is car has windows from floor to ceiling giving you the best opportunities to view everything. It has a lot of natural light and is where a lot of the commotion happens! It’s also a great change of pace from the traveler cars where a lot of people sit for most of the trip. Make sure you get there early or go during meal time. Many people want to hang out in here but seats can be limited.
Who Is Traveling On Amtrak Coast Starlight?
When we took our trip, there were so many different travelers on the train! We got on with a family of five traveling up to Canada. There were individuals traveling for personal reasons and couples like me and my husband. When we got to the observation car, we saw a lot of older couples who were traveling in the sleeper cars.
Throughout the trip, we met various people who got on along the way, many of them getting on in San Francisco. We met someone who was from Germany who was traveling for work and visiting friends on the west coast before his conference in Vancouver. If you are open to talking to strangers, you might be able to meet some interesting people along the way!
Concluding Amtrak Coast Starlight
If you are interested in this trip, I recommend you take it! It may not be the most conventional trip but it is very unique and offers an incredible opportunity to see some wonderful cities from a different perspective! We had such a great time and would even do it again! It is a fun experience and even more fun story to tell everyone!
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