Train Review: Amtrak's Auto Train from Virginia to Florida

Our staff has temporarily stopped going on review visits because of the COVID-19 problem. But we've started publishing fresh, never-before-published flight, hotel, and lounge reviews from journeys made before the lockdown. A few of our most well-liked evaluations from 2019 and 2020 are also being republished, including the one below, which was first released in September 2019. When we're all ready to resume making travel plans, we hope that this will aid you in making a decision.

Please be aware that Amtrak claims it can restrict ticket sales to permit physical separation. For reservations made by August 31—including reservations made with points—Amtrak is also waiving all change and cancellation costs. Every consumer is expected to cover their face.

This review has been altered from the original as part of TPG's coverage of rail travel.

You want to take your family to Florida but you live in the Northeast. Do you fly everyone and then rent a car when you arrive, or do you save your money and just drive down I-95? Maybe neither, then.

There is a third alternative that you've probably heard of but haven't given much thought to: the Auto Train, which lets you ride the rails while driving your automobile. For more than 25 years, Amtrak has run an auto train between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida. If you don't live in Lorton or Sanford (or haven't taken an Allegiant flight to Central Florida), it's possible that you haven't heard of either town. However, Lorton is a small town just south of Washington, D.C., and the Sanford Auto Train station is located about 45 minutes north of Walt Disney World.

The Auto Train actually needs you to bring a vehicle along for the ride rather than merely allowing you to do so. The Silver Meteor and Silver Star lines are the ones you want to take if all you want to do is take a quick train ride from New York to Florida.

Every day at around 4 p.m., the Auto Train departs from Lorton and Sanford and arrives the next morning. The train does not stop for passengers to board or depart along the trip, notwithstanding a late-night stop to switch crews. It takes about 14 hours to travel directly there, but you'll probably spend more time on the train overall—perhaps closer to 17 hours.

Booking

There are still issues with booking since there is only one Amtrak train that travels between Lorton and Sanford, the Auto Train. Nevertheless, if your trip covers those two stations, there is no chance that you will book the incorrect train.

The Amtrak website functions well for standard reservations, but some Auto Train arrangements are difficult to process. There are a variety of seating and sleeping options available on the Auto Train, including reserved coach seats on both the upper and lower decks, Superliner roomettes on both decks, family bedrooms on only the lower deck, and Superliner bedrooms (both decks).

Two people can fit in the Superliner roomette, while two adults and two children can sleep in the family bedroom. Although the Superliner bedroom can accommodate three people, booking it online for three people is not possible. Usually after a reasonable amount of hold time, phone agents are more than capable of resolving this issue.

Neither the website nor the phone agents are able to make reservations for more guests than the sleeping rooms can accommodate in total. I asked if it was possible to schedule a fourth guest in a reserved coach seat, but have them spend the night in the Superliner bedroom instead. The phone representative I spoke with informed me that the train car's cabin attendant had complete discretion over the matter. By the way, that's a terrible plan. I promise you not to try to fit four people in the bedroom of a Superliner.

There are several publicly available discounts offered by Amtrak, but the majority do not include the Auto Train. Children can usually ride the auto train for half the price of an adult. Even in a sleeping car, that is merely the base fare. Each passenger's fare is divided into two groups by Amtrak. Whether it is a saving, value, or other fare bucket, the basic fare is approximately similar to the coach fare for that leg. The other component of the ticket is for sleeping cars, and neither on our trip nor during any of our test reservations did it include a discount.

All things considered, adult coach seats on the Auto Train typically cost between $105 and $140 each seat. However, Amtrak occasionally has specials where you might be able to get a seat for as little as $89 one-way, subject to availability. For two guests, roomettes range in price from roughly $450 to slightly over $600. Superliner bedrooms for two people cost between $500 and $725. The cost of a third passenger would range from $60 (for a youngster) to $140. (adult). For a family of two adults and two children under the age of twelve, family bedrooms cost between $850 and $1,150. (kids 2 and under are free with a paid adult in all cabins).

You must specify the type of your vehicle and whether you want priority vehicle offloading when making a reservation. Standard auto transport costs range from $204 to $254 one-way for cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks with a maximum height and width of 85 inches. The typical price of a two-wheel motorcycle is $143. Picking up the phone is necessary for any additional automobiles, including customized regular autos.

Offloading of priority vehicles costs a fixed $65 per car. This ensures that your car is among the first 30 cars to be unloaded after arrival. The Auto Train can handle 330 automobiles at a time, so if you're pushed for time, you should think consider paying the $65 cost or showing up very early for departure.

On its website, Amtrak makes it quite simple to look for award redemptions; just choose points rather than money when looking for a train. Amtrak no longer has a fixed award chart, though. The incentive costs are approximately correlated to the cash price of the ticket, much as Southwest or JetBlue. You should spend your points on trips when the cheapest saver-level tickets are sold out to get the most value out of them.

Consider applying for one of the two Amtrak cobranded credit cards offered by Bank of America if you want to increase your collection of points. The no-annual-fee Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard presently offers 12,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening, compared to 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 with the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard. These awards are worth $1,000 and $300, respectively, according to TPG's valuation of Amtrak points at 2.5 cents apiece.

The Points Guy independently gathered the details for the Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard and Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum card. The card issuer has not reviewed or provided the card information on this page.

Check-in

In both stops, vehicle check-in for the Auto Train starts at 11:30 a.m. Standard cars must arrive no later than 2:30 p.m., while specialty vehicles must arrive no later than 2 p.m.

You are directed to a lane to unload your carry-on luggage by a gate agent once they have checked your boarding card. Make sure to grab everything you need because after you leave your car, you won't be able to access it again until it is unloaded at the arrival points. Leave no valuables in your car. Amtrak does a video walkaround of each vehicle, capturing the vehicle's present state.

Apiece passenger is allowed two carry-on bags that are no bigger than 28 by 22 by 14 inches and no heavier than 50 pounds, as well as two personal items that are no bigger than 14 by 11 by 7 inches and no heavier than 25 pounds each. On either trip, none of our luggage was weighed or measured.

Inside the terminal, there is a brief check-in process for all passengers. Even if you checked in online and were given a boarding pass with a barcode, you still need to do this. Additionally, you choose your dinner seating based on a first-come, first-served policy. Dinner seatings occur at 5, 7, and 9 o'clock on a packed train. The 9 p.m. seating is dropped on lighter days.

Assuming you enjoy getting to know your neighbors, both stations feature enough seating for everyone in the terminal. Later in the day, it will be difficult for a family of four to get seats together.

Prior to the lengthy train voyage, there is outdoor seating available in Lorton. A modest play area is also available for little ones. Additionally, you are free to roam the platform while you wait; you might even run into an engineer to chat.

Every station features a small store selling magazines, sandwiches, snacks, drinks, and other trinkets. Although there is a less range than Hudson News locations in sizable airports, the prices are fair.

You are welcome to bring any food or drinks that you purchased in advance. Alcohol is included in this, but you can only drink it while you're sleeping in your car. A 12-inch-by-12-inch-by-12-inch compact cooler is also permitted, though some people have reportedly brought larger coolers on without incident.

Cabins and Seats

Although the coach cabin on the Auto Train has a similar appearance to many other Amtrak coach cabins, it is far larger and more comfortable. The 2-2 arrangement and extensive recline of the seats are reminiscent of the slanted lie-flat business-class seats that were popular on foreign flights in the past.

Taller passengers can coordinate well with a little footrest. Although sleeping is possible because the seats are large and padded, you'll need to bring supplies like pillows, blankets, and eye masks if you need them since there are no amenity packages.

Bathrooms are located on the lower level of each coach car. They are around the same size as bathrooms on most domestic airlines (maybe not the teeny-tiny slimline version). The coach cabin lacks a shower. After a lengthy overnight train travel, the best you can expect for is washing your face and changing into fresh clothing because neither terminal has any showers.

The smallest sleeping car option is the roomette. In actuality, the seats are not as comfortable as conventional ones. The coach cabin doesn't offer footrests or a steep recline, and you have to share legroom with your buddy.

The roomette gives you much more privacy because it is a closed-off cabin with a door. Additionally, there is a minor bit of climate control and a convenient electrical outlet (only one outlet, so consider packing a small power strip). The clothing rack in roomettes is a nice touch, but there isn't much room for luggage.

The outside of sleeping cars typically has some storage. The roomette also features a tiny storage area underneath each seat that would accommodate a soft-sided bag.

When it's time to sleep, a room will make you much happy than a coach seat. A bed is created by folding down the two recliners. A bunk swings down from the ceiling for the additional traveler. Upon request, your cabin attendant prepares the beds. Even the passenger snoozing in the lower bed has a mattress topper. The beds have a 6'6" length and 3'6" wide frame.

Getting into the top bunk can be a little difficult, but there are steps built into the cabin's sidewalls. There is a reading light and shackles inside the bunk to prevent you from ejecting while the train is moving. (The trip can occasionally be quite jarring.) Last but not least, there is a vent control in the ceiling, albeit due to the age of the vehicles, they can be challenging to use.

The majority of the items in the sleeping-car portions are roomettes. As a result, there are reports of unexpected price drops for this lodging type on longer routes. This is definitely your greatest option if you're looking for a choice that might go up in price.

Up to four individuals can sleep in a family bedroom, especially two adults and two kids. These were on the bottom deck of the sleeping cars, at the end of a little corridor.

For what they are, these rooms are extremely large. During the day, a family of four will have plenty of room. There is plenty of room for four people on the bench seat that spans the entire width of the train. And on the side opposite the bench, there is just one seat.

A spacious foldout tray table is located at each end of the cabin. The tables can be used as a chessboard or checkers board. There is a little closet, but it wouldn't hold anything other than a suit bag and a few coats.

Additionally, there is a little bit of storage room under the chairs. There isn't any additional luggage storage in the room, just like in the roomette. Most likely, we brought too many bags—one or two. Consider carefully what you actually require for the train travel and leave the rest in your car.

When the Auto Train cars were constructed 25 years ago, most people hadn't given carrying a wireless phone or its charging cord about much attention. There is only one electrical outlet in the family bedroom, which is not in the best place. If your family is anything like ours, you should bring a power strip so you can charge every device at once. Additionally, there are reading lamps, a music volume control (yep, Amtrak has several stations), and a climate control knob whose efficiency caught us off guard. When we were ready to have our rooms made up in the morning, we were instructed to press the cabin-attendant call button. Apart from that, we used it similarly to a flight attendant call button.

Two lower bunks can be converted into two beds in the family bedroom, and two more bunks can fold down from the ceiling. The upper bunks have reading lights and vent controls, just like in the roomette.

The bunks are parallel to one another. Two bunks are shorter than the others since the family bedroom is a rectangle. The shorter beds won't fit you unless you're a really small adult. The safety straps eased our children's first concerns about sleeping in the upper bed for fear that the jolting train would launch them to the ground. Our cabin attendant also brought a ladder so we could access the upper bunks when he made our beds for the night.

Last but not least, the bigger of the two lower bunks is really a little wider than the others. Although it isn't as large as a full-size bed, a little child may be able to sleep in it. The maximum number of guests that can fit in a family bedroom is four, even if a young child sleeps in the lower bunk with a parent.

The proportion of family bedrooms among the available cabins in the sleeping carriages is the smallest. We frequently discovered dates with just one or two left when conducting searches. Book in advance if this is the best option for your family's trip.

The family bedroom in an Auto Train sleeping car is likely the most economical choice for a family of four with children who are on the shorter side (5 feet, 5 inches or shorter). The cabin will have lots of room for lounging during the day, and each person will have a bed at night.

If you're not on a strict budget, the Superliner bedroom has a secret bonus but has a lesser capacity than the family bedroom. Although the Amtrak website only allows you to book the Superliner bedroom for up to two passengers, contact if you require a room that can accommodate three people.

Compared to the family bedroom, the couch is shorter in this type of space. In addition, there is a tray table between the single seat and the couch on the opposite side.

A small closet for hanging things up next to the couch can only accommodate a few jackets.

A small shelf that can accommodate a small luggage is located above each individual seat in the cabin. The confined area under the seats must be used for storage in all other cases. The individual seat can be folded away when not in use to make room for some stacked luggage in the corner.

There is a sink and toilet/shower combination in every Superliner bedroom. Each car has a toilet that is around the same size as the public restrooms. The shower is substantially smaller than the public facilities despite taking up the same amount of area.

Although we tried showering and did so without creating a huge mess, we did not follow the advice to sit while showering! The shower's privacy from the other people in the bedroom is its sole possible drawback. In the shower, there is virtually no place to change or undress without running the risk of getting your entire wardrobe wet.

The overhead bunk in the Superliner bedroom folds down with safety restraints to prevent you from slipping out while you sleep. The Superliner bunks are all longer, at least 6 feet, 6 inches, compared to the family bedroom. Although you'll have to get snug, the bottom bunk is broader to accommodate a second person. When setting up the space, the cabin attendant will also include a ladder.

If you don't have a tight budget and would like more space, the Superliner bedroom includes a fantastic feature: You can take use of the fact that each Superliner bedroom has a mirror-image back wall that faces another room. Make sure you receive adjacent bedrooms when making your reservation over the phone so the phone representative can make a note of it. When you board, the cabin attendant opens up a lot of space by removing the wall separating the two cabins.

In fact, there is room between each seat for a couple of suitcases. In this style, our family of four was able to spread out the most, but since you're essentially buying two rooms, it's not a cheap option.

There is one shower and a separate set of bathrooms in each sleeping car on the lowest floor. We observed it being used sparingly on both of our trips despite the fact that the shower is shared by all guests staying in roomettes and family bedrooms.

The shower unit is made up of a shower and a small changing space that are joined by a shower curtain. We weren't prepared for the showers to be as roomy as they were, with plenty of room to change and shower without bumping into walls.

Apart from soap bars and towels, there wasn't much in the way of facilities. We did, however, have a good supply of hot water and strong water pressure. The shower probably wouldn't have passed the TPG shower test because of the low ceiling height.

Sound sleepers can sleep on the auto train, while light sleepers find it difficult. Late at night, the Auto Train stops to change crew members (around 11 p.m. heading south and after midnight heading north). Only the soundest of sleepers will be able to sleep through the announcements that start breakfast at 6:30 in the morning and cease after 10 in the evening.

The coach cabin' lights are turned off at night, leaving only the exterior light to illuminate the interior. Nearly every light was off when I entered the coach cars at 11 p.m., and almost everyone was asleep.

The doors to each bedroom in the sleeping cars did a fantastic job of blocking out any noise from the passageway. The curtains did a respectable job of blocking out early light, but the announcements were so loud that I wished I had slept with headphones on.

Along the journey, the train itself lurches quite a bit. Through the course of the night, it goes through periods of rapid and gradual movement. We all had some difficulty going asleep, and one of our kids woke up when the train stopped so the crew could be changed. Overall, we all had some sleep, but none of us felt rested.

Food and Beverage

On the Auto Train, there is a self-service beverage station in each vehicle. Decaf and push-button coffee are widely accessible. Along with an ice bin and buckets, there is also hot water, plenty of teabags, and hot chocolate.

There are two food and beverage venues on every Auto Train: the dining car and the lounge car. The included breakfast and dinner are served in the dining car. While meals are now offered for all passengers, coach passengers will lose free dinner in 2020, transitioning to a buy-on-board model. A la carte meals and beverages are available in the lounge car.

Dinner is served at your allotted hour, and breakfast is served from 6 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. The lounge car is available from 6 a.m. to about 11 p.m. A few free grab-and-go products are also offered during breakfast.

Menus for the coach cabin and sleeper cars are similar. Coach passengers are fed flank steak, while sleeper-car passengers are served sirloin or flat-iron steak. The menu also includes a chicken, fish, and pasta meal.

The caliber of the meal can astound you. Even if it's not exactly caviar as on Lufthansa First Class, Amtrak meals are often of a higher caliber than first-class meals on most domestic U.S. airlines.

Bread service and a salad were served to kick off our Amtrak Auto Train dinner. Non-alcoholic drinks were provided, and your waitress may sell you alcohol like beer and wine.

The fish was soft and flavorful, the steaks were cooked to the proper doneness, and the dessert was delectable. Even though we weren't using good china, the steak on a plastic plate nevertheless tasted great.

Although they didn't win any awards, the cheesecake and molten chocolate cake were better than any dessert I've had in domestic first class in a while.

The meal to skip if you want to get some extra sleep is breakfast service. The dining car's breakfast seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

We had bagels, orange juice, a bowl of cereal, and a banana for breakfast. These weren't brand-new bagels from New York. The bagels were little and frozen. So, avoid breakfast unless you're really hungry, and go to bed instead. Alternatively, gather a few items and return to your seat or sleeping bed.

Amenities

Although there is free Wi-Fi aboard the Auto Train, keep in mind that "you get what you pay for." The Wi-Fi is... not very fast. I attempted to do speed tests but mostly received the following message:

When I did manage to connect, the quality was terrible.

Due to the utter lack of usable Wi-Fi on board, I utilized my phone as a hotspot for a substantial portion of the trip. Even the hotspot occasionally dropped because of the rural character of several parts of the journey.

In conclusion? Bring a book, play some checkers, or watch Netflix programs you downloaded, but don't expect on having a fast connection.

Arrival

Each station has a procedure to return your car and continue on your trip after the train arrives. Because the train station in Sanford is smaller, they must divide the train in half. Coach passengers have to wait longer to exit the train, but if you didn't pay for priority unloading, you might not care too much because you'll probably be waiting to leave anyhow.

The Auto Train can hold up to 330 automobiles, as I have mentioned. The Auto Train is one of Amtrak's most lucrative routes since, on its own, it only loses a modest amount of money. Because 300 vehicles can take a while to unload, the profitability data and our research on pricing make me assume that the Auto Train typically operates at or near capacity.

Less than five minutes after getting off the train on our way down to Sanford, we were sitting in the station. In less than 10 minutes, our automobile was unloaded off the train, exceeding our expectations and making the priority offloading price worthwhile. In less than 15 minutes, we were pulling away from the Auto Train lot in Lorton.

There are only approximately 10 spots available for customers to load their bags, get in their cars, and start driving, despite the workers moving the cars off quickly. It took some time even after the Amtrak personnel added additional ten cars, which were positioned just behind people who were holding out for available places. In Sanford, we waited for almost 45 minutes, but we still didn't see half the vehicles leave our train. That implies that the last passenger to arrive at the departure station may have to wait up to two hours to get their automobile.

Is it worth it?

Is taking the auto train to avoid the trouble of driving worth the cost? What about the extended travel time compared to flying?

Consider that your family is made up of four, just like ours. If we use $300 as a baseline for the cost of an airline ticket from the Washington, D.C., region to Orlando, Florida, that comes to $1,200. Add a rental car for about $400 per week and $150 for parking or transportation to/from the airport. That brings the cost of a flight to Florida to almost $1,750.

Based on the average cost of each cabin, let's now contrast a few of the other choices. For our Amtrak instances, we used discounted child fares, assuming both children were between the ages of 2 and 12.

• Flying: $1,750
• Auto Train in coach: $1,170
• Auto Train in two roomettes: $2,550
• Auto Train Superliner bedroom: $2,050*
• Auto Train family bedroom: $2,450
• Driving from New York City to Orlando: $320**

*For the Superliner bedroom pricing, we assumed one adult and two children in the Superliner bedroom, with one parent sleeping in coach.

**For driving from New York to Orlando, we assumed 1,080 miles at an average of 24.7 miles to the gallon and a price of $2 per gallon. We also factored in $200 for a hotel room on the way. That does not factor in any "wear and tear."

Getting a decent night's sleep on the road to Florida with the family is certainly a very strict necessity. Every family sleeps differently, but I assume that most families have trouble sleeping well in the coach.

The family bedroom is most likely the economical choice that strikes a balance between getting a good night's sleep and a manageable price. You'll probably pay a little bit extra, though. As we searched through various message forums discussing overnight Amtrak train excursions, we discovered individuals who had managed to score last-minute discounts on roomettes, one of the most accessible cabins on board. Booking in coach and looking for a cheap upgrade to a roomette could be an option if taking the train is in your future and staying on budget is your top priority.

If you want a refund for certain Amtrak fare categories, keep in mind that there will be a fee. With the exception of the price difference, upgrading should be viewed in this situation as a change, which is typically free. But during a few phone interactions with Amtrak phone agents, we overheard this guideline being distorted.

The value equation for the Auto Train can be viewed in a variety of ways. Living near Washington, D.C., made our comparison easier to make. If you reside in Boston or Albany, New York, you may still be able to go to the Auto Train while the sun is still asleep. By sleeping on the Auto Train during your drive, you would avoid having to pay for a hotel room when plane ticket costs rise.

Also keep in mind that your travel would be more expensive than the examples above if your end destination in Florida was somewhere like Key West, Florida.

Overall Impression

Without any preconceived notions, our family participated in the Auto Train experience. Our main lesson learned? The Auto Train is very time-consuming. Although it may seem apparent, unless we're talking about a lengthy summer trip, families typically have smaller windows for vacation than, say, pensioners. The time you lose by spending two days on the train is significant if you just have a week or so off.

We instantly realized that future packing will be different. We had soft-sided bags, which was a positive, but we should have left more of our belongings in the car.

After the trip to Disney World was over, our family was pleased that we had the opportunity to ride the Auto Train. Even so, my wife stressed the importance of "experience." With Play-Doh checkers and family Uno games, we made it a delightful family excursion. It's possible that the absence of dependable Wi-Fi was a blessing.

The Auto Train, in my wife's words, helped reduce a lot of the stress associated with traveling. Virtually without fail, we avoided I-95 gridlock. When a little passenger wanted to use the restroom immediately, there were no lineups at airport security, and a beverage cart was not blocking the aisle. The seat-belt sign didn't prevent us from getting up and moving around the cabin, and our phones were functional.

The largest compromise was simply the amount of time it required, but everyone agreed that they would think about making that trip again in the future if circumstances permitted.