If the idea of travelling in a loop around the US by train appeals, a new itinerary has been published that outlines exactly how you can do it.
Travel booking platform Wanderu has compiled the epic trip using Amtrak's rail network at an average cost of just under $1000 (€915.80). To complete the journey, passengers will travel about 6586 miles, pass through 27 states and ride seven different Amtrak services, including the iconic Coast Starlight and Empire Builder lines. They will travel along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as the northern and southern borders and will see some of the most magnificent scenery in the country. In total, the journeys add up to seven days, four hours and 39 minutes of travel time.
Beginning in Boston, passengers travel south to Washington, DC passing through seven other states. From Washington, DC, they take the Amtrak Crescent through seven more states to New Orleans, and from there it's on to Los Angeles, a journey that takes 46 hours and passes through four other states. The Amtrak Coast Starlight line from Los Angeles to Seattle passes through one other state – Oregon –and the section that traces Highway 101 from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo is among the most gorgeous train rides they’ll ever take.
The Amtrak Empire Builder trip from Seattle to Chicago cuts through five other states, and the journey from Chicago to Cleveland takes six hours and passes through Indiana. The journey begins to wind down after passengers travel from Cleveland to Albany, and then the final journey is the four hours and 47 minute trip from Albany to Boston, at which point, travellers will have passed through 27 states.
You can check out the entire route on Wanderu here.
