euclidpb

Anyone have a experience touring to the west, and returning East by bus or otherwise?

Is greyhound a reasonable option, To carry bikes, or do the transfers make this way to crazy? Rideshare options?
Spose I'm thinking that the bus will miss connections and we'll turn a 3 day into a 5 day return...
PORTLAND OR TO DC. Thanks for input..

Tandem Tom

Amtrak?

bikemig 

I'd take the train out west and ride home if I lived on the east coast.

J.C. Koto

According to a google search "amtrak portland to dc" it can be done in less than 3 days though I don't know how trustworthy that search feature is. I've traveled via both Greyhound and Amtrak and I don't think I'll ever ride Greyhound again if I can help it. The Amtrak ride was actually pretty nice. Plus it seems they have some accommodations for bicycles

andrewclaus

I use Bikeflights.com to ship the bike for a reasonable cost, and book an airline ticket when I'm about a week away from my destination. That can be less expensive than a bus or train ticket bought at the ticket window, and can save a couple of days travel time (if that's a concern).

For shorter returns, especially when traveling with a partner or small group, something to always keep in mind is a one-way car rental (if you have a driver's license and credit card). That can be very cost-effective, comfortable, and convenient. I haven't done that for much more than a day's drive, though.

indyfabz

+1. Did just that many years ago. Rode right to my house and rolled the bike up the lawn.

OP: Amtrak. You can easily take your bike with you for little money. I would never want to be cramped on busses for that long. Much more room to move around on the train. The Portland to CHI train has a double decker lounge car, at least for part of the ride, and the seats are roomier than bus seats. The whole trip does take a little less than 3 days.

OldZephyr

Portland to DC via Amtrak is the way to go. Daily service, only need to change trains once (in Chicago), and the whole route uses the double deck Superliners, including a diner and a lounge car. The Portland-Chicago train is the Empire Builder and goes via the southern edge of Glacier Park in Montana. The Chicago-DC train is the Capitol Limited -- goes via Pittsburgh, and most of the way between Pittsburgh and DC is quite scenic.

Book in advance and the fares can be really reasonable, and Amtrak is super easy for shipping a bike.

Leave Portland on the Empire Builder in the afternoon of say, a Friday, you'll be rolling across Montana and North Dakota on Saturday, arrive St. Paul Sunday morning, arrive Chicago Sunday afternoon, connect a few hours later to the Capitol Limited, arrive early afternoon in DC on Monday.

Both trains can be delayed, and there have been some congestion and track work issues this year on the freight railroads that host Amtrak, but if you are going next year, a lot of the track projects should be finished by then.

staehpj1

I agree that getting the public transit leg out of the way in the beginning is a good way to go. If you do that I recommend flying rather than the bus or train unless you don't care how long it takes and are comfortable on the bus or train. I find that if I shop ahead of time I can often go cheaper than Amtrak. I really want to like the train, but I did a 17 hour sting on Amtrak and was more tired from the train ride than from the tour. You can get a sleeper, but it is quite expensive IMO.

The biggest downside to flying IMO is that you have a set date and it is awkward and/or expensive to change. If you do the flying at the beginning of the tour you avoid that because it is easy to meet a set start date while a set finish date locks you into a schedule.

On the bus I always seem to wind up next to drunks, people just released from prison and on their way home, or crying babies. It is usually interesting, but not especially pleasant.

I have driven coast to coast a few times and actually enjoyed it. If you can find someone who wants a vehicle delivered to the other coast that would be a nice way to go.

If you decide to fly pick a bike friendly airline (Southwest is my fav).

fietsbob

There is a non Greyhound bus [Wi Fi not winos] between the Coast and Portland. NorthWest Point

bikemig 

Why is Southwest bike friendly? Are there other airlines you think are bike friendly? We ought to have a sticky on this.

Tourist in MSN

One thing I really like about Amtrak is that you can book your ticket a week or two in advance and it is still affordable. On a couple of my tours when we were not sure which day we would finish, we waited until about a week before the end to book our Amtrak tickets. It cost more than if we got the tickets a half year in advance but it was a lot cheaper than airlines.

Portland to Chicago is a couple days on the train. I like to bring plenty of picnic type foods with me so I do not have to eat all meals in the dining or lounge cars that can be costly and they might run out of the best selections. I usually eat breakfast in the dining car, other meals I eat what I brought on the train with me.

Since you would buy the Amtrak box in Portland for your bike, you would want to ask the bus company before hand if they would take your bike on the bus.

I rode the bus to Astoria from Portland, we boxed our bikes before we got on the train to head west. There was no convenient place to dispose of the bike boxes in Astoria, we found a cardboard recycling bin behind a pizza place across the street from the Astoria bus stop.

Photo taken in Portand at Amtrak station while waiting for bus.

tarwheel 

Personally, I would have difficulty sleeping in an Amtrak seat for 2-3 nights, and booking a sleeper room would cost much more than flying. In my experience, air tickets to California are surprisingly inexpensive if you shop around and book in advance. Carrying your bike on most airplanes is expensive, but you could always ship your bike ahead of time with Fed Ex, US Post or Amtrak. I enjoy traveling by rail and might travel that way just for the experience, but sleeping would definitely be an issue.

Bacciagalupe

A one-way flight on United from LAX to NYC, or SF to Boston, costs $200 or less.

That's cheaper than either Amtrak or Greyhound. It also only takes 6 hours, as opposed to 3 days.

Spread your wings and fly.

andrewclaus

I hopped on the "Dirty Dog" in Tucson after walking there across the desert on the Arizona Trail from the Mexican border, expecting this situation. But I had a whole row to myself and wondered why until I realized I was that scary-looking, smelly person.

andrewclaus

I completely agree with this, even though flying is not as pleasant as it used to be. Just last week in the news we heard of some conflicts over reclining seats, one of which led to an unscheduled landing and at least one arrest.

My last Amtrak ride was over 24 hours in a bulkhead seat with no window, on a packed train, next to a single mom with four kids. I hopped off in Chicago and got on a plane for the rest of the trip.

Bacciagalupe

I went across the US using Amtrak many years ago. It had its pluses and minuses. The train cars which were all windows were great, and it does give you a nice view of the country. None of the passengers were unpleasant. However, the food really sucked, and the seats were intolerable for overnight trips.

I think it'd be OK if you stopped every 8-12 hours and stayed in a hotel room, but that's not going to be very economical.

I also did some Greyhound trips, and hopefully will never need to do so ever again. Other buses I've used were OK, but cross country via Greyhound? No way.

staehpj1

I think cost for taking a bike as checked baggage is the biggest thing. Some airlines charge as much as $175-200 to check a bike as baggage and they also charge for every checked bag. I am not completely up to date on current airline policies since I drove to my last couple trips, but last time I flew SW it was two bags for free and the bike was an extra $50 (it counts as one of your 2 bags). I heard that they have gone up a little but are still fairly reasonable ($75 I think).

Frontier is another airline that look good last time I checked.

B. Carfree

Not necessarily. If one is able to plan in advance and happens to be a bit of a consumer, then it is possible to get an Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card with 12,000 points just for signing up. I think a sleeper roomette from Portland to Chicago (two zones) is 20,000 points (two passengers; bring a friend). You get one point for each dollar of purchases made with the card (more for certain types of purchases like train tickets). So, if you buy $8,000 of stuff after getting the card, then the train trip is free, minus the cash rebate you might have gotten from whatever other credit card you might have used.

Oh, and the roomette comes with meals, showers and towels. It's a lot slower than a plane, but the only person strip-searching you is your chosen room-mate, if any, and you can stretch out.

Doug64

Airline vs. train also depends on several things besides ticket cost: where you live in relation to an airport or train station whether you can ride or take public transportation to either one, or need to get a friend or relative to deliver you to the point of departure; needing to stay in a motel the night prior to the flight; and location of the airport or train station when you arrive at your starting point in relation to your route.

For us the train is the best bet almost anywhere in the west from San Diego to Vancouver BC, east as far as Montana. We can ride to the Amtrak station from our home, and back again on return. Getting to and from the airport usually requires more logistics with a motel on both ends of the trip, someplace to leave our vehicle and retrieve it at the end, pretty much losing a day at the beginning and the finish.

However, trips to the east mid-west or east coast are about a wash, and flying is quicker.

indyfabz

Except he's talking PDX to WAS. And if he flies with the bike, tack on another $175 with United.

gribley

A note on sleeping on the train: I took the train from SF to Albany fifteen years ago. Three days, with a change in Chicago. The trains west of CHI are spectacular; east, a little more cramped and boring, but still far better than the bus.

For the two nights in the west, I slept on the floor of the observation car. As I recall, they showed a movie in there each night, but when it was over most folks cleared out and went back to their seats. I lay on the floor under the benches and slept pretty well, and when they opened the dining car, they gave me a nudge and told me to go back to the seat. I could never have slept properly in an Amtrak seat. As I recall, I even had a sleeping bag and maybe a camping pad.

I loved that trip; it was beautiful, and there's something nice about seeing all the land between points A and B -- especially if you're going to ride it next! I don't know whether they let you get away with sleeping on the floor these days. I think sleeping in my seat for three nights would break me today :-(

fotooutdoors

I would echo the suggestions to ship the bike west, fly west, then tour east. The downside is that you end your trip in familiar territory (so you aren't journeying toward the exciting new place), but it allows you to save money on the plane ticket and you get the benefit of the prevailing winds across the great plains.

I've traveled by Amtrak several times over the past 5 years, and while it is okay (definitely better than a bus), it takes a lot of time. The upside is that it does drop you off in some small towns (though it won't drop your bike, with the possible exception of the lines with roll-on service). I personally wouldn't use it for a cross-country trip where the point is getting fro point A to B. Now if you would hop off several times...but then you have the issue with your bike.

staehpj1

Sure ,but why would he fly with United if he was checking a bike? Southwest serves those terminals and has decent deals and fairly reasonable baggage policies.

fietsbob

Round trip loop.. turnaround and ride back?