Need help to plan a US East Coast train trip

Hello!

I’m thinking about taking a cruise that sails from my home port (Quebec City, Canada) and goes to Fort Lauderdale. Instead to fly back home, I would like to take the opportunity to do a nice train trip, stopping in some of the best cities of US East Coast. To do that, I need your help because I don’t know what are the not-to-be-missed cities and attractions. I definitely want to stop in Washington, DC but I don’t know what other city I should visit. I’ve been to New York a few times, I liked it but could pass my turn this time in order to see other places. What itinerary would you suggest (I want to stop in 3-4 cities, not including Fort Lauderdale). I love National Parks and this type of stuff but it won’t be easy this time (don’t forget, I’ll be travelling by train, with a big suitcase since I’ll be coming back from a cruise). Then, I need your suggestions of cities to visit that have a train station nearby (I’ll probably be staying at youth hostel or inexpensive hotels). Your suggestions may include cities that are on the way to come back to Canada via the Niagara region, via Montreal or via Maritime provinces. When you list a city, please tell me what I should do while I am there and also list restaurants that you like. Thank you in advance, I’m sure you will be of great help, as usual!

I can offer a few tips on the Amtrak service having taken it from Seattle to Miami via Chicago and Washington DC.

Are you planning on travelling first class - ie sleeping accomodation on the train if so there is a separate first class lounge at Union Station in DC where you can check your luggage while you tour the city - we arrived around noon and had a scheduled 8 hour stop over that was more like 10 hours - Amtrak ain't great for on time arrivals-departures.

Since it was spring break and most of the tours were full for the day we found a delightful taxi driver who drove us around the town and showed us the sights for $25.00 an hour - there were five of us - after a couple of hours we returned to station - some of us walked around for a while longer before returning to the station - Union Station is a marvel - more than a train station - it is a transportation hub, shopping mall and restaurant haven - you could spend a couple of hours just touring the station - after dinner at one of the restaurants we returned to the first class lounge and await our departure - the lounge has free pop, coffee, muffins etc plus free internet and wireless use. We didn't stop at any other cities along the way although Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida looked interesting.

Cheers

Dennis

Thank you Dennis

(Urban Trekker - perfect user name to help me with this question!)

I did a train trip a few years ago (Quebec City to Vancouver) and was in sleeping accommodation that offer extra service, etc. and loved it but this time, I’ll just take a regular seat since I’m planning to stop in 3-4 cities and spend a night or two in each of them. Savannah was also recommended to me in another board where I posted the same thread. I'll definitely stop there. Thank you!

If other people have great places to suggest, please don't hesitate, I want all comments possible.

If possible, Charleston would be another good stop. Not that far a ride from Savannah and a beautiful city for walking touring. Also there is Philadelphia. The train from NYC to Niagara Falls (both New York and Ontario) which ends in Toronto goes along the Hudson River for a while which is very scenic.

Just did a quick look on routes between FLL and NY and found this:

Fort Lauderdale, FL (FTL)

Deerfield Beach, FL (DFB)

West Palm Beach, FL (WPB)

Sebring, FL (SBG)

Winter Haven, FL (WTH)

Tampa, FL (TPA)

Kissimmee, FL (KIS)

Orlando, FL (ORL)

Winter Park, FL (WPK)

Deland, FL (DLD)

Jacksonville, FL (JAX)

Savannah, GA (SAV)

Columbia, SC (CLB)

Raleigh, NC (RGH)

Rocky Mount, NC (RMT)

Petersburg, VA (PTB)

Richmond, VA (RVR)

Alexandria, VA (ALX)

Washington, DC Union Station (WAS)

Baltimore, MD Penn Station (BAL)

Wilmington, DE (WIL)

Philadelphia, PA 30th Street Station (PHL)

Newark, NJ (NWK)

New York, NY Penn Station (NYP)

Of those stops, I would recommend Savannah, Richmond VA, DC, Baltimore and Philly.

-Savannah is the first city to be settled in the south, and is supposed to be charming.

-Richmond is not very far from Charlottesville which is a neat place. It's near Monticello,(Thomas Jefferson's home) as well as the home of James Madison and James Monroe. It is also in the middle of Virginia's wine country. If you rent a car here you can also drive to the Appalachians

-DC has a lot to see right near the train station. Get a cab to your hotel, and you can get almost everywhere by bus and Metro.

-Baltimore has the Harbor and is also in bus distance to Annapolis

-Philly has lots of historical sights, museums and parks. Also easy to get around.

Not mentioned on this list but another good place to go with good transport is Boston. It just depends on your route. If you go via Boston, then the Hudson Valley may be out.

Good luck, and happy planning!

Good morning,

Thank you mconthehighseas, you are of great help. I'll definitely keep your recommendations in mind when I will book this trip!

(sorry for taking so long to reply, I was out of the office from the 17th to the 19th and yesterday I was so busy at work).