Travelling Cheap

I have previously mentioned how much I love train travel. I consider it to be the best way to see any country, much moreso than by car. In any case, with oil prices what they are, who would want to rent a car and have to pay the petrol, especially if you were to travel a country as wide and varying as the United States.

It is about the US that I would like to talk about today, specifically about a ticket that is very similar to the InterRail service that allows you to travel through different regions or the whole of Europe (and some of North Africa) under one ticket.

After having taken in the sites and monuments of Europe’s many countries, it seems equally appealing to take the opportunity to travel throughout the US and admire the natural and man built wonders that country has to offer. Just take a moment to think of the vast variety of terrain and vegetation that your train journey will take you through… Forests, deserts, frozen lakes, waterfalls, all just a few minutes from where you step off the train.

All the locations that have been immortalised on film over the 20th century and that have been engraved in our minds… Painted desert mountains, dense forests with trees that have been growing there for hundreds of years, oceans and capitals, the National Rail Pass will allow you to travel through all these places and stop to take in the sites. If however you have more specific areas of the US in mind you can also purchase one of their regional tickets for 15 days or 1 month. The Northeast Rail Pass will take you all the way from Virginia through Boston, Washington DC, the Hamptons, all the way to Niagara Falls. The West Rail Pass goes through cowboy country, but starts off in Chicago, then through to New Orleans and all the way to the Pacific Coast. Finally the East Rail Pass allows you to enjoy Florida, St. Louis, Texas and numerous other states.

If there is any way to enjoy travelling around the US and getting the most out of it, this is it! And for the penny pinchers out there (like me) book during off peak season to get a hefty reduction on your ticket costs. I’ll soon be firing up my social networking skills and contacting all my mates in the states to see if they have a sofa available.

Related Posts: