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By admin, January 7, 2010 7:37 pm

Vancouver, British Columbia is an ideal location for the Olympic Winter Games.  It is a major metropolitan area with significant infrastructure, close to world-class mountains and in a country that loves winter sports.  The city’s international culture embodies strong elements from both the East and West.

Another feature of this location is its proximity to the United States.  Situated approximately 40 miles from the US/Canada border, Vancouver will be easy to reach by land.  You may wish to consider rail travel as a relaxing and affordable method to travel to the Games.  Given the elevated demand for airline seats into Vancouver around the time of the Olympics, a land alternative may be the most enjoyable way to get to Vancouver.

Here are five tips/hints for effectively traveling to/from the Vancouver Winter Olympics by Amtrak:

One:  You must first decide your gateway city.  Seattle and Portland, Oregon are the logical choices.  Although both cities enjoy great air service, you may wish to take the Empire Builder from Chicago or Minneapolis/St. Paul to either gateway city.  You will experience the vast Northern plains and the scenic Rocky Mountains (including Glacier National Park) along the way.  Alternatively, you can fly into California and take the Coast Starlight north from Los Angeles or Oakland.  Like the Empire Builder, this train has Superliner sleeper accommodations.  Finally, there is Amtrak Cascades service five times a day between Portland and Seattle. 

Two:  Once you reach Seattle, you have multiple means of transportation north to the Olympic Games.  You can travel on one of two Amtrak Cascades trains that include a stop in Bellingham, Washington before arriving in Vancouver.  Alternatively, you can connect to an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach that only stops in Surrey and Richmond, British Columbia before its arrival in Vancouver.  If you really want to explore numerous modes of transportation, you can take the Victoria Clipper high-speed catamaran from Seattle to Victoria, BC and the Pacific Coast Lines bus service from Victoria to Vancouver.

Three:  The next decision is where to stay.  Most people will elect to find lodging in Vancouver.  The Pacific Central Station, Amtrak’s depot in Vancouver, is two blocks from the Main Street – Science World station on TransLink’s SkyTrain service.  Four TransLink and two Coast Mountain bus lines run close to the train station.  You will want your hotel to be close to a transit lines since there will not be any private automobile parking at the Olympic venues.  The good news is that your Olympic event ticket gives you unlimited, free access to the TransLink system on the day of that event and the early morning of the next day.

Four:  Two alternative bases for the Olympic Games are Bellingham, WA and the Whistler, British Columbia areas.  Bellingham is about sixty miles from Vancouver.  Both Amtrak Cascades and Greyhound bus service are available to Vancouver many times a day.  If mountain sports are the focus of your visit, you may wish to stay in the Whistler area.  There is Greyhound Canada Thruway service from Vancouver’s Pacific Central Station to the Pemberton/Whistler area.

Five:  It will be extremely important to make advanced reservations for transportation and lodging to see the Olympic Winter Games.  By buying your transportation tickets and reserving your lodging in advance, you may be able to receive discounted advanced purchase fares or fares for students and seniors.  Finally, US citizens should remember that they will need to present their passports to cross back into the United States from Canada.

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By admin, January 5, 2010 8:24 am

Although the Grand Canyon became federally protected in 1893, it did not become a national park until 1919.  The park’s uniqueness comes from it sheer size:  277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. In fact, the Grand Canyon is so large that it has two main points of entry, the North and South Rims, which are 215 miles apart for each other. 

Fortunately, Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim has Amtrak service close by on the Southwest Chief.  You literally have automobile, train and bus alternatives.   Here are five tips/hints for effectively traveling to/from the Grand Canyon by land:

One:  If you wish to take the train right up to the Canyon, you can board the Grand Canyon Railway.  Once you disembark at Williams Junction, you can take the free shuttle service to the Grand Canyon Hotel and Railway.  For those arriving from the west, there is a five hour layoff before the 9:30 am departure to the Canyon.  If you are going back west, the train leaves the Canyon at 3:30 pm and arrives at the Grand Canyon Hotel at 5:45 pm.  This leaves you with about 3 ½ hours before the shuttle takes you back to the Williams Junction Amtrak station.

Coming from the east, it is not as convenient.  Since the Southwest Chief arrives in the late evening, you will probably want to take the shuttle to the Grand Canyon Hotel and stay the night.  The hotel is well-appointed and resembles the original Santa Fe Railroad hotel in Williams.  After a good breakfast, you will be ready for the 9:30 am departure described above.  Going back east, you may also wish to rent a hotel room since the train leaves Williams Junction in the early morning.

Two:  If you prefer to travel by bus to the canyon, there is convenient service from the Flagstaff Amtrak station provided by Open Road Shuttle.  For those arriving from the west, there is a three hour layover before the 8:00 am departure to the Canyon.  If you are going back west, the bus leaves the Maswik Lodge at 6:15 pm and arrives at the Flagstaff Amtrak station at 8:00 pm, which is about an hour before your departure on the Southwest Chief.

Coming from the east, again, it is less convenient.  Upon your late evening arrival in Flagstaff, you will probably want to reserve a hotel room before taking the 8:00 am departure described above.  Going back east, you may also wish to rent a hotel room since the train leaves Flagstaff in the morning.

Three:  You may wish to reserve a rental car for maximum flexibility.  Since the Amtrak arrivals and departures in the area are not doing normal business hours, you should probably rent from an airport facility that has extended hours.  Your best bet to find such a facility by the Grand Canyon is at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport.  Check with your rental car agency to see whether they can pick you up at the train station or if you will need to take a taxi to get there.

Four:  If you really want to go to the North Rim and do not have a car, there is a bus service run by Transcanyon Shuttle.  The service leaves the South Rim at 1:30 pm and arrives at the North Rim 4 ½ hours later.  The return bus leaves the North Rim at 7:00 am.  Obviously, the service runs only form mid-May to mid-October when the North Rim is open.

Five:  The Southwest Chief is an all-reserved train.  Whether you are experiencing Amtrak’s coach service or the Superliner sleeping accommodations, you must make advanced reservations.  By buying your tickets in advance for both Amtrak and local transportation services near the Grand Canyon, you may be able to receive discounted advance purchase fares or special fares for students and seniors.

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By admin, January 2, 2010 7:36 pm

Unfortunately, Yellowstone National Park lost its nearby Amtrak service in 1979.  The only low fare airlines to the area fly directly to Denver and the Southwest.  Therefore, utilizing a combination of Amtrak trains and buses is the cheapest way for many people to travel to the Yellowstone area.  Here are five tips/hints for effectively traveling to/from Yellowstone by land:

One:  You must know the park entrances available to you at the time of the year you are travelling.  During the peak travel months of mid-May to early November, all five entrances are open:  North near Gardiner, MT; West near West Yellowstone, MT; South near Jackson, WY; East near Cody, WY and Northeast near Silver Gate, MT.  Starting in mid-November, only the North Entrance is open until spring.

Two:  If you are travelling to Yellowstone via Amtrak when all of the entrances are open, riding the California Zephyr to Salt Lake City is the train line of choice.  If you are coming from the west, the train arrives in Salt Lake City at 4:05 am.  You can catch the Salt Lake Express bus to Jackson, WY at 7:30 am.  You will want to disembark at Jackson’s airport at 2:15 pm so you can take advantage of the airport’s car rental facilities.  To go back west, you can take the 11:30 am Salt Lake Express bus to catch the 11:30 pm Amtrak departure.

If you are coming from the east, the California Zephyr arrives in Salt Lake City at 11:00 pm.  You may wish to rent a hotel room for the night, since the Salt Lake Express bus doesn’t leave until 7:30 am (as noted above.)  To go back east, you must take the same 11:30 am bus described above.  Since it arrives at 6:15 pm in Salt Lake City and your train departure is not until 4:30 am, you may wish to book a hotel room for the night.

Three:  In the winter, you must use the Empire Builder to get to Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance.  The best way to connect with the Empire Builder is through Spokane, Washington.  Greyhound Lines has a convenient schedule that works well with Amtrak’s.  Part of the beauty of connecting through Spokane is that the trains arrive and depart in the early morning from both directions.  Thus, if you are going to Yellowstone, your train will arrive in Spokane no later than 2:00 am.  You can take the 5:05 am Greyhound bus and arrive in Bozeman, MT at 12:50 pm.  From Bozeman, there is a 4:50 pm bus that arrives in Spokane at 12:35 am.  The earliest train leaves Spokane at 1:15 am.  Connecting in Spokane is easy since Greyhound uses the Spokane train station as its depot.  Since the connections take place in the middle of the night, this is very convenient.  Also, this connection works well year-round if you are coming from the Northwest.

Four:  If you are planning to drive to Yellowstone from Bozeman, you should use one of the rental car facilities at the airport.  Although there are some rental car offices in town, they have limited hours, especially on weekends.  Some of the airport rental car facilities will pick you up at the Bozeman Amtrak station at no additional charge for added convenience.

Five:  Both the Empire Builder and California Zephyr are all-reserved trains.  Whether you are experiencing Amtrak’s coach service or the Superliner sleeping accommodations, you must make advanced reservations.  By buying your tickets in advance for both Amtrak and bus services, you may be able to receive discounted advance purchase fares and special fares for students and seniors.

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By admin, January 1, 2010 7:38 pm

SNCF, the French national train operator, seem to have taken a leaf out of the book of the UK railway companies in having a pricing structure that is almost incomprehensible, even to the French!

Does it make sense to book at the last minute, or is it best to book well in advance? Would if be cheaper to buy a rail pass, or simply travel using promotional offers?

You can never be quite sure, although the general principle to apply is that the best offers can be found by paying in advance. However, as SNCF seek to optimise the number of passengers on each train, you also need to take into account the time and day of your departure.

To help you through the maze of tariffs and cards, here is a brief explanation of just what there is available.

Tarif Loisir

This is that standard SNCF ticket tariff that applies irrespective of age.

The tickets can be purchased 90 days in advance, or right at the last moment.

They are also fully reimbursable right to the day of departure, although there is a charge of €10 per ticket (or 50% of ticket price if less than €20) if you seek reimbursement on the day of departure itself.

The nearer the date of departure, the more expensive the tickets become, in some case up to 50% more expensive for those tickets purchased at least one month in advance.

‘Les Prem’s’

These are tickets purchased in advance for departure on a particular date, at a particular time.

They offer a reduction in price on the Tariffs Loisir of up to 70%.

They are not always available to all destinations in France, but most are direct trains.

There are different types of Prem’s:

i. Standard Prem’s – These tickets are available between 3 months and 14 days before departure, costing between €22 and €33 for journeys throughout France. Around 10% of all seats on French trains are reserved for such tickets.

ii. Prem’s Weekend – Provided you are happy to arrive around 0100 hours at your destination and arrival points, these tickets are also very good value. The cost is between €25 and €45 per ticket.

iii. Prem’s Dernier Minute – Last minute tickets sold only over the Internet, provided places are available, up to 60% cheaper than the standard rate. They are normally available three to ten days prior to departure.

iv.Prem’s Vente Flash – These are promotional tickets that are available from time to time.

iDTGV

The iDTGV is a low cost high speed train tariff, aimed mainly at young people, but available to anyone!

The main aim of the tariff is to compete with the low cost airlines.

The service offers a choice of comfort, whether in a coach for relaxation, or one for disco dancing!

There are also DVD rentals and other high tec offers available.

The train takes the same routes as the normal TGVs, and, indeed, most are part of the regular TGV service.

There are both day and night trains, with departures from most main stations in France.

Tickets can be had for a little as €15 one way for many journeys between the major cities of France. A return train ticket to Paris from Bordeaux can be purchased for €38! The earlier you book, and the more flexible you are on the times and dates, the cheaper is the ticket.

Tickets can be booked up to six months in advance, and go on sale from a specified date every three months.

The tickets are non-reimbursable, although they can be exchanged.

The tickets can only be purchased and printed on-line on the site of iDTGV.

French Rail Passes

There are a range of different rail passes available that offer price reductions of a minimum of 25% on standard fares.

They are normally valid for a year, and the tickets are reimbursable.

The cards also offer ‘S Miles’ that are convertible into tickets or presents.

i. Carte 12-25 – The most interesting of all the cards, offering reductions of up to 60% off the standard fare. The card costs €49.

ii. Carte Enfant + – Available for children under 12 years old with one card that offers price reductions for up to four other people accompanying the child. Price reductions of a minimum of 25% on the standard fare are offered. The cost of the card is €70 per year.

iii. Carte Senior – Available to those aged 60+ it costs €56 and offers price reductions of up to 50% on the standard fare.

iv. Carte Escapades – Available to those aged 26-59 it costs €85 per year and offers reductions of up to 40% for return tickets, which must include a Saturday night.

v. Forfait Bambin – A child under 4 years old can travel free of charge on the lap of an adult on a French train, but by using this card they get their own seat. The cost is €8.20.

vi. Carte Familles Nombreuses – Available to families with at least three children. It costs €18 and offers reductions of between 30% and 75%.

Buying Tickets for Trains in France

Tickets for trains can be purchased either from a local SNCF rail or travel office, or over the internet at www.voyages-sncf.com

Colour coding of the tickets gives you an idea of the price range: the orange band is the cheapest, with blue for normal, and grey for the most expensive.

Remember, however, that iDTGV trains need to be purchased direct from their site.

In addition, there are other sites where you can buy unwanted tickets, or where you can sell your own.

The main sites are KelBillet.com, Trocdestrains.com and Zepass.com

Enjoy your journey!

Learn more at http://www.french-property.com/news/