Weekend Baltimore-Washington Rail Getaway (1) Savannah, GA

Have your weekend bag packed and with you at work so you can make a short dash to the train station. You'll take Amtrak's overnight Silver Meteor, train #97 Friday evening. This train departs Baltimore, MD's Penn Station at 6:17PM, Washington, DC's Union Station at 7:30PM and Alexandria, VA's Amtrak Station at 7:50PM.

You'll have your choice of coach, which includes comfortable reclining seats with leg rests and plenty of leg room, or sleeper service which uses Amtrak's relatively new Viewliner sleeping cars which have windows for both the upper and lower berths, hence the name Viewliner.

There are accommodation choices in sleeping cars. Roomettes are smaller rooms for two facing each other, the seats folding down together at night to form a comfortable lower berth for one and an upper berth that folds down from the ceiling if there is a roomate. There is also a sink with hot and cold running water and a flush toilet, requiring the two travelling companions to either be good friends or the other to take a hike at times to the nearby lounge car. The larger bedroom has a larger lower bed, into which two good friends have been known to fit, an upper berth, a sink with running hot and cold water and an ENCLOSED toilet with shower! It should also be noted that there is a public shower/changing room up the hallway for roomette patrons. Also important, all meals are included in your fare for sleeping car travel.

Coach passengers may purchase what they desire in the dining car along the way. Enjoy your dinner in the dining car just out of Washington, DC, then spend a little time in the adjacent lounge car, have a drink but don't stay up too late, 6:44AM comes early! Sleep tight, sleep fast, the Silver Meteor arrives in Savannah, GA at the early hour of 6:44AM. If you plan on breakfast, be up and packed and in the diner at 6AM when they start serving so you can make a dash back to your adjacent sleeper or coach to detrain, if your train is running on time, in Savannah, GA. You can make your prior hotel arrangements via the Internet according to your preferences. Links are provided at the end of this post.

The train station in Savannah, GA is at 2611 Seaboard Coastline Drive, Savannah, GA 31401. I would try a taxi to your hotel, request that they hold your bags until your 3PM (average) check-in time. You can either rent a car or might I suggest that you try Old Town Trolley's tours http://www.trolleytours.com/savannah/ that tell you everything and take you to the most popular sights in town. Ride it all day, return to your hotel, pick up your bags and room key, clean up and look for a delicous southern-style dinner.

Sunday brings choices. You can either take Amtrak's Northbound Palmetto, train #90, leaving Savannah, GA at 8:20AM and arriving back in Alexandria, VA at 7:14PM, Washington, DC at 7:54PM and Baltimore, MD at 8:50PM. You can just chill out, read, look at the countryside, snooze in either coach or in Palmetto Business class service. Business Class includes complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, newspaper, priority boarding and pillow service all at a small premium price. In Business Class I've found less on and off passenger traffic, less noise and disruption, usually nicer seating to boot.

If you want more "bang" for your buck and want more time in Savannah over your weekend, check out of your hotel Sunday morning, keep your rental car if you have one, if you don't, get one if you like to explore. If you just like to hang out and explore by foot you might not need an automobile. Spend Sunday exploring every inch of Savannah, get rid of your rental in time to catch Amtrak's returning Silver Meteor at 8:03PM arriving Monday morning in Alexandria, VA at 7:20AM, Washington, DC at 7:46AM and Baltimore, MD at 8:41AM. We all know that long distance trains can be delayed, but I've noticed lately, this train often runs on time into DC.

Go ahead and give rail travel a try, they say travel is an adventure, so get out there and get your share.

Summary:


OUTBOUND

Train # 97, Silver Meteor
6:17PM LV. Baltimore, MD Friday
7:30PM LV. Washington, DC Friday
7:50 PM LV. Alexandria, VA Friday
6:44AM AR. Savannah, GA Saturday

RETURN

Train # 90, Palmetto
8:20AM LV. Savannah, GA Sunday
7:14PM AR. Alexandria, VA Sunday
7:54PM AR. Washington, DC Sunday
8:50PM AR. Baltimore, MD Sunday

OR

Train #98, Silver Meteor
8:03PM LV. Savannah, GA Sunday
7:20AM AR. Alexandria, VA Monday
7:46AM AR. Washington, DC Monday
8:41AM AR. Baltimore, MD Monday

General Information:

Amtrak web: http://www.amtrak.com/
Amtrak Phone: 800-USA-RAIL

Addresses:

Baltimore Penn Station
1515 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Light Rail: http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/lightrail/schedule/

Alexandria Amtrak Station
110 Callahan Drive
Alexandria, VA 22301
DC Metro: http://www.wmata.com/

Savannah Amtrak Station
2611 Seaboard Coastline Drive
Savannah, GA 31401
Taxi: http://www.yellowcabofsavannah.com/index.html
Rental Auto: http://www.bnm.com/savannah.htm
Hotel/Tour: http://www.savcvb.com/

Notes:

Contrary to what you might have heard, Amtrak is not running empty trains all over the country. Book early to get space and for the best prices. As trains fill up, the fare moves up to match. The "early bird gets the worm" applies here.

Weekend Baltimore-Washington Rail Getaways

Starting a series of Weekend Rail Getaway suggestions for those of you sitting on the sidelines. I always hear "I've always wanted to take a nice train trip!" My response has always been, "Well, why haven't you?" followed by silence, then a change of subject. Well, I now hope to help those who might be inclined to actually take a trip. Being in the Baltimore-Washington suburbs I'll initially base my trips out of this area. If there is interest, I'll expand the geographical base of these trip suggestions.

Open for business!

Hello all. I'm trying to set up a place where ordinary folks can go and talk about Amtrak (and other) rail travel in the USA. Post your questions here and get them answered. If this works out I intend to open a blog on European rail travel. Please let others know of this blog and I hope to hear from you soon.