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Amtrak Zephyr Sleeper Travel Tips – Emeryville to Chicago – Solo Female Traveler

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Travel tips from a solo female traveler on a journey from California to Chicago on the Amtrak Zephyr. The video includes travel tips from Amtrak staff, scenery, …

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31 thoughts on “Amtrak Zephyr Sleeper Travel Tips – Emeryville to Chicago – Solo Female Traveler”

  2. I enjoyed this video and comments. I road Amtrak from Emeryville through Chicago to DC. We had a sleeper. I found that Eastern part of the US the track were not in very good shape. The cars would really rock a lot and it was had to sleep because of the fear of tipping over. I really liked the trip and would like to take the route across the North US.

  5. I took the Zephyr from Penn station to Emeryville -in coach-! The first night was rough.By the time I got to Chicago I was spaced out wandering around Union station. I bought sunglasses coffee and accidentally left my CD player on a wood bench and miraculously, nobody took it. People in coach in my car were very quiet and went to sleep after 9 pm and up by 3:30 am. The tracks in some parts of Utah were like air. Remember? I remember coffee and pastry in the cafeteria car leaving Denver winding our way up to the Rockies and Continental divide. Everyone should do it! Paul NYC

  9. Hello . I heard you about the train noise . I taken a trip from New York to chicago( cardinal) . Food was ok. Getting to sleep with a stone p a . That was good thing . The shower pressure. Was very intresting 3 to 5 minutes.
    It was a adventure for me .

  10. Another YouTuber had a great idea, they did a workout running up and down the stairs in the double decker and floor exercises in the hallway and used their pack for lifting exercises. Guess you have to get creative! I went from Raleigh, NC to Canada on two trains that ran approximately 8am to 5pm with overnights in a hotel. Plan to do the cross country routes in the next year or so.

  11. If you cross the Equator on a ship, you are a Shellback, there's a ceremony 🙂 (at least in the Navy, it's a gross ceremony, involving corn cream being dumped on your head, etc….I'm sure a cruise ship would have a far more comfortable ceremony lol)

  12. I really enjoyed your video your experience was very similar to mine, when I first rode amtrak in 2017 I took the Capital Limited to Washington DC, it wasn't bad and I enjoyed it but had some issues with a few little things but the next year I took the Zephyr around Oct into Nov and it was wonderful I met wonderful friends, I had wonderful staff, your right their was a lot of sitting but the scenery and talking to my friends kept my mind occupied and by the time I got to San Francisco and I got to my hotel I crashed too lol I did learn alot from the first time and a few things did happen but still worked out but I wasn't in no hurry or anything so yes it was better

  14. I took this trip as a single 65 yo male from Martinez ,CA. on 9/11/2018. I also had my own roommette and would never recommend anything else….but, your own private cabin. I was on the train for around 57 hours. Nothing greater than going to your own room…for privacy and comfort. My trip was $455…a true bargain! I loved my trip and your video.

  17. Jennifer, thank you. I live in SF, and have done the round-trip from Emeryville to Seattle, in a roomette, twice. I love it.
    I've long harbored a desire to take the Zephyr to Chicago, and on to NYC or Boston, from there. I love both of those cities, so I'm not sure.
    To your point about wi-fi, even though most hotels guarantee your first night on your credit card, I always make sure to emphasize to the hotel that I'm coming in on Amtrak … just in case.
    Friends, and I, had hoped to do Ireland/Scotland this year. Obviously, that's off. So, now I'm thinking of actually realizing my cross-country daydream.

  18. Thanks for the video, so much useful information! I am looking forward to traveling again whenever the virus situation clears up. I do want to travel the Zephyr, probably westbound, the Coast Starlight to Seattle, then the Empire Builder eastbound back to Chicago. I imagine my knees will be a little wobbly after that!

  22. I just went from NYC to Niagara Falls on AMTRAK. The wifi wasn't working. An employee was told and they fixed the issue. We had wifi the hold 10 hours! Yes, they rarely reach the destination on time as they don't own some tracks they used and have to wait for owners' trains to go by first. I don't like to be sitting down for long periods but the scenery going by help a lot.

  25. Oh, one thing I think it's important to tell people: if you choose a sleeper, TIP YOUR PORTER. Think of them the way you think of waitstaff, bartenders, hotel crew. I wouldn't dream of NOT tipping a waiter, bartender, bell hop, or housekeeping person. And I put the Amtrak porters in that category. I wouldn't go to a restaurant if I weren't prepared to pay for a meal AND a generous tip, and I'd never get on an Amtrak sleeper car without cash for my porter.

  27. I've taken the Zephyr several times and have met some of the most amazing people. On one trip I met a man whose father and grandfather were Pullman porters. On another trip I was cross stitching in the observation lounge when a lady asked if she could bring her knitting over because she was driving her husband crazy. Before I knew it, we had several people doing their crafting. I look forward to the day when we can do that again.

  28. I really enjoyed your video. I've always wanted to do the cross country Amtrak so I'm finally doing it this coming March or April 2021. I've been perusing videos for tips and this was exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the recap at the end as this had me writing down things I had not thought of nor would have had an inkling to think of…, like needing to bring a Hotspot for wifi with me. I'm also going to be traveling alone, I live in Palm Springs so I think I've decided to do the same as you did; start on the west coast. I've watched videos of both one way routes. It'll be emeryville to Chicago then onto D.C. for the other bucket list item. Also very helpful was the focus on timing… planning the flight to OAK from LAX on the same day as the train departure was the plan but I think I'll need to stay over, it was not for your stresspoint, I don't think I would have allowed enought time in between so thank you for that, same with hotel check in after arriving in D.C. union station; late check in it is then. I empathize with you on the needing to move around, the sitting is definately going to be a challenge so thanks for the headsup on that. Thanks again for taking the time to share this. I found it very helpful. You seem very personable and kind. Maybe I'll come back to this video and add an update after my trip. Again, thank you.

  30. I love this! So awesome to experience this journey in this way. I loved seeing the different sections of the train and what the sleeping cabin looked like. Such a cool way to experience going across the country. Thank you for letting us in for a sneak peek of this!

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