52 hrs on Amtrak Sleeper Train - Chicago to San Francisco

Join me on the California Zephyr sleeper train for 52 hours across America. Starting in Chicago and travelling over 2,500 miles and various states to San Francisco. This has to be one of the world's most epic train journeys, and I'll show you every detail of the experience. From a tour of the three classes of travel... Coach, Roomettes ( Business Class ) all the way to Amtrak Bedrooms which come with ensuite bathrooms ( First Class ). Oh and what's more there's even showers onboard!
I'll try the various food options available in the dining car.. hint, they have my favourite... steak!

I'll get the chance to briefly get off the train at some of the stations along the way such as in Denver's Union Station, Grand Junction and Sacramento California.

My aim is to give you an insight into this experience, what it's really like to spend three days on a sleeper train. You'll see pretty soon why Amtraks California Zephyr is named the most scenic route in the USA and also why the railroad itself is such an engineering achievement.

Hope you enjoy the video, it took many days to edit after going through hours upon hours of footage.

0:00 - Intro to the California Zephyr
2:42 - Starting our Journey
3:24 - Roomette Tour
7:29 - Bedroom Tour
9:05 - Dinner on Amtrak
11:21 - Day 2 Denver
14:40 - Rocky Mountains
20:37 - Utah
22:04 - Day 3 Nevada
24:12 - Sierra Nevada
25:25 - Coach Tour
26:00 - Welcome to California

[Trektrendy]

Hope you enjoyed something a little different on the channel. Don't worry if this wasn't your jam, more luxury Aviation content coming next week. And for clarity, I paid $564 for the entire journey which included sole occupancy of my roomette, and all meals. Thanks to Paul Lucas for the inspiration to try this, if you haven't guessed, I loved it! Would you take this trip?

[dthomason]

My nephew wanted to do something like this before he passed last year, 4 days before his 29th birthday. If you have the resources, make the time to enjoy these types of adventures.

[coldisle]

I made this trip as a 13 yr old with my parents in the 1960’s. It was a breathtaking adventure and I’m so glad that I thanked my father again for this experience many many decades later…before he passed away. I’m glad that this train and trip still exist. I think I might have to do it again!

[dooley-ch]

Shortly after our marriage my wife and I spent 6 months riding the rails in the USA about 35 years ago. There were more rails back then and a monthly ticket cost about $200 for Europeans. And sleepers cost about $50 - $70 including meals. It’s still one of the best travel experiences we had. Nice to relive the memories.

[franksmom]

My son and I traveled from Oregon to Rhode Island on Amtrak, we didn’t have quite the experience you did, our train broke down in the middle of nowhere and we were stuck for almost 18 hours, but once we got back on schedule it was nice, when we were going through the Midwest they had a storyteller on board which was amazing, all in all I really had a good time with my son

[shutthefrontdoor]

My mom, brother and I made this trip 38 years ago. Nothing fancy but fun for a 14 and 10 year old.
I love it!

[barronthompson]

My stepfather was a conductor for Amtrak for 30 years. I’ve rode the trains at least 1, 000 times and I enjoy it every single trip! I’ve done every situation from sleepers to coach. Definitely would advise to anyone who loves to travel.

[alf]

I did this with my brother and a friend back in October 2008! Loved every second of it.

I remember the guy running the cafe was a good laugh. Whenever he was closing he'd announce it was closing in 10 minutes over the PA. Then he'd repeat it several times, quieter each time. We nicknamed him Whispering Johnny Ten Minutes! 🤣

[brianharrison]

I did this in 2001 when I was 19. Amtrak from Bel Air, MD to San Francisco, CA. Was amazing. Will never forget it. Dead of Winter too. Some of the scenery was amazing.

[BrandonLy]

Video cannot capture how breathtaking the scenery is and how vast everything looks in person. I did the Southwest Chief route which is not nearly as scenic as this and I was already blown away. It is definitely something I recommend doing at least once, especially in a sleeper.

[Romcom]

I think you hit the nail on the head with two comments. That it had been fantastic because you were disconnected and everything was at a much slower pace. We are now so conditioned to rush everywhere, doing everything at 90mph and never stopping. But you can’t do that on a train. A valuable lesson.

[saturna]

For his 18th birthday I invited my son to travel Amerika together with Amtrak. We flew from Amsterdam to New York and from there we made the round trip with Amtrak to Chicago where we stayed a day or two, going to Whitefish in Montana visiting a friend from the Netherlands. Than we go to Portland which was back than (2003) a beautiful city. From there we traveled to San Francisco and to L.A. staying for a few days each. The longest trip was from L.A. to New Orleans. I have been there once with Mardi Gras and it was really wild. I love the Southern style and the French flair of the city. I found out that the city has the same kind of loose ground and high waterlevels like Amsterdam has. Each house is built on concrete poles with steel in it. After a longerstay we traveld back to New York City. We stayed so many hours on all the different trains, spoke to so many different people, shared great stories. The perfect travel I must say. We still talk about the big Amtrak trip. A great memory to share.

[Honrabl]

I'm australian but have family in the US and always visit reno and truckee and seeing you go though it for some reason filled me with joy knowing that im not the only foreigner who knows the true beauty of this small city.

[ellisclarkstudios]

I’m a train guy. And always will be. But you make this journey look a lot more glamorous than it is and you actually liked the food! I usually take coach, and I will tell you that after about 12 hours the bathrooms become incredibly filthy! But having said this I’m still a train guy and thankful that the Amtrak service exists. But this country certainly could use an improvement in passenger rail service. I.E. Bullet Trains. Why we’re so behind other first world countries in trains I don’t know. I can only guess it must be the airlines feeling threatened and blocking the advancement of a good rail system here. I enjoyed your video. It was interesting to see the British perspective of our rail system. Especially since you have such a good one yourself.

[christinepatterson]

Did this trip with husband about 10 years ago in December, from Emeryville to Chicago. It was at the beginning of our 8 week US/Canada holiday. We had an ensuite room. Met all sorts of interesting people. Spent most of our time in the observation car. Fabulous trip

[stevens]

I did the Canadian version after my first year of college. It was around 90 hours from Toronto to Vancouver but as I was a student I did it on a budget and in economy. I can definitely tell you my experience was very different. 5 days of no shower, eating very crappy sandwiches from the cantine and sleeping on a chair... but I did make lasting friendships on that train ans memories I will always cherish. The views I must say are better than the American one. I highly recommend it to everyone.

[neilcrichlow]

Last August, my wife and I flew from Barbados to New York and then did Amtrak from Penn Station, NY to Chicago (coach) then on the Zephyr to San Francisco (sleeper). Coming from our tropical island scenery, it was the trip of a lifetime. So beautiful. Thankfully we only did one night in coach though.

[SILSKY]

I took this Amtrak trip with my family back when I was 12 years old. Now I'm well into my adulthood and still look back on the trip as one of the most memorable times of my life! I highly recommend it to any adventurous travel junkie out there.

[jeddyman]

I’ve always been an aviation guy. However, around 8 months ago I found myself in a predicament at home with some very personal issues. I bought a ticket and hopped on a greyhound bus and travelled 600 miles away from home to make a spontaneous visit to my grandparents house in eastern Tennessee.
I commonly refer to it as the trip that I went on to find myself and figure out what to do from there. My first bus was delayed by 10 hours. I didn’t fret. I met so many different people over the course of the journey and talked with them about life and they all seemed to be in similar situations. The places you see and the people you meet is all a part of experiences like these. Most people don’t like a greyhound ride, but it became a pretty fond memory stored in a special place in my heart. Absolutely loved it. I guess it’s now time to look in to Amtrak!

[nolamisskel]

I made part of this trek back when I was 18 years old in the 1990s. Our youth group had a coach car to ourselves from Jackson MS to Chicago and Chicago to Fraser/Winter Park. We got off there for a ski trip and took it back. One of the best experiences of my life.