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Independent Amtrak Tours
Escorted Amtrak Tours
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Step back to a more leisurely and elegant time as we circle the West aboard four great trains with five distinct areas: San Antonio, The California Coast with Hearst Castle, Yosemite National Park, Portland and the great Columbia River Gorge, Seattle and stunning Glacier National Park, Montana. With superb hotels, extraordinary dining and more. All Aboard!
In an age when airlines charge for pillows, we have a far more pleasing idea. Not only pillows, but beds for our passengers and it is with great pleasure that we offer the 2010 Great Western Circle trip, a stylish and extraordinary journey through the American West, entirely by First Class sleeping car travel (with all meals included in the dining car while aboard) that features four great routes, offering everything from desert vistas, to the California Coast, to the Columbia River Gorge and stunning Glacier National Park, Montana all in one brilliantly arranged holiday. Better still, complete and comprehensive sightseeing is included, ranging from a Steam train ride at Yosemite, a sternwheeler riverboat cruise through the Columbia River Gorge to the famed red open-air ‘jammer buses’ at Glacier National Park. With all transfers included, the majority of meals and exceptional hotels, most with two night stays for added convenience, the only drawback to this tour is that it will sell out quickly. In 2009, all departures sold out quickly and in 2010, with the additional of Glacier National Park, celebrating its 100th Anniversary, demand is certain to be even greater.
While every train route we feature offers up great views of America, two stand out. The first is our passage along the California Coast for 131 miles from Los Angeles to Hearst Castle where the train operates right along the Pacific Ocean. The second is the remarkable passage through the heart of Glacier National Park aboard the Empire Builder and both of these segments are in daylight. Other treats include a daytime crossing of the Cascade Mountains aboard the Coast Starlight and, while not a train, we should consider it an honorary one for our purposes here, the breathtaking cruise through the Columbia River Gorge by Sternwheeler Riverboat during our visit to Portland!
Call 877-929-7245 for rail fares and schedules from your city to and from Chicago.
Tour Highlights
- The ‘Texas Eagle’
- San Antonio Texas
- Welcome dinner and river cruise in San Antonio
- Hearst Castle & Central Coast Wineries tour
- The Sugar Pine Narrow-Gauge Railroad
- Yosemite National Park
- The ‘Coast Starlight’
- Portland & Columbia River Gorge cruise
- Seattle & sightseeing events
- The ‘Empire Buider’
- Overnight at Glacier National Park with the incredible ‘Going to the Sun Highway
Tour Inclusions
- Deluxe motorocoach transportation
- Nine nights lodging in superb hotels
- 32-meals (14-B, 8-L and 10-D, plus 2-R)
- A professional tour host
- Five nights aboard Amtrak in First Class Sleeping Car accommodations
- All sightseeing & entrance fees
- Baggage handling and gratuities
Day 1: Chicago Union Station
We gather our group in Chicago where we board the Texas Eagle this afternoon and begin our journey to San Antonio over the Union Pacific Railroad passing the famed Arch in St. Louis tonight after dinner. The train features an inviting café-lounge car, the perfect spot to enjoy meeting new found friends. (D)
Day 2: San Antonio Texas
We speed across the Lone Star state today with an evening arrival in San Antonio where superb accommodations await and begin our two-night stay in this enchanting city. (B, L, D)
Day 3: San Antonio Texas
Today we enjoy a guided tour of San Antonio that includes the Alamo and our guests have the best location in town to enjoy the lovely Riverwalk area. And tonight, a special treat, our welcome dinner as we board a sightseeing boat for a cruise through the Riverwalk area. (B, D)
Day 4: The Sunset Limited
We depart San Antonio bound for California over the famed ‘Sunset Route’ of the Union Pacific, the last transcontinental rail line completed in this country. A highlight today is the Pecos River High Bridge as we roll west. The Sunset Limited has a complete lounge and dining car for added comfort. (B, L, D)
Day 5: California’s Pacific Coast
Morning finds us arriving in the City of Angels where we transfer to the Coast Starlight for the stunning trip north along the California Coast with the train traveling right along the Ocean! You will want to have your camera ready. Tonight is spent in stunningly beautiful Pismo Beach overlooking the Pacific, a two-night stay in this magnificent setting. (B, D)
Day 6: Hearst Castle San Simeon
Today is a day of superlatives with a visit to fabled Hearst Castle, the most opulent private home ever built in America, famously referred to by William Randolph Hearst as ‘the ranch’. Words do not do justice to Hearst Castle and after our tour, we will visit one of the wineries the Central Coast is well-known for, as well as charming Morro Bay before returning to our hotel. (B, D)
Day 7: Yosemite National Park
This morning we drive east to another jewel in California, magnificent Yosemite, another wonder that is beyond descriptive language. On the way, we stop at the Sugar Pine Narrow-Gauge Railroad for a trip through the Redwoods before arrival for our overnight stay at Yosemite. (B, L)
Day 8: Yosemite Valley
We enjoy additional touring of the park today including viewing El Capitan and Half Dome which are glorious in Spring. After Yosemite we drive north to Oakland where we enjoy a special dinner before boarding the ‘Coast Starlight’ for Portland. (B, L)
Day 9: Portland Oregon
We arrive in Portland this afternoon and enjoy a brief visit to the famed Rose Garden on our way to the hotel, a perfect introduction to ‘The Rose City’. Our hotel tonight is the amazingly restored Hotel Multnomah-Embassy Suites, the grandest hotel in town, where suite accommodations await. (B, L, R)
Day 10: Portland Oregon
Another beautiful day with a special treat, we drive east to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, enjoying a cruise through the Gorge by Sternwheeler riverboat, an excursion many of our guests rate the highlight of their holiday. Later today, free time to enjoy Portland with a special dinner at one of the most historic and acclaimed restaurants in Portland, Huber’s, often touted as having the best turkey in the country. We concur. (B, D)
Day 11: Seattle Washington
We depart Portland this afternoon for Seattle on the sleek new ‘Talgo’ train, a short 3.5 hour journey past Mt. St. Helens and along the Puget Sound and upon arrival in Seattle, transfer to the Homewood Suites Hotel where suite accommodations await! (B, L, R)
Day 12: The Empire Builder
This morning we tour the massive Boeing facility where the jetliners are made followed by a visit to colorful Pikes Market with its open-air food stalls and great views of Elliott Bay. There is even time this afternoon to visit the flagship Nordstrom store or ride the Monorail before we board the ‘Empire Builder’ in late afternoon bound for Glacier National Park and the passage out of Seattle is remarkable with running along the Puget Sound followed by a daytime passage through the Cascade Mountains alongside the rushing Skykomish River. (B, D)
Day 13: The Empire Builder - Glacier National Park
Saving the best for last, after breakfast our train passes through the Glacier National Park and we disembark for a fully day tour over the continental Divide i the Famed red-open air 'jammer buses' that are an iconic symbol of this great National Park.You will Want Your Camera ready.Later today, an afternooncruise on Lake McDonald with an overnight stay at the historic Glacier Park Lodge, originally built by the Great Northern Railroad and the largest log building in the world. (B, L)
Day 14: Glacier National Park - The Empire Builder
The Empire Builder makes a special stop right at the hotel this morning and after boarding, we are soon speeding across Montana and the prairies over the Burlington Northern Railroad. All day to enjoy train travel at its best.
Day 15: The Empire Builder - Tour Ends
Morning finds us along the Mississippi River passing through St. Paul and we arrive at Union Station this afternoon, with new found friends and memories to last a lifetime.
Be the first to be notified when 2011 dates and rates become available for this extremely popular tour.
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