Train from Chicago to Flagstaff

I did the portion of western Kansas to Flagstaff ( at that time you could then go south to Phoenix, which I did ) 55 years ago ( yikes ! ). My son lived for 3 years in Newton Kansas, another stop on the route. I don't really think there is anything to recommend the route.

I took a cross country trip via Amtrak earlier this year, including your route from Chicago to Flagstaff. I’m probably in the minority, but I enjoyed the train. It was my first trip out west, so it was very cool to watch the scenery change, which you can’t do from a plane. It’s also nice to be able to get up and move around as much as you want. I’m not sure I’d take the same trip again (I did two weeks solely traveling by train), but it’s definitely worth doing at least once, in my opinion.

Amtrak is fine -- except that it is nearly impossible , na - it is impossible -- for Amtrak to keep to any type of time schedule. As long as you are prepared for major time delays, you will be fine. It is a comfortable way to travel if you are not on a fixed time schedule.

Will you be renting a car at Flagstaff to tour around? Check the rental car prices carefully. It is generally quite expensive to rent in Arizona and return the car at Las Vegas, due to a drop fee for crossing state lines. So compare with dropping in Phoenix before you buy your plane tickets.

YES I did it years ago with teenagers. They loved the freedom of movement on the train. Pack snacks-lots- since food on the train is $$$ and sometimes not great. Be sure to have a sarong or shawl to serve as a blanket if you are going couch and sleeping semi reclined/ a travel pillow helps! Don't expect to arrive on time. Amtrak is not like trains in Europe or Japan.

Enterprise looks to have the lowest rates for pick up in Flagstaff and drop off at LAS. Their rate includes a $94 drop fee ( intermediate size car).

Probably need to do the research as to what is costs to avoid that sort of drop fee. The drop fee may be the best deal if you need to pick up at Flagstaff and depart from LAS

Its a two-day trip, isn't it? How about stopping and visiting a couple places on the way?

Amtrak is beholden to freight train lines as Amtrak runs its cross-country trains on their tracks and Amtrak trains will have to wait because the freight trains have the first right of passage. Thus your train will be late. If that doesn't concern you, I hope you all have access to a shower because sponge baths from the sink of a train are not enough and you will feel gross.

Circa 2003, my daughter and I took Amtrak from LA to Chicago (Southwest Chief), which went through Flagstaff and followed the path of the old Santa Fe Trail. I have since taken numerous other overnight Amtrak trips. We always get a compartment, which I think is half the fun of it. I enjoy listening to the sounds as fall asleep. I recall there being a shower room in at least some of the trains...didn't take one always so don't recall all trains. We love the train; sitting with a glass of wine watching the wonderful scenery pass by is one of my definitions of heaven. Also, as the seating in the dining car is for 4, we were always matched with others. We met some very interesting people that way. As far as being late, we had two trains late out of... I can't think how many. One man voiced an opinion, of many others who were on the train traveling as we were, "Great, the train will be late! More for my money." I still remember having breakfast in bed, watching the scenery, as we crossed the Missouri River. If you are a person who can sit back and relax, you will enjoy it. If you are the type of person who has to be on a schedule minute to minute, you won't.

We haven't taken that route, but have gone between Denver and Northern California on the California Zephyr. We totally enjoy the beautiful ride. We always get a sleeper (I did it when I was young in coach, but never again). We're doing it again this December and totally looking forward to it! It is quite different than riding the trains in Europe. As a previous poster said - if you are the type of person that can relax and enjoy the scenery then you will probably enjoy it. BTW - as far as cost - the train tends to be about 3x the price of flying so we only take the train one way:)

I took Amtrak once, round-trip Chicago-St. Louis. I left Chicago on Oct. 3, 1995. I know the date because they announced the OJ verdict on the train's loudspeaker. We left Chicago on time, got to St. Louis well over an hour late, on a scheduled 5.5 hour trip. I returned to Chicago the following Sunday. The trip took 8.5 hours. There was a long delay on the return (and oddly no announcments over the loudspeaker). The reason for the delay, which I got from one of the conductors who I chatted with after we hadn't moved for over two hours . . . the train hit a red-light meant to allow priority on the single track to a freight train (they always get preference). The problem was that the freight train for some reason was behind us on the same track. It took hours for Amtrak to figure out the problem and then to get hold of someone (remember, it's Sunday) who had the authority to instruct our train to ignore the red light and proceed on the track to where the freight train could pass us. A few months later I told this story to a friend who had taken Amtrak southbound along the Atlantic coast to Miami. I don't remember the details but her horror story was 10 times worse than mine.

I did ask the conductor why the train traveled so slowly southbound out of Chicago. He said the tracks were in such poor condition it was unsafe to go any faster. My estimate is 15-25 mph for the first 30 miles or so. The train runs next to I-55 so my estimate is relative to the cars that whizzed past.

Looking at the Amtrak map, a good portion of the train trip goes through the prairie/great plains . . . it's boring to fly over. Maybe if you're lucky that's the nighttime portion and the daytime is through Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona which might be scenic, at least in parts.

Frankly, I'd fly to Phoenix, loop up through Sedona, Montezuma's Castle, and Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff, then through southern Utah to Vegas. Or just loop from Vegas, depending on flight costs and auto drop-off charges.

My little brother and I loved our train ride across the country, including your route, in 1954! Back then trains were more comfortable and kept to schedules because they were still a major form of interstate public transportation. No longer, now (except for heavy travel corridors and metropolitan areas) they're more like a hobby, with lots of delay stories like those above. The coach seats are comfortable enough in daytime but I wouldn't want to spend the night in one (I'm older now). The compartment beds might be OK for a short person but not for me (I'm also taller now).

So go for it if you like the passing scenery and romance of the rails and all that stuff. Hope the schedule doesn't take you through the most beautiful mountain country in the middle of the night. Or fly, rent a car, and enjoy the best southwest scenery from behind the wheel.

Looove Amtrak -- in first class (sleeper) which includes meals and access to showers. I have done the California Zephyr route (Emeryville [outside San Francisco] to Chicago) then Chicago to Hartford CT -- and reverse. Not something to do on a tight schedule, though, as others have noted. Gives a different sense of the size of the country, and plenty of time to rest while the landscape rolls by. One way might be optimal, fly back.

Sixt car rental does not charge for a drop fee for one ways between destinations in AZ/CA/NV.