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Both tourists and the local population can travel across the length of California for less than $ 200 with a little -known travel hack.
Amtrak's California Rail Pass costs $ 159 and allows a full seven days of train journeys in the state over a 21 -day period.
Although not every Amtrak train is included in the Golden State, many of the most important routes, which creates an ultra-off way of taking to travel from top to bottom.
Where can you go?
The enormous width of destination options with the help of this pass is one of the great virtues.
Travelers can visit great cities, the desert, the mountains and the coast in the same adventure.
The Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin's, the Pacific Surfliner and the Coast Starlight are eligible.
The Capitol Corridor starts in Auburn, North California, which is just over an hour's drive from the banks of Lake Tahoe.
The available Amtrak routes included in the California Rail Pass cover the length of the state
From there, the train travels through Sacramento, San Francisco's Emeryville Station and Oakland before he ends in San Jose.
The route of the San Joaquin also includes Sacramento and San Francisco, before he goes south through stops such as Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield.
A shuttle service and admission to the world -famous Yosemite National Park is included for travelers on this train route.
The Pacific Surlliner is one of the most picturesque train routes in the world.
Starting in San Luis Obispo, the Pacific Surfliner hugs the beautiful Californian coast and stops at Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Clemente before he ends up at the foot of the state in the sunny San Diego.
The Coast Starlight starts in Seattle with stops in Washington and Oregon, which require an extra grant for the $ 159 pass.
However, once across the border at Dunmuir, the route, which runs all the way to Los Angeles, is included in the California Pass.
Most ThruWay bus services along the Gang train routes are also included in the PAS, including the ThruWay extensions to Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada.
Last year this reporter from DailyMail.com tried it out …
Getting the PAS: The thirteenth work of Hercules
Obtaining Amtrak's California Rail Pass is the biggest challenge
The first to be noted about this pass is that it is a huge amount of pricing and offers a greener way to travel the beautiful state of California.
The second is that the costs are compensated by the headache to get one hand.
To start with, you cannot book the pass online as a normal Amtrak ticket. You must call the reservation office.
Prepare for at least two people to claim that they have never heard of the California Rail Pass before you find a third party for whom it bells.
You then go through a difficult process of paying in advance for the pass over the telephone.
Keep your planned dates of travel and starting station at hand, and everything goes well, you will receive a barcode payment proof via e -mail.
But the pleasure does not stop there. Do not make the mistake that this traveler has made to think that you can then pick up your ticket from every Amtrak station that you choose (I chose to go to Penn Station in New York City in the pouring rain).
The pass must be picked up at the Amtrak station where you are planning to start your journey in California.
I started my Amtrak Odyssey in San Francisco and saw the glorious Golden Gate Bridge
Muir Woods and the surrounding coastline are major draws for tourists in San Francisco
The small town of Monterey near Big Sur was made famous by the novel Cannery Row van Steinbeck
The only cypress on the coast between Monterey and Carmel-BY-the-Sea
The white sandy beaches of the coast of Monterey are strewn with seals, sea -rights and starfish
Dailymail.com Judgment: The golden ticket to the Golden State
I traveled from San Francisco to San Diego using the California Pass in April 2024.
The costs and convenience of trains on running five lanes made the pass a dream for a first visitor to the Golden State.
I left the view of the Golden Gate Bridge for Salinas, a small stop just 30 minutes of taxi from Gorgeous Monterey, made the city famous by the Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.
Monterey's stunning coast in the coast, including sea onters, starfish and rare birds, is only matched by the famous aquarium of the city, where marine biologists study some of the most endangered and beautiful animals of the planet.
The Montecito Mountains of Santa Barbara Framework this beautiful city on the sea
The dreamy beaches of San Diego where dolphins jump out of the water while sipping cocktails
From Salinas I then traveled to the beach and the mountain town of Santa Barbara.
It was not difficult to see why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to let carrots shoot a stone through the mountains in Montecito.
Fashionable women who take dawn hikes before mixing power-brunches with surfers in this luxury but relaxed beach city.
From here we came back to Los Angeles on the Amtrak, where the convenience of train journeys made way for endless taxis that were detained in hidden motorways.
After a rainy few days in the concrete jungle, I was relieved to be back in the train again, to soak in the view of the coast while we puffed to San Diego.
San Diego was the perfect final destination, the dream -like atmosphere and sandy beaches that offer the ultimate place to relax before he unfortunately had to take a flight – no train – at home.
