Tourists and locals alike can travel the length of California for less than $200 using a little known travel hack.
Amtrak’s California Rail Pass costs $159 and allows a full seven days of train travel in the state over a 21-day period.
While not every Amtrak train in the Golden State is included, many of the main routes are, which creates an ultra-affordable way to travel the state from top to bottom.
Where can you go?
The sheer breadth of destination possibilities using this pass is one of its great virtues.
Travelers can visit great cities, the desert, the mountains and the coast all in the same adventure.
Eligible Amtrak trains include the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin’s, the Pacific Surfliner and the Coast Starlight.
The Capitol Corridor begins in Auburn, Northern California, which is a little over an hour drive from the shores 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 ending in San Jose.
The San Joaquin’s route also covers Sacramento and San Francisco, before moving 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 Surfliner is among the most scenic train routes in the world.
Beginning in San Luis Obispo, the Pacific Surfliner hugs the stunning California coast, stopping at Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Clemente before ending at the foot of the state in sunny San Diego.
The Coast Starlight begins in Seattle with stops throughout Washington and Oregon, which require an additional fair to the $159 pass.
However, once over the border at Dunsmuir the route, which runs all the way down to Los Angeles, is included in the California Pass.
Most Thruway bus services along the corridor train routes are also included in the pass, including the Thruway extensions to Reno and Las Vegas in Nevada.
Last year this DailyMail.com reporter tried it out…
Obtaining the pass: The thirteenth labor of Hercules
Getting hold of Amtrak’s California Rail Pass is the biggest challenge
The first thing to note about this pass is that it is immensely good value for money, and offers a greener way to travel the beautiful state of California.
The second is that the cost is offset by the headache of getting your hands on one.
For a start, you can’t book the pass online like a normal Amtrak ticket. You have to call the reservation office.
Prepare for at least two people to claim they have never heard of the California Rail Pass before you find a third for whom it rings a bell.
You then go through an arduous process of paying for the pass in advance over the phone.
Keep your planned dates of travel and starting station to hand, and all going well you will receive a barcode payment receipt via email.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Do not make the mistake this traveler did of thinking that you can then pick up your ticket from any Amtrak station you choose (I chose to trek to Penn Station in New York City in the pouring rain).
The pass must be picked up at the Amtrak station where you plan to start your travel in California.
I started my Amtrak Odyssey in San Francisco, seeing the glorious Golden Gate Bridge
Muir Woods and the surrounding coastline are big draws for tourists in San Francisco
The small town of Monterey near Big Sur was made famous by Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row
The lone Cypress on the coast between Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea
The white sand beaches of the Monterey coast are dotted with seals, sea otters and starfish
DailyMail.com verdict: The golden ticket to the Golden State
I travelled from San Francisco to San Diego using the California Pass in April 2024.
The cost and ease of trains over five-lane-freeway driving made the Pass a dream for a first-time visitor to the Golden State.
I left views of the Golden Gate Bridge for Salinas, a small stop just a 30 minute cab-ride from gorgeous Monterey, the city made famous by John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row.
Monterey’s stunning coastal wildlife, which includes sea otters, starfish and rare birds, is rivalled only by the town’s famous aquarium where marine biologists study some of the planet’s most endangered and beautiful animals.
The Montecito mountains of Santa Barbara frame this beautiful town by the sea
San Diego’s dream-like beaches where dolphins jump out of the water as you sip cocktails
From Salinas, I then travelled down to the beach and mountain town of Santa Barbara.
It wasn’t hard to see why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to put down roots a stone’s-throw up the mountains in Montecito.
Fashionable women taking dawn-hikes before midweek power-brunches mingle with surfers in this upscale but laid-back beachside town.
From here we got back on the Amtrak to Los Angeles, where the ease of train travel gave way to endless taxis stuck in clogged up freeways.
After a rainy few days in the concrete jungle I was relieved to once again be back on the train, soaking in the coastal views as we chugged towards San Diego.
San Diego was the perfect final destination, its dream-like atmosphere and sand beaches providing the ultimate place to relax before sadly having to catch a flight – not a train – home.
