choppedfiggs t1_j1kt5xz wrote on December 25, 2022 at 4:21 AM

Reply to comment by Practical_Argument50 in NJ to Orlando. Rt 78 to 81 to 77 to 26 to 95. or 95 all the way? leaving early Thursday morning. by No_Appointment_1686

I always thought about this on the dozen trips I took to Florida from NJ and back but the cost negated the savings of not flying.

But I guess if you aren't doing it for the cost savings because of stuff you are bringing, it works

Nexis4Jersey t1_j1ldrzt wrote on December 25, 2022 at 8:48 AM

You have to book at least a few months out for this route to get a cheaper price. And travel in Coach which isn't all that bad on this route since the seating is more spaced out and built for long distance travel. Its a very popular service often selling out during peak snow bird traveling months and its one of a few routes that turns a profit.

choppedfiggs t1_j1lfumk wrote on December 25, 2022 at 9:21 AM

At its best, it's $90 a person and $325 for a pickup. At minimum that's $500. Plus when I checked prices right now out 2 months when no one is really traveling and it was $115 a person for coach, so $550.

And that $550 adds another 5 hours to your trip not including the other issues like time it might take to get on the train and situated. Plus of course the train leaves at a specific time so you have to stress about not hitting traffic on the way there and not arriving in time. So instead you arrive early which means you are wasting more time you could be driving.

It has pros obviously which is that you get to relax the whole time and it's more scenic and wear and tear on your vehicle and all that but the pros never overcame the cons of the cost plus time addition for me.