I've been going on 20-hour Amtrak rides for over 7 years. Here are 9 things I need to pack for every trip.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The writer and snacks in shopping cart
I've learned exactly which items I can't go on a long Amtrak trip without.

Sam White

I've been riding trains across the US and UK for 26 years. I wish I'd known a few things before my first trip.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
people sitting in an observation car with lots of windows on a train
I love traveling by train.

Idealphotographer/Shutterstock

I paid $560 for a 7-day Eurail pass to country hop by train in Europe. I took 8 rides between 6 cities and it was so much better than flying.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author traveled around Europe by train and preferred it to flying.
The author traveled around Europe with a Eurail pass.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I've spent hundreds of hours on long-haul Amtrak rides. Here are my 10 best tips for first-time riders.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
An Amtrak train on a set of rails in a rural landscape.
I've been on many Amtrak rides. I'm a travel writer who's found ways to make long-haul train rides more enjoyable and comfortable.

Laser1987/Getty Images

I restored a 1900s train car with my dad and turned it into an Airbnb. Now it's paid for itself.

Tech Insider
Side by side, on the left image of a cabin at dusk, and on the right the owner of the cabin against a lake backdrop.
Isaac French (left) helped his father restore a 1900s traincar (right) in Idaho.

Courtesy of Isaac French

The best Amtrak booking is the private bedroom with 2 beds, a couch, and full bathroom for $1,000. Here's a look inside.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
The author sits on the train and plays her Nintendo with the sun peering through the window on the left
Business Insider's reporter took a 2021 overnight Amtrak train from Miami to New York City in a bedroom accommodation.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Vintage photos show how glamorous train travel used to be

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Diners ate in a train car in 1946, dressed in formalwear and served by waiters in tuxedos.
Diners in the restaurant car on a GWR (Great Western Railway) oil-fired locomotive in 1946.

Harrison/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

I've spent 160 hours traveling by train. It's the best mode of transportation for 4 simple reasons.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Left: The author in front of a blue train with a red stripe. Right: The author sits with her knees up in a train bed with blue cushions behind her and a window on the left.
Business Insider's reporter prefers traveling by train over any other mode of transportation.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Olympic athletes get stuck after sabotage shuts down French trains

Tech Insider
A woman looks at an information screen as passengers wait for their train departures at the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean train station in Bordeaux, western France on July 26, 2024, as France's high-speed rail network was hit by an attack disrupting the transport system, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A woman looks at an information screen as passengers wait for their train departures at the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean train station

I spent 6 ½ hours in first class on a train in Morocco. It wasn't luxurious, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Author Alice Levitt smiling outside of ONCF train
I spent nearly seven hours on a train through Morocco and had a great experience.

Alice Levitt

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