Hi,

For my trip to Florida this time I am taking the autotrain again. I love it, it's nice to be able to sit back and not worry about driving to Florida. The VA station is less then 15 miles from my home so it's super convenient. It can be a little pricey, but when I consider the wear and tear on my car, it is definitely a savings.

Anyone else like taking the autotrain?

I know of several "snowbirds" who bring their car laden with stuff for their winter stay in Florida and they love the Amtrak autotrain. I believe it takes 17 1/2 hours (is that overnight??) from Washington DC to Sanford, Central Florida.

MUCH safer than tackling wet or snowy driving on the Interstates, so probably well worth the cost.

Has anyone any personal experience?

What a neat idea! Where else does it run?

Jilly, it runs from Lorton, VA to Sanford Florida. The trains leave each station at 4:00 each day and arrive on the opposite station usually by 9:30 the next morning. Sometimes they may roll out a little early if they get everything loaded. The cut off time to check-in is 3:00 so if everything is on-board, off we go.

I don't want to bring my laptop this time so I'm trying to find an inexpensive portable DVD player. There are outlets at the seats.

I'm SOOO excited. Sometimes my family gets a little nervous when I do things like this alone, but I LOVE it! The ride is so beautiful at night looking out over all the city lights, and I get to sleep and wake up without being tired from driving. Granted I can make the drive in 12 hours, but end up exhausted.

My train gets in to Sanford at the same time my sister's plane's land, we are in a race to see who gets to the hotel first.

That's very interesting. I think it's a fine idea and I wish we had that going across the continent as well.

Do you get to sit in your car while you travel? Or do you have the choice of going to your car?