Yes We Took the Train

This past week we took a group of students and parents on an out of state educational trip and we went on the train. When I tell people we took the train I am always amazed at the reaction I get from this. Yes the train is a great way to travel with a large group of people especially on school related activities.

Let me explain how this happened. Our school team in South Carolina decided that we would benefit from a seminar being held in Boston so we decided to check and see what modes of transportation seemed reasonable. The charter bus was way to expensive with one company quoting us an over 10 thousand dollar amount and the airlines seemed expensive and we weren't sure we could all get booked on the same flight so this wasn't going to work. We then decided to look into traveling on the train. I had traveled on the train several times and enjoyed it so this was a great suggestion.

You would not believe how cheap we able to get these tickets. Tickets for my younger high school students were $128 and tickets for the older students and adults were $256. This was round trip. I had some flexibility in planning this trip and was able to pick a route with a short layover in New York City. This expanded the educational value of our trip because we now had a chance to do a quick tour of Times Square, Rockefeller Park, Madison Square Garden, and other various popular locations.

You might also wonder about how the students got along while on the train, well let me say they loved it. They were able to move around, there were snacks and a dining car available, they were able to read and study together, and they could look out the windows for hours and see the countryside.

Let me also say the train staff was very accommodating. We were all seated in the same car, we were able to board as a group, there were people there to help us with our luggage, and we were treated wonderfully.