How to Travel from California to New York for $286

As long as you’re getting into train travel, why not go big? This route is a 76-hour trip that hauls travelers through some of the most geologically eye-catching scenery in the United States. Tickets on Amtrak can often be had for $286 and include a dining car but no bed. (That costs extra.) With an upgrade you can have a Luxury travel of your choice or choose to plane jane the whole way.

The train takes off from a station just outside San Francisco, in Emeryville, California, and makes its way to Salt Lake City, then Denver, along the way passing through the beautiful scenery of Donner Pass, redrock country, and the towering Rocky Mountains. After that, it heads over the plains to Chicago and finally New York. Clocking in at nearly 3,500 miles, this trip might call for more than a few stopovers along the way.