We know there's good spearing down there- and they know there's good spearing up here.

The problem for me is transportation- I've flown to Florida for lobster season, and sweated the flight back wondering if was going to get bent. I've driven down for diving and had to catch sleep on the side of the road. Flights are a pain because I can't bring my pony, have a hassle with my gun on the plane, and catch grief for my cooler of fish. Driving solves all that, but takes hours, is getting expensive because of gas, and is hard to do with only a couple of people in the car (I often go with my non-driving kids).

The Solution?!

Amtrak! Fricking Cheap! And only 3 hours longer for me to get to Tampa than if I drove from Raleigh. It is $200 round-trip for my daughter and I. You get tons of luggage allowed (3 cubic yards, plus carryon, total of 250# per person).

There are downers, such as needing a car when you get there, etc. BTW, if you do need a car, use priceline (the Captain Kirk thing) and 'offer' $20 a day- almost always works.

For coupons, look at http://www.retailmenot.com/view/amtrak.com where you can get some good discounts.

I haven't made the Florida trip yet, but I have traveled with them to DC and elsewhere. I've got a ticket so I can do the SPO- I'll post up my experience with them.

There aren't any trains that go to the NC coast directly, but it does stop in Fayetteville, which is fairly close to Wilmington. If the outer banks, then Wilson or Rocky Mount. Or, if you've got a charter looking for one more, look me up and I'll drive us from Raleigh (my suburban holds plenty of people and I have a trailer).

Hey toecheese, hope you aren't rattled when you arrive here in the Sunshine State...maybe we should find a way to change places, like in Starwars...Beam me up Scotty...hope you and your daughter enjoy the experience...good luck in the St. Pete Open, if you get a chance look up Jim Joseph, he's one of the sponors, from Fantasea Scuba in Port Charlotte...great guy. Who you going out with for the SPO? :D

I would recomend bringing a lot of stuff to keep your attention on the train (magazines, DVDs, etc.), as well as cool, breathable clothing. When I rode Amtrak from NC to FL it was brutal.

It can't be more brutal than 12 hours driving by myself! The trainride is an overnighter for me- leave at 10pm, arrive at noon in Tampa. I imagine a lot of my time will be spent sacked-out. I should be exhausted because I"ll be teaching a motorcycle racing class on Monday in this 100-degree weather.

To each his own. I guess I just like to be in control of my environment. It's a 9 hour drive for me or an 11-13 hour train ride. I rode at night during the winter. I only had warm clothes on and it was blistering hot in the cab. I couldn't sleep a wink and was a zombie the next day. It sucked.

When I drive, I can turn on the radio, put the windows down, go fast, speed up, whatever.

One thing certainly is better about the train - the price.:smthumbup:

A buddy & I drove down for mini-season. We split the gas & driving duty. It wasn't too bad on the wallet and we each napped both ways. After all, mama wants some attention when we get home..

I should have posted on both the train ride down and back... but I can say... it rocked!

The food was great, both the snack car, and a ($$) victory dinner on the way back in the dining car (reservations, wine, waiters, etc. Get the lamb shank).

It was a great way to travel with the kiddo- brought my laptop and watched movies. Played cards in the snack car. And slept. A lot. :)

Trains aren't that reliable time-wise- we were like 2 hours late arriving in Tampa. On the way back we started off like 30 mins late, but they made up time (we were flying in the boonies) so we arrived in Raleigh right on schedule.

A big benefit is the luggage allowance. You each get 3 checked bags of 50#, plus two carryon bags of 50#. They are very airliner-ish in that you cannot go over, so we had to do a lot of gear-swapping. Next time I'll just bring an extra bag and be done with it. If you are going to check bags- get there early! At least an hour for the baggage check-in. I do recommend checking bags though. You're allowed to bring filled cylinders and such, but I think it's just better to say "fishing gear" if they ask what is so heavy in your bags. I partially disassembled my new big speargun and brought it as a carryon on the way home.

To really make it a treat, get a sleeper car. Meals are included and you get a bed instead of the business-class-ish big seats with flip-up leg support. Which is fine, but a bed would have been nice :D

The staff of Amtrak is surprisingly nice. Nicer than airlines for sure. The patrons are all over the board- some really cool people, and a bunch I didn't relish. As we got closer to Tampa, the train got more and more empty so the kiddo and I got our own rows to really crash out.

Would I do it again? In a minute! I'm lucky in that I have good friends down there who let me borrow a car for the week, but even without, I preferred it for my situation. I think I'll be bringing both girls in a few weeks for some more diving and will do it again.

Regarding those coupons I posted earlier- make sure you get the tickets mailed to yourself. When I picked it up, the ticket guy looked at the fine print and I got charged the difference because my destination wasn't exactly the same as the promotion ($22, no biggie).

Conclusion: loved it.

Glad you survived the trip...you coming this weekend to Topsail/Beaufort?

I traveled from Alice Springs to Melbourne Australia by train. It really did rock. I can also suggest getting the private car. I went first class in Aus, but would be just as comfortable in 2nd class if they have that on Am-Track. I will have to see if they go from Oklahoma to Florida for a trip sometime...

Gas prices have gone up- train prices down!

$150 round trip for both of us. Tampa, here I come! Since the price is like $100 less, gonna splurge on getting a sleeper car for the way home.

Allegiant Air flies from Greensboro to FLL for around $49 each way. I have used this airline twice and they are a good cheap airline.
I flew from St. Pete to Greensboro last week.

www.allegiantair.com

Allegiant Air flies from Greensboro to FLL for around $49 each way. I have used this airline twice and they are a good cheap airline.
I flew from St. Pete to Greensboro last week.

www.allegiantair.com

Thanks for the heads up Rich. No one else can touch that price.

Thanks for the heads up Rich. No one else can touch that price.

Some flights have increased to $69/way and they charge extra for everything (reserved seat, checked luggage, etc...) but I still highly recommend them.

Were you able to fly with scuba gear? Just checked prices- $100 for the r/t, but very selected dates. GBO isn't that far for me, so I'll keep it in mind.

Were you able to fly with scuba gear? Just checked prices- $100 for the r/t, but very selected dates. GBO isn't that far for me, so I'll keep it in mind.

They charge $6/bag to check luggage. I travel very light and I didn't think the diving in Greensboro was worth me bringing my gear!:D

I didn't think the diving in Greensboro was worth me bringing my gear!:D

Ohhh...YOU have no idea:D

Their dates are a little sparse, but a definite deal if you've got a few days to burn. I like the idea of the train also, but traveling with a 2 year old may be out of the question. Especially the one I have:FIREdevil: