(Amtrak issued the following on July 30, 2009.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak and First Class Motorcycle Tours have teamed up to offer two new vacation packages which include first-class accommodations on Amtrak’s Auto Train that allows motorcycle riders to travel with their bikes on board the train between Lorton, Va., south of Washington, DC and Sanford, Fla., just outside of Orlando.
The motorcycles are secured in specially-designed carriers and travel in the train’s auto carriers while tour participants travel on the train in private roomette sleeping accommodations. All meals on board the train are included in the price of the tour.
Both the northbound and southbound Auto Trains depart at 4 pm each afternoon and arrive at 9:30 am the next morning. After a complimentary dinner, tour participants may watch a movie or relax in the Lounge Car and then retire for the night. The next morning they will awaken in Virginia or Florida refreshed and ready for the motorcycle ride of a lifetime.
The “Trains, Planes, Limousines and Motorcycle Tour” is a seven-day motorcycle tour that begins in Florida where participants board the northbound Auto Train. Upon arrival in Virginia, participants tour Washington, DC by limousine before beginning a scenic motorcycle tour of the back roads of Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The tour ends just outside of Chattanooga, Tenn. where participants may choose to ride their bikes home or fly home and have their motorcycles shipped. The tour includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, first-class, one-way travel on the Auto Train as well as a DVD of the trip, parking fees and any entrance fees to national parks. This tour is available May through October.
The seven-day “Arctic Escape to the Sunshine State Tour” offers participants the opportunity to travel down to Florida with their motorcycles via Amtrak’s Auto Train. For those already in Florida, the tour begins at the Sanford Auto Train station. From there, the tour heads to the Keys in the Gulf of Mexico and then on to Key West, Fla. with a trip across the famous Alligator Alley and a ride on an air boat. After a day relaxing in Key West, the tour travels north with a stop in Cocoa Beach. This vacation package includes lodging, a DVD of the trip, parking fees, air boat ride in the Florida Everglades, and entrance to the Kennedy Space Center. While travel on the Auto Train is not required to participate in this tour, special pricing is available for those who choose to travel by rail. Tour prices do not include travel on the Auto Train. This tour is available November through January.
Log onto www.firstclassmotorcycletours.com for more information and tour prices. To reserve a space, call 877-83-TOURS (877-838-6877). Group discounts are available.
About the Auto Train
Amtrak’s Auto Train is the only train service in the U.S. that allows passengers to travel with their vehicles — including cars, vans, SUVs, motorcycles and boats — and eliminates nearly 900 miles of driving for travelers between Florida and the Northeast. As the longest passenger train in the world, the Auto Train travels with two locomotives and 40-plus passenger rail cars and vehicle carriers and up to 600 passengers and a crew of 31. More than 234,000 passengers traveled on the Auto Train last year, including more than 2,000 motorcycles.
The popularity of the Auto Train has grown in recent years with a steady increase in ridership.