Coast to coast Canadian rail vacation and Amtrak coast to coast (cost, vacations)

[Nasudesu]

My husband is a railroad and model train enthusiast. We have been on various routes up and down in Japan the last 20 years and he collects model trains from each one he rides. He has a vast collection.

With Japan being closed to independent travelers we are now looking at both coast to coast Canadian rail vacation one way and coming back on Amtrak on return trip.

Any experience with Canadian rail vacations? If we go, it will be from Vancouver to Halifax. The cost per person for 19 days one way is about $11K for the class we are looking at. There are cheaper options. We have done Amtrak only twice from Emeryville to Reno and it was rather fun.

[ChevySpoons]

I've certainly done the Canadian rail journey, from Vancouver to Halifax. Be aware that it's actually three segments: Vancouver to Toronto (the Canadian), Toronto to Montreal (the Lakeshore), and Montreal to Halifax (the Ocean). No single train goes from Vancouver to Halifax; and the Toronto-Montreal leg is only a five-hour trip, so you wouldn't be looking at sleepers on that one. Pro tip: look at Via1 class on the Toronto-Montreal leg--not that much more than tourist class, roomier, and lunch/dinner and drinks are included at no charge.

There is no train out of Halifax that would take you to the US, so you could take the train back to Montreal or Toronto, both of which have train connections to New York City, where you continue on Amtrak. Or you could fly from Halifax to New York.

When I've been on Via Rail Canada, it was always because I wanted to get somewhere (though I love trains, which is why I'd take them), so a lot of Via's recent "rail cruise" innovations wouldn't appeal to me. I was happy enough with a roomette on long trips, and would still be. But they do have dining cars and lounge cars and dome cars, so as long as you have a sleeper, you will have access to all (some only at certain times though). Anyway, enjoy your trip! Canada is an amazing place, and there is some spectacular scenery that you can only see from the train.

Edited to add: put a lot of time into your connections. Via Rail can be notoriously late at times, especially on longer routes, and you don't want to be looking at your watch, hoping you'll be in Toronto in time to make your Montreal train. Maybe take a night in Toronto and Montreal, just to build in plenty of time. They're both fine cities, and worth exploring, even if only for a day.

[Nasudesu]

Thanks for the info ChevySpoons.