Amtrak trips are time consuming, and layovers can be long. Between Denver and Seattle, you must wait 10 hours for the connecting train in Sacramento.
While hundreds of Amtrak stations exist throughout the country, pre-determined routes can make travel difficult. Passengers heading to Orlando from St. Louis must first travel north to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C., before heading down to Florida, more than doubling in time what would be an 18-hour car trip.
The roughly 20-hour Amtrak trip from Chicago to New York makes 19 stops. However, passengers are allowed to get off the train to smoke at only one stop. All other stops are as short as possible, lasting only long enough to load and unload passengers and luggage.
Security measures aren't as strict at all train stations as they are at airports. For example, passengers aren't screened to enter the terminal or board the train at Chicago's Union Station or New York City's Penn Station.
Train rides are bumpy, and people who suffer from motion sickness may not enjoy them. Also, while you can move from car to car on Amtrak, the rough motion can cause you to bump into seats and other passengers.
