Train travel is a relaxing way to go. You can take in the scenery without having to worry about getting lost or reading road maps, you can enjoy pleasant conversations or you can stretch out, relax and read a book. In the United States, because of the popularity of the car and air travel, it's not always cheaper. But with a little legwork, you can find some bargains.
Use the Amtrak website. If you look at options under the "Deals" tab, you can find discounts of up to 25 percent. In addition, Amtrak has special weekend rates and offers discounts to students, military personnel, senior citizens and veterans.
Use Travelocity.com to book tickets in Europe. You can go to Travelocity to book tickets for both the United States and Europe, but the U.S. site will just redirect you to the Amtrak website. The European site is powered through Rail Europe. Look under "Great Deals" and "Popular Passes." These are discounted tickets to specific destinations for certain time periods.
Travel with Virgin. For train travel in Europe, you can go to the VirginTrains.co.uk site and click on special offers. If you sign up for a Virgin credit card, you can get a discount on any train ticket you book.
Use AAA. The American Automobile Association's travel agency is usually able to get discounts for rail and other forms of travel that aren't available to the general public.
