One of the best things about staying in San Francisco is the close proximity to some incredible attractions. You can lodge in one city yet visit several. You get not only the conveniences of the city, but the splendor of nature is not far away from almost any spot within the city. In fact, a short train ride will take you quickly to some nearby attractions that are definitely worth checking out.
One of the first train tours I want to mention is not only a train trip but a bus and train tour. This trip goes from San Francisco to Yosemite Park. This trip requires transfers back and forth from bus to train but offers some beautiful scenery and the ability to get pleasure from it without the worry of driving, rest stops and the need to stretch your legs.
Sometimes a little inconvenience is worth a lot more convenience later in your excursion. The train segment of the trip lasts about three hours and you get to spend three hours in Yosemite. For some it is not worth the hassle and for others it is just what the doctor ordered – time to rest and relax while on the way. This is by far the most complicated of the train tours heading out of San Francisco.
The second tour is to wine country. The beauty of these tours is in the fact that you can enjoy your wine tasting event without the anxiety of who is going to drive. Everyone in your group can enjoy the outing equally. Even more than that however, is that many tour groups have made the train ride itself more the event than the wine tasting.
With offerings such as four course meals and Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre for your enjoyment it is no wonder that this has turned out to be an event of choice for many visitors to San Francisco. While this may be a more than moderately pricey option, it is well worth the expense. You can always cut costs elsewhere in San Francisco to make up for the expenditure.
Roaring Camp Railroads provides two train rides that are both equally tempting in hugely different ways. The first is a trip back in time. This is almost certainly my favorite. On this excursion you travel to the top of Bear Mountain while listening to yarns about Roaring Camp’s part. This train tour lasts for an hour and is great fun, particularly for the little ones.
The second event by Roaring Camp Railroads is the Beach Train, which will take you to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The round excursion from Roaring Camp to Santa Cruz and back is about three hours and well worth every penny if you have a budding engineer among your children.
Perhaps the most magical of train excursions is the Christmas Train tour from Oakdale. This trip includes Santa, his elves and a little Christmas magic. What more could you ask for? Well, I suppose that that depends on whether you made the naughty list or the nice list. This train ride is magic for everyone that joins it, young and old alike will get pleasure from the magic that only Christmas can bring.
Whether you are a big kid, a little kid, or somewhere in between, I am ready to bet that the magic of a train ride has not been completely lost over the years. In fact, I am willing to bet that if you allow yourself to sit back and just enjoy yourself, you will enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a lot of subjects, but is currently occupied with American Flyer Train Sets. If you would like to know more about train sets for kids, please go over to our website for some great offers.