Amtrak Thruway Bus Review: California North Coast Route ​

I took the older of my two boys to Seattle and Boise for a six-day trip, kicked off with a travel down to the Bay Area on Amtrak. It’s not that driving wasn’t an option; Amtrak was just cheaper, and I’m trying to stockpile my Hertz points for future trips. The tickets cost $98 for both of us, and I used my Arrival “miles” to bring the charge to zero (I have the old version where the minimum redemption is $25).

We are hundreds of miles from the nearest Amtrak train station, so the bulk of the trip is actually on Amtrak thruway bus. Our journey from Fortuna to Martinez was blocked for a full 6 hours. Fortuna is about 15 minutes from our home, so catching the Amtrak thruway bus is super convenient. We departed at…