long distance travel options

[out there]

the way i see it, i have four basic choices for traveling across several states (specific destination, denver, co).

1. fly - 2hrs actual travel, $300ish or $1600ish, lots of waiting and frustration
2. drive - 12-14hrs, $350-450, little frustration and much comfort
3. bus - 30hrs +/-, <$200, less than ideal comfort (based on others' descriptions)
4. train - about 3 days, $600 or $2800+/-, low comfort to high comfort

with the train or plane, i could spend a lot for good accommodations, but the train is still going to take so much longer than i want (all the way to the west coast first!). ideally, i don't want to fly, i would prefer to leave the tsa wackos to their devices until this paranoia about terrorists fades.

are there any other train alternatives around here? or is amtrak the only option?

[Guest]

I've done all 4, and flying is BY FAR the least frustrating AND most comfortable.

[dubbsy]

denver's not that bad of a drive... so just drive it.

[DaveH]

Hitchhike, you can meet a bunch of cool people that way.

:icon_rr:

[KA-T_240]

Flying is the easiest. Driving would not be that bad. But, only if you have a car that gets good gasmileage and will not brake on you.

[integra_gsr98]

I'm flying to Reno on Tuesday via Denver and wouldn't even consider any other option.

[out there]

i think my two realistic options are driving or flying, but i was hoping that someone might know about another train. i've made the trip plenty of times, but i expect to be in a better economic scenario by the time the trip needs to be made (september)

[MisterCMK]

You have to look at how much your time is worth and add that into the equation. Flying is more expensive but it is also faster. Driving will take you longer but it is cheaper, especially if there is more than one person.

[DelSlow]

Denver International Airport is a bitch.

[out there]

assuming a 6am flight
arrive at airport - 5am
get on plane - 6:30am
take off - 6:45am
arrive at dia - 8am MST (maybe a little earlier)
get bags - 8:30am
leave airport - 9am
get to destination - 10am
it takes about 6 hours to fly... if i experience the same kinds of delays i have experienced in recent history. not only that, but i have to put up with security at dia (coming back) and being cramped into an airplane next to a random person (with worse BO than me, a nasty drooling problem, bad gas, etc, anything is possible) where i'll either be too hot or too cold to boot.

for the most part, i would rather not fly... but i may take first class for the tax write-off, if i make enough money in my new position. it's all 1099 income... which means i would rather pay a lot more for business expenses than for pork-barrel projects and welfare.

the real downside to flying: no personal transportation in the denver area

[Guest]

out there;223073 wrote:
the real downside to flying: no personal transportation in the denver area

They have rental cars down there...I promise.

[out there]

i did briefly consider that, because it would all be a tax write-off... but if i start spending too much just for the deductions, i won't be able to give as much to my preferred charities (mpr, sabayon project, seti, etc). i appreciate your guarantee, it makes me feel better if things do come to that.

[MisterCMK]

tjamz;223151 wrote:
They have rental cars down there...I promise.

When I was in Indianapolis a few weeks ago they didn't have any rental cars... Or hotel rooms...

People were renting cars and rooms due to the floods. Good thing I had reservations for my room and I drove down.