We love public transportation, we wish we could use it more often for work and our day to day activities. Unfortunately, living in south Orange County, using public transportation is almost unheard of, people usually give us incredulous looks when we tell them we will be riding the train. But what most residences don’t realize is, it is actually very convenient and relaxing to ride the train to either San Diego or Downtown Los Angeles.

Amtrak trains:

Amtrak train arriving from San Diego

Riding the Amtrak Surfline train from Orange County along the Pacific Coast down to San Diego is beautiful. If you are lucky enough to pass through the beaches during sunset, it really makes you appreciate the beauty of the Southern California coastlines.

Things I love about the Amtrak trains:
1.) Free wifi, I usually ride the train down to San Diego to work, it’s a great way for me to catch up on emails during the ride down and wrap up the day on the way home.
2) Roomy seats and desks available on every seat.
3) Drinks and food are available in their cafe cart for purchase if you get hungry
4) More frequent schedule compared to Metrolinkn

The only problem with Amtrak is the round trip tickets cost about $46 compared to the cost of fuel to drive down to San Diego at $30. Since Metrolink’s southern most station is Oceanside, Amtrak is the only train that goes to San Diego/

Metrolink trains

Metrolink train arriving from Oceanside

Metrolink trains is a cheaper alternative to the Amtrak trains for traveling to Los  Angeles. The best deal they have going on right now is the $10 unlimited weekend pass! This works for the Metrolink rail, subway and buses. This is such a great deal going from Orange County to Union Station as long as you time your trip the night before. Let’s not forget the cost of parking around DT LA is at least $10 per day if you choose to drive yourself. Regular price for Metrolink is $21 round trip to LA compared to $32 Amtrak. Unfortunately, Metrolink does not have wifi on board, but this was expected with it’s cheaper ticket price.

Metrolink $10 weekend pass

I strongly encourage everyone to ride the train at least once. You might surprise yourself with how much you enjoy it!