Train from Seattle to Los Angeles

Train from Seattle to Los Angeles at a glance

Here is what the train from Seattle to Los Angeles looks like with Amtrak Coast Starlight: direct, with no change of train, about 35 hours from platform to platform, daily, roughly 2200 km. You board at King Street Station and step off at Los Angeles Union Station. Haqqi Tours checks the seats for your dates and tells you the cost before anything is booked.

• Route: Seattle to Los Angeles (about 2200 km)
• Operator: Amtrak Coast Starlight
• Journey time: about 35 hours
• Connection: direct train
• Frequency: daily
• Departure station: King Street Station
• Arrival station: Los Angeles Union Station
• Classes: coach, roomette and bedroom
• Booking: form on this page, confirmation by WhatsApp, e-ticket by message

The Coast Starlight is Amtrak's scenic West Coast train, running daily from Seattle through Portland, the Willamette Valley, Sacramento and the California coast to Los Angeles in about 35 hours, with sleeping cars and a dining car.

Timetable of the Seattle to Los Angeles train

The exact Seattle to Los Angeles train times change with the season and the day of the week, so we send the timetable for your specific date rather than a list that may be wrong by the time you read it. As a rule the service runs daily, each taking around 35 hours. Weekend timetables are sometimes thinner in the early morning; holiday periods add extra trains and sell out earlier.

If you are connecting to a flight or another train at Los Angeles, let us know: we build in a safe margin and choose a departure that leaves room for a delay.

Is there a direct train from Seattle to Los Angeles?

There is a direct train from Seattle to Los Angeles operated by Amtrak Coast Starlight, and it is the one we book unless you ask for something different. One ticket covers the whole journey; you keep your seat from King Street Station to Los Angeles Union Station; children and luggage stay in one place. It runs daily.

Departure: King Street Station

Your journey starts at King Street Station. Platforms on long-distance routes are announced shortly before departure, so watch the boards; larger stations have separate halls for high-speed and regional trains, and we tell you which one applies to your ticket. The Link light rail runs from the airport to downtown in about 40 minutes and suits a central hotel with light luggage; for the Eastside, cruise piers, Mount Rainier, Leavenworth or the Olympic Peninsula, a private car from the terminal is faster and simpler.

• Ask us which hall or level your train leaves from - big stations have more than one
• Arrive 20-30 minutes early; the platform is shown on the boards shortly before departure
• Keep the e-ticket on your phone and the ID used for booking together - some operators check both
• Luggage travels with you: racks at the coach ends and above the seats, no weighing, no fees

Arrival: Los Angeles Union Station

You step off at Los Angeles Union Station, right in the city - close to Long Beach and San Pedro and Pasadena. The Metro K and C lines connect LAX via a people mover and the FlyAway bus reaches Union Station and Van Nuys; with the distances involved - Anaheim 55 km, San Diego 200 km - and luggage, nearly every visitor takes a car from the terminal. If you would rather not think about it, we book a driver to meet you off the train and take you to the door of your hotel.

Onward journeys from Los Angeles - a connecting train, a ferry or a flight the same day - can be added to the booking; tell us and we time the Seattle to Los Angeles train to fit.

Classes and what it is like on board the Seattle to Los Angeles train

Tickets on the train from Seattle to Los Angeles are sold in coach, roomette and bedroom. The lower class is comfortable and is what most travellers book; the upper class adds wider seats, more legroom, quieter coaches and, on some services, a welcome drink or at-seat service. Amtrak Coast Starlight's trains on this route have luggage racks, power sockets at most seats, toilets in every coach and, on longer services, a café or bar coach. Haqqi Tours explains the difference for the exact train you are booking so you pay for what you will actually use.

• Bicycles, pushchairs and large luggage accepted within the railway's rules, which we explain
• Pets are allowed on many services with a small ticket - let us know if one is travelling
• Reserved seats with tables, power sockets and luggage racks
• Toilets in every coach; a café or bar coach on most long-distance services

Children, luggage and groups on the Seattle to Los Angeles train

Haqqi Tours books family and group travel on this route all year round. Children's fares depend on age bands set by Amtrak Coast Starlight, which we apply automatically; a pushchair folds into the luggage space; a table of four keeps everyone together. Larger groups - a school trip, a company, a wedding party - get seats reserved in a block and, where available, a group rate. There is no luggage allowance to worry about on the Seattle to Los Angeles train.

Things to do in Los Angeles after the train

Los Angeles is a region more than a city: Hollywood and Downtown, the beaches of Santa Monica and Venice, Disneyland in Anaheim and the harbour at San Pedro, with Los Angeles International (LAX) on the coast about 25 km west of Downtown and freeways joining everything. Start with the Getty Center, Griffith Observatory and Rodeo Drive, then a day in San Diego and the Hollywood Sign and Walk of Fame. A tip from our desk: LAX has nine terminals around a horseshoe road - tell us the carrier and flight number - and give the full address; "Hollywood" and "Downtown" hotels are 15 km apart.

We offer tours and transfers in Los Angeles as well as the train ticket - one conversation, one plan for the whole trip.

Best time to take the train from Seattle to Los Angeles

Sunny most of the year, with a cool ocean breeze and June gloom on the coast; the freeways are slow at weekday rush hours and on Friday afternoons; Disneyland and the beaches are busiest in summer and school holidays. On the train, the difference between seasons shows in availability more than comfort: peak-week departures fill first, so we recommend booking early for July, August, Christmas, New Year and Easter journeys between Seattle and Los Angeles.

Train, plane or bus from Seattle to Los Angeles?

Weighing a flight against the train from Seattle to Los Angeles? Add the time to the airport, check-in, security and the trip in from the arrival airport, and the train is normally as fast door to door and far less tiring - about 35 hours on board. The bus is the budget option, worth it for some passengers, slower for all. We book whichever suits you; on this route the train is our first recommendation.

Return train from Los Angeles to Seattle

We book the return leg from Los Angeles to Seattle just as easily, and generally on the same confirmation. Booking both directions together lets us compare a return fare against two singles and choose the cheaper combination for your dates. Let us know the day you want to come back on the form and we send both directions with the cost.

How much does the train from Seattle to Los Angeles cost?

The cost of the train from Seattle to Los Angeles is not one number: it changes with the date, the departure time, the class and how far ahead the ticket is booked. Amtrak Coast Starlight prices the seats in tiers, so an early booking on a quiet mid-week departure and a last-minute ticket on a Friday evening can be very different fares for the same train. That is why Haqqi Tours does not print a price on this page: we look up the live fares for your exact date and send you the real cost through WhatsApp, with the options side by side.

The figure we send covers the ticket, any compulsory seat reservation and our booking service; what you see in the WhatsApp chat is what you pay. If a cheaper departure exists thirty minutes earlier or later, we tell you, because a Seattle to Los Angeles train ticket that costs less at a slightly different time is typically worth it.

Cheapest train ticket from Seattle to Los Angeles: how to pay less

Getting the lowest fare on the train from Seattle to Los Angeles is a matter of timing and flexibility. These are the levers Haqqi Tours pulls to find you a cheap train ticket:

• Travel mid-week and mid-day - Tuesday to Thursday departures after the morning rush are usually the cheapest
• Avoid the first and last trains of the day, which carry commuters and business travellers at higher fares
• Tell us if your dates are flexible - moving by a day, or by an hour, frequently halves the fare
• Ask about children's, youth and senior fares - most operators on this route discount them
• Book both directions together - a return or two singles, whichever comes out cheaper on your dates
• Choose a fixed-departure ticket if your plans are certain; flexible tickets cost more

We are happy to be asked "what is the cheapest way to get from Seattle to Los Angeles by train?" - it is a question we answer many times a day, and the answer for your date comes back on WhatsApp.

How to book train tickets from Seattle to Los Angeles with Haqqi Tours

The easiest way to book train tickets from Seattle to Los Angeles is to let us do it. The form on this page asks only for the essentials; everything else - seat preferences, a pushchair, a bicycle, a connection later that day - you let us know by WhatsApp when we message you to confirm the seats and the price. We provide the ticket in your name, explain how boarding works at King Street Station and stay reachable during the journey.

• Step 1 - send the form: date, one-way or return, adults and children, class
• Step 2 - we message you through WhatsApp with the available departures, the seats and the cost
• Step 3 - you confirm the departure you prefer and we arrange payment in the same chat
• Step 4 - we issue the electronic ticket and send it to you; we stay in touch until you arrive in Los Angeles

If plans change, the same WhatsApp conversation handles it. We spell out the change and cancellation terms of the fare you chose before you pay, so there are no surprises later.

Why book your Seattle to Los Angeles train ticket with Haqqi Tours

Haqqi Tours is a licensed tour operator that books train tickets from Seattle to Los Angeles every week. We provide the ticket in your name, the seats you want, the cheapest fare for your travel date, and a human in the WhatsApp chat in Arabic and English before, during and after the journey. Around the train, we offer transfers, tours and hotel-to-station drivers in both cities. Fill in the booking form on this page; we message you with seats and the price; you decide.