Reviews
My family and I took the train from San Diego back home to Seattle in 2107. Ticket purchase was easy. This was our second train trip we’ve tried so far. We rode the double decker Amtrak. Thankfully, it was not crowded in our section. We had a peaceful ride. The seats were pretty comfortable. It was a great experience however, I’d rather fly!
WARNING: If you want to park at this trolley station, do NOT use this address! Google Maps will take you to the Congress Street side of the station, which only contains a PAID public parking lot. Instead, search Google Maps for "Transit Park And Ride", just across the tracks Pacific Highway side of the station, which contains the actual FREE public parking lot. Once you've parked there, you will need to take an underpass/tunnel to get to the trolley station tracks.
The surf liner is a grate alternative to travel from SD to La. Confortable, safe and fast is how I describe the trip. Follow me for more tips.
Open, clean, well-lit boarding platforms for trains and trolleys with limited seating for South bound passengers none for North bound riders best describe this center. There's plenty of parking and avout a dozen bike lockers. Trains are generally on time with available seating. Buying tickets in the afternoon can be a challenge because the kiosk' s dim screen is muted by the typically bright sun.
I don’t care for this transit hub at all! Signage in the underpass is vaguely worded, does not say the track numbers nor COASTER directions. I was running back and forth banging my bike up and down the stairs trying to catch the 15:27 northbound COASTER to Oceanside on 9/16/23. Fortunately I found the right track and caught the COASTER to return to Oceanside then catch the Metrolink to return to my home in OC. I will only return to this place if San Diego area Deaf events are held at venues near it. Otherwise I’m done!
Oldest European settlement in California. Can be crowded though. Fun for the family. Nice restaurants and museums. Parking can be hard to find during peak times. Town is easily accessible via MTS Trolley.
I could not think of a organization run worse than Amtrack. It takes 45minutes on the phone to make a bike reservation if you have a multi ride pass EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO RIDE. This is bad enough as it is but half the time the person on the phone messes up and you end up with the conductor harassing you for Amtrack’s mistake! No it is not possible to make a bike reservation online when you have a multi ride pass and no I would not recommend trying to commute on this forsaken train.
Great station, really easy to switch from light rail to heavy rail, or access to Old Town San Diego! It does get crowded, so make sure to get to the station well before the train comes!
Old Town is great as a trolley station with its close proximity to the State Park and transfers to Coaster/Amtrak. However it is a mediocre Amtrak station at best. There is no station agent and only two automatic ticket machines. Of those two ticket machines one is broken and has likely been that way since 1990 and the other barely works. Overall I would recommend using Santa Fe Union Depot if you are taking Amtrak and Old Town if your are using the Trolley or Coaster.
This transit center is a main station , you can go to many parts in San Diego There is Trolley Track 1 and 2 Coaster Track 3 Amtrack track 4 Mts busses on both sides May be confusing for 1st riders, all the sings and schedules are posted on the boards and all this information is available online too. To safely cross from one side to the other is an underground tunnel, you can buy your tickets on the automatic machines available it accepts bank cards and cash, there is a convenient store to get bottle water and snacks. Old town is within walking distance from this station. Winter time gets cold in the evening as there is nothing to block the wind.
