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Solana Beach Amtrak Station
Category: Hotels & Travel Transportation Public Transportation Public Transportation [Edit]
105 N Cedros Ave(between Lomas Santa Fe Dr & Rosa St)
Solana Beach, CA 92075
(800) 262-7837
23 reviews for Solana Beach Amtrak Station
23 reviews in English
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Review from Jim L.
San Diego, CA
11/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Since I drive back and forth to Orange County a minimum of 4 times a week, taking Amtrak is definitely a treat for me.
While this line is primarily a commuter track, I've never taken it for work. It can be utilized for a couple of different things; going to Anaheim to see my Angels (very convenient station right at Angel Stadium) or to take my bike up to the OC and ride back down the coast.
The Solana Beach Station is convenient, plenty of parking and the attendants are typically very friendly.
Yes, there are some flaws with riding the train. The last time I took it to Anaheim, I ended up standing most of the way because it was soooo oversold. Also, having to depend on someone else's schedule can be a pain in the butt. I would be using the train more if their schedule to and from OC would fit a little better into my time frames. It's doesn't, so I don't.
Even with the flaws, there are wonderful benefits: Food and beverage service, no traffic, comfortable seats (when you actually get one) and a stress free way of traveling.
With no traffic, the train to Anaheim takes a little longer than it would by car due to all the stops in between but when there is traffic.....there isn't an easier way to go at a competitive price. -
Review from Kenny O.
1/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
I don't really use Amtrak much (I've only been to Solana, Fullerton, LA Union Station, and Chicago), but nothing really stood out from this one. There's no eatery as far as I can tell inside the station, but luckily there is stuff within 10 minutes walking of the station in case you want a bite to eat before your trip.
The location is pretty convenient for UCSD students / North SD residents.
Standard one-way fare from Solana to Fullerton is $22 for those wondering. -
Review from George B.
8/15/2011
The biggest problem anyone can have here is to be on the wrong side of the tracks when going home.
It's easy to confuse yourself. When I was ready to go back to LA from SD, I thought we had to be on the eastern side of the tracks to go north when actuality we needed to be on the western side of the tracks to go north.
There was this really drunk couple that came on our side of the tracks. When the train came on the other side to go south into downtown SD, they looked at each other and said "I thought this was the side to go south". As they walked up and onto the bridge to get to the other side... the train had taken off.
So be careful of which side of the tracks you need to take to go home!
Now the reason why I give this station four stars is their customer service. As we waited on the tracks there was an operator telling everyone on the speaker why the train was delayed and how long it would take to get to the station. I wouldn't want to get to the station on time at 6:56pm and wait until 7:20pm without a reason why my train took nearly 20 minutes.
They also help direct others to move down the platform rather than everyone crowding up in one section near the elevators. It's a long train so move down the platform. -
Review from Michael L.
San Diego, CA
1/29/2012
This station is my usuall station where I take the Amtrak or Coaster from, since I live in Carmel Valley, this is the closest rather than Downtown San Diego, or Oceanside. The station itself is a newer, modern station. The ticket attendents are friendly, and usually there is a line, so make sure if you are taking the Amtrak Surfliner, be sure to arrive at least 30 mins early. The platforms are in a ditch, but it is not a far walk. Other than that, Amtrak is a great way to get from one big city, to another big city!
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Review from Charlie S.
San Diego, CA
10/11/2011
This is going to be an unusual review, methinks, but I wanted to go out of my way to roundly praise the Pacific Surfliner Amtrak service. I live in San Diego (92130) and work in Irvine (92618). It's 67 miles door-to-door, most of that mileage on I5. The drive is picturesque but long. I made the commute for 10 months, 3-4 times/week. If I left around 5:30 am, I could count on a 60-minute commute. If I left after 6 am, the same trip took 75-80 minutes. I would have to leave Irvine to return to SD by 3 pm each afternoon, and the return commute took 65-90 minutes.
I now drive 6 miles in 9 minutes from Carmel Valley (east of I5 at Del Mar) to the Solana Beach Amtrak Station on North Cedros Avenue. There is plenty of free parking at the station. I take the train from Solana Beach to Irvine station, and I am picked up in Irvine by a colleague and driven 6 miles to the office.
This commute has saved me 2-3 hrs. per day of driving. I am able to work on the train in both directions. The tracks hug the coast until San Juan Cap, and the view is GORGEOUS. The train has never been full; I have had another passenger in the seat next to me once in 30 trips, and even then the train wasn't really full; I just have "please sit next to me and talk to me about your new iPad 2" tattooed on my forehead.
The Pac Surfliner has business class and a dining car. I've seen many people walking back to their seats with beers in hand on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Each seat has a 120 v outlet. There is no wi-fi (free or otherwise) in coach; perhaps there is in business class.
The price of the ticket for each Irvine-SD segment is the same as the price of gas if you purchase a 10-pack ticket, and about 20% less than the price of gas if you purchase a monthly pass. Either multi-ride pack entitles the rider to bypass reservation requirements during the holiday season, and passengers with multi-ride packs are ALWAYS guaranteed a seat year-round.
Our national rail infrastructure is by and large awful, but the Pacific Surfliner (like Acela in the Northeast) is tremendous. While I hope people try the Surfliner based on my rec, I will not be terribly disappointed if the Surfliner remains a local secret. -
Review from Nick W.
Sacramento, CA
7/10/2011
Good quality workers there and awesome customer service. I was able to figure out my plans after missing my first train.
There's nothing wrong with these workers, it's the people who overreact that bother me. I mean you want customer service, why you have to act up.
Trains are nice, such smooth transportation. And a great view going along the coast, until you get mainlandish...
The best part is that the workers did what they could to make sure I made it to my destination. -
Review from Tuan C.
Parking sucks, place is clean, where I dropped off my sis before heading back to OC.
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Review from AshandCat J.
San Diego, CA
4/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
If I could rely on public transportation, I would. Unfortunately that doesn't work well in the burbs.
The times that I have used this station and Amtrak in general have worked well for me.
Solana Beach Amtrak employees are nice and informative.
For those who have AAA, reserve your tickets online at least two days beforehand to get the discount. -
Review from Brian B.
9/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good station. Pretty small, but surrounded by places to eat and hang out if you're waiting for a train. Great busses to north county (though you could just get the train...) and Del Mar, La Jolla, etc.
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Review from Angelica R.
La Mesa, CA
7/15/2010
Grr...I hate parking fees! My last 3 Amtrak trips cost me at least $250 in parking fees when I left from the San Diego Station and stayed parked for just a week. So after some research, I read the parking was free at this station, so I decided to give it a try.
I left early on a weekday morning; arriving at the station around 6AM. There were quite a few open spaces, but the lot wasn't nearly as empty as I expected it to be so early in the morning! I got a decent spot not too far from the station, locked up my car and left for my week long trip.
Just so you know, the limit on parking at this station (in any unmarked spot) is 14 days. I asked the attendant who had to ask the manager of the facility, so this is coming directly from an amtrak employee.
This station gets really busy, assumingly because of the parking, so make sure you arrive early enough if you are planning on buying your tickets or need to speak with the agent before your trip. -
Review from Michal T.
Tustin, CA
1/28/2011 4 Check-ins Here
I'm a huge fan of trains, so I was very happy to come here! The parking lot is very large and you can park for 72 hours which is awesome.
It's a really easy layout and looks really nice; it was also very clean.
Although the service was less than enviable, the fact that the ticket was cheap, the station is nice and the train ride was comfortable, I will give this place a fair four stars.
Cheers! -
Review from Amber K.
San Diego, CA
10/6/2008
After I discovered I could take the train from San Diego to Los Angeles in a guaranteed 3 hours, I have vowed not to risk getting there in 4 hours by car, in hopes of getting there in just 2. Unless you're driving at 3AM, it's nearly impossible to get to LA in 2 hours anymore. With gas prices nowadays, you're paying about the same, or even less for a train ticket. Plus, you can relax, talk on the phone, do work, and even DRINK on the train! I always seem to meet cool people and have fun, so the time passes pretty quickly...
The train cruises right along the coast, so be prepared for some amazing views of the ocean - try to sit by a west-facing window. Although, any seat is difficult to come by when you're traveling at peak times. I often sit in the cafe car to avoid the hassle of finding a seat, but then you risk being booted out (I just keep buying food and hope they don't notice I've been there the entire trip).
Parking sucks, but it is FREE and you can leave your car there for a while. I'll happily park far off in a dirt lot if it means not having to pay anything or depend on people for a ride to/from the station. -
Review from Fred C.
Los Angeles, CA
3/30/2007
This station is served by the Coaster and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner train. This is one of three stations in San Diego County that is served by Amtrak, which provides more service than Coaster.
This is another station really close to the beach. It's near Fletcher Cove, and the Del Mar racetrack is a short bus ride away.
Connections: North County Transit District lines 101 and 308. -
Review from Paula D.
8/10/2009
Love this station and the people who work there. Nice service, fast fast fast and this week the train was early! It is a pretty station from an architectural standpoint and I like that it's not so big that you can't get from the door to the tracks in short order. - one star for the parking.
We took a great trip this weekend and the train was clean, the snacks were good and the view of the ocean was awesome.
The train is the only way to see the OC. -
Review from Monica S.
4/23/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Customer service behind the counter is super slow! Thank goodness for self-service kiosks! I wish parking was more plentiful as weekends can be challenging. It's free, but I'd be willing to pay a few bucks per day if it guaranteeed me a spot!
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Review from Teej T.
Urbana, IL
8/9/2007
When in college, I was that guy with the car, which meant that I was the one responsible for driving friends to the airport, train station, you name it. I was never really too upset when I had to drive up to the Solana Beach Station. It's convenient, clean, nice, and very accessible. I've had a strange series of people that have ridden with me to the SBS--suitemates leaving to see their significant others, church pastors who've had their cars break down in Del Mar, and even my mother, who came to catch a rock concert at the Belly Up (nothing makes you feel old like having a mom who wants to stay up later than you).
An added bonus for SBS--in addition to being the stop for Amtrak and Coaster, it's within walking distance of great restaurants and stores, number one among them, the inimitable Pizza Port. Woot. -
Review from mindy d.
3/1/2008 1 Check-in Here
This is a really nice station, but there are definitely some problems that they could fix, as well as some problems that you should be aware of.
1. Parking is terrible. They have a lot, but it fills up so quickly that you might have to circle the lot for a while, park at the nearby school, or in the surround neighborhood. Allot a lot of time to park.
2. Even if you buy your tickets online, you still have to pick them up. This is a busy station, so plan on waiting in line whether you need to buy your tickets or just pick them up. (This could be avoided if Amtrak would allow tickets to be printed.)
3. Busy station means seats are hard to get. Sometimes all the seats are filled before the train even gets to the station. Plan on a struggle for even a single seat; if you have a group, pay more for business class and reserved seats. One time I sat on the floor from Solana to LA because the train was so full and there were no seats available.
Despite these drawbacks, it's super nice to not have to drive through LA, have extra time, and save the planet a little bit at a time. Thus, I continue to take the train when I can. -
Review from Kalbiguy B.
Los Angeles, CA
11/24/2007
I was to be in San Diego before noon on Thanksgiving. Next day, my bedroom alarm read 2PM! I knew traffic down the I-5 would be a nightmare. A mensa moment arrived. Headed to Union Station. Amtrak ($25 ish): No traffic; no hassle; the beautiful ocean view! Got into SD before dinner time. But, the crazy traffic made my pick up a littler tardy. The hunger took me to the following pizza/beer venue. A mug of SD micro beer and a pre-thanksgiving veggie thin crust pizza slice coupled with an awesome pacific ocean view. All for about $10.
http://www.yelp.com/bi... -
Review from Ric A.
San Diego, CA
5/27/2010
HIT OR MISS.
i have nothing bad to say about the train stations themselves, Union Station in both downtown San Diego & Los Angeles & the Solana Beach stations are great. Amtrak's service, on the other hand...
first, my raves:
taking the amtrak from san diego to los angeles is a brilliant idea. you save yourself from the stress of sitting in LA traffic, putting miles on your vehicle & taking a hit on your gas money fund [okay, it costs about $26/ticket each way, but still]. this 2 hour ride is probably one of the most memorable rides you will take. as a passenger, you are treated to the beautiful, serene, & scenic view of the pacific ocean and southern california's coastlines. hit play on your walkman & listen to your favorite tape album then R-E-L-A-X. if you want to get online, plug your laptop in & browse your heart away. if you want to catch up on your sleep, recline your seat & close your eyes. and 2 hours later, you get to union station in LA, wondering how you got to be so relaxed all of a sudden.
now, my rants:
the 1st time i ever took the amtrak, it was packed! i had to wait about an hour into the trip before i could find a seat to sit down. i didnt bring my ipod, so i was treated to all of the train's screeching & braking, as well as everyone else's conversations.
on 2 separate trips, another train was stuck on the one track rail. the 1st time this happened, we had to link up with the stranded train, drive it BACK to the previous station, just so we could get past it on the single track. this meant stopping our train, shutting down the power, including turning off the lights. this would have been ok with me, except for the fact that it was night time & we were in the middle of nowhere. so we sat in the dark for almost an hour while the engineers linked the trains together. this meant instead of getting to LA in 2 hours at 10pm, we got there in close to 4 hours around midnight. our compensation for sitting & waiting? an "we're sorry for the inconvenience." the second time this happened, we had to link up with another stranded train & drive it with us to LA. this also caused our arrival time to be delayed by a few hours.
so, based on my experiences, the Amtrak ride from San Diego to Los Angeles has been a huge gamble. but maybe your experience will be better than mine!
here's a useful tip: if you catch a night train, say around 8pm, you might be able to catch the fireworks show from Disneyland. but you have to time it correctly, making sure you take a train that'll get to the Anaheim area around 9-930. its a pretty cool show watching it as the train is moving -- plus its FREE! -
Review from Baby Mr. T.
San Diego, CA
5/3/2009
What's not to like? Long term parking on the street or in the lot, and everything you need is nearby: beach, coffee, bar, freeway, donut shop.
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Review from Andy C.
Carlsbad, CA
7/1/2008
this is a nice train station.
I've been here once or twice when riding the coaster down to san diego.
nice station, lots of parking. friend and clean terminal thing.Listed in: Travelin'
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Review from Heina D.
1/1/2010
Lovely station. The layout is not at all confusing, it's beautiful and clean, and the waiting area is more than ample with clean restrooms.
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Review from Kathy M.
Solana Beach, CA
11/16/2010
I use the train at least 2 times a month from Solana Beach to Los Angeles. How about that free parking in Solana Beach?! On the train, views are grand, seating comfy, staff superb! If only the 'important' people who must yak on their cell phones during the entire trip would just put a cork in it, there would be nothing to complain about.
