Here is a full breakdown of our expenses for our most recent trip:
Days: 3 (Friday – Saturday)
Total spent: $167.20
Per day breakdown: $55.73
Per person / per day breakdown: $27.87
| $86.00 | Amtrak RT for two |
| $2.25 | Amtrak coffee |
| $14.95 | Wing Luke Asian Museum |
| $10.00 | Tri Met MAX tickets ($2.50 each) |
| $54.00 | Dinner out at Janbo Cafe |
Category Breakdown:
| $56.25 | Food |
| $96.00 | Transportation – flights, buses, shuttle |
| $14.95 | Attractions |
| $167.20 | Total |
This was a cheap weekend trip for us, primarily because of our free accommodations on Friday and Saturday night with our friends. They also fed us breakfast and dinner both nights, so it was only fair to pick up the lunch tab at the Janbo Cafe. We did save over $100 using coupons:
$14.95 Buy one, get one free admission to the Wing Luke Asian Museum. We used our Entertainment book discount.
$86 – our Amtrak Cascades ticket was $86 for a round trip for one person. Using our Buy one, get one free voucher from our Barclays Amtrak Mastercard, Lisa was able to travel with me for free so instead of paying $172 for our trains, it only costed us half of that, $86, and thus bringing our per person roundtrip fare to only $42.
Final Thoughts:
I love taking the train and it is so easy and convenient for a weekend trip north to Seattle. The trains, especially the Cascades, are modern, comfortable and a very relaxed way to spend four hours traveling. Despite our long return home and spending three and a half hours on a bus, we realize that weather is a factor and our delay comes with the territory of riding the train. Having the Amtrak Mastercard costs $75 per year, so having the buy one, get one free coupon is kinda a wash, but it does encourage us to consider the train as a travel option. We still have another ten months to evaluate the overall perks for this card, but for now our weekend trip was definitely a success on a limited budget!