I love trains, so one of the activities I was most excited for during our first trip to Alaska was riding the Coastal Classic Train on the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward (and back!). Below, I’m including all the questions we had before our train ride and answering them to help you plan your Coastal Classic trip on the Alaska Railroad.
The Basics
For our August 2023 trip, the Coastal Classic departed Anchorage at 6:45 a.m. and arrived in Seward at 11:20 a.m. (Total travel time: 4 hours and 35 minutes.) The return trip departed Seward at 6 p.m. and arrived in Anchorage at 10:15 p.m. (Travel time: 4 hours and 15 minutes.) It is possible to do this as a day trip and even sneak in a little boat tour during the afternoon, but we chose to spend two nights in Seward before returning.
In addition to the Coastal Classic, the Alaska Railroad has other routes including Anchorage - Denali, Anchorage - Fairbanks and more. Check out all your train options on the Alaska Railroad website. Many of these routes make great day trips if you want to base yourself in Anchorage and use the Alaska Railroad to explore southcentral Alaska.
Planning Your Alaska Railroad Trip
Can I ride the Alaska Railroad in the off-season?
Depends where you want to go. I was hesitant about visiting Alaska in August because we usually avoid summer travel. We have the luxury of not having to abide by a school schedule, so we prefer to take advantage of the smaller crowds and lower prices of shoulder season. But for Alaska, quite a few of the things we wanted to do aren’t available after summer, including the Alaska Railroad to Seward. The Coastal Classic only runs from mid-May until mid-September (fares are a bit cheaper in most of May and September). Other Alaska Railroad routes are offered in the winter, though usually not daily.
Was the booking/reservation/check-in process easy?
Yes! We booked our Alaska Railroad tickets online, paid with a credit card, received an email confirmation and got our confirmed itinerary via email the next day. At the train stations (Anchorage and Seward), we checked in at the ticket counter with our photo IDs and got our printed boarding passes. Easy!
How early did you have to arrive before the train left?
Our confirmation email said we had to arrive an hour ahead of time to check in, so we did. We then ended up sitting outside for about 40 minutes until they opened boarding 15 minutes before our train departed. However, arriving early also meant we had no line, which is perhaps why it was so quick. If you have luggage to check and/or if you don’t want to feel rushed, go ahead and arrive an hour early.
We picked up coffee from The Cubby (inside the Hotel Captain Cook, opens at 5:30 a.m.) on the way to the station, so we had a nice morning sipping it outside in the cool Alaska air after checking in. At the very least, I would recommend arriving at least 30 minutes before your train departs. For later arrivals, there’s a Kaladi Brothers (a local Anchorage chain that started as a coffee cart in the 1980s) about a 15-minute walk from the station that opens at 6 a.m.
Can you pick your seats on the Alaska Railroad?
We didn’t see a way to select specific seats, but honestly, we don’t think there were any bad seats on the Coastal Classic. We were in Car C on the way down to Seward and in Car E on the way back. Car E had much more leg room, but both cars were comfortable. During the train ride, many people got up and moved around to visit the dining car or the observation car, and everyone was constantly walking around our car to get the views from different windows, so you likely won’t be confined to your seat if you want a different view.
Our confirmation noted our seats would be assigned 48 hours before departure, and we received our seat assignments when we checked in. If you do want to request certain seats, try contacting the railroad directly.
Which side of the Coastal Classic has better views?
Like we said above, there were no bad seats! We sat on the coastal side (the right side when traveling south) for both directions, and it is really nice to be able to the see the water as you depart/arrive in Anchorage. However, once the railroad moves further inland, a lot of the glaciers and beautiful views (like the photo above, taken south of Portage) are on the left side of the train (traveling south). So it’s a win-win! As mentioned earlier, you can visit the observation car or walk around the train to look out the window from any empty seats.
Baggage Policy & Luggage Questions
Can I bring my backpack on the Alaska Railroad?
This is the question I searched the most, along with variations like “Does Alaska Railroad enforce its carry-on size limits?” and “What counts as a personal item on the Alaska Railroad?” We travel with our Tortuga backpacks and avoid checking them whenever possible. But, the Alaska Railroad baggage policy said passengers were limited to one carry-on with a maximum size of 15” x 14” x 6”. (The 30-liter Tortuga travel backpack is 20.5″ x 12.2″ x 7.5″, for comparison.)
I searched some recent reviews and the carry-on limit enforcement didn’t seem too strict. Most people said they didn’t have a problem taking on a backpack and a bag of food, for example. The woman who checked us in for our train in Anchorage said our backpacks (35L and 40L) were fine to carry on, and they easily fit on the overhead rack above our seats in Adventure Class. We also saw quite a few large hiking backpacks on the overhead racks. (Even the photo on the Alaska Railroad baggage policy webpage shows a passenger with a large hiking backpack!)
That being said, I would not recommend taking a rolling bag or anything larger than a medium backpack onto Adventure Class. It appears that many Alaska Railroad passengers book through package tours that take care of transporting their luggage to and from the train to their hotel or ship, so I don’t imagine picking up or dropping off your own bags would be a huge inconvenience.
Note: In GoldStar Service, there are no overhead racks. (That would block the beautiful glass dome car you are paying for!) For GoldStar Service seats, you would likely want to check anything that isn’t a very small bag you would want to keep at your feet.
Can I store my bags at the Alaska Railroad train station?
No. Luggage storage is not available. We stayed in the harbor area in Seward (The Breeze Inn Motel) rather than downtown, which meant it was a very quick trip to pick up our bags from our hotel and walk a few minutes to the station in time for our 6 p.m. train back to Anchorage after our excursion that day.
Adventure Class vs. GoldStar Service
What’s the difference between Adventure Class and GoldStar Service?
GoldStar Service is not available on every Alaska Railroad route, but it is available on the Coastal Classic train between Anchorage and Seward. GoldStar tickets cost about twice as much as Adventure Class (see fare chart above), and the main draw is that the GoldStar cars have glass-domed seating for all passengers that allow panoramic views. There is also an open-air observation deck on the back of each GoldStar car (pictured below), so you can enjoy the views without glass. GoldStar tickets include meals, soft drinks and two complimentary adult beverages (also available for purchase in Adventure Class).
Is GoldStar Service worth the price?
We knew we didn’t want to pay for GoldStar Service round-trip, but we considered upgrading on our return trip so we could compare the two classes. (You know, for research!) When we arrived in Seward, the staff allowed us to briefly visit the GoldStar cars so we could decide if the upgrade was worth it. Here are our impressions:
All the GoldStar passenger seats are on the top level in the glass-dome cars, and the dining area is on the bottom level. We liked the option of being able to move between our lower-level seats and the observation car in Adventure Class, and sometimes we thought the views were better from the bottom if we were looking at steep drop-offs.
We think the open-air deck is a bigger draw for GoldStar than the glass-domed cars. But during our ride from Anchorage, the deck looked to be pretty crowded the whole time. It would be nice to avoid the glare from taking photos inside a train car, but know you will likely be jostling for space. Also, I think this would only be worth it if you were seated in Car B (or whichever the last GoldStar car is). The photo of the observation deck above is from Car A, and you can see the entire back view is blocked by Car B. In the photo below, you can see the deck of Car B has 270-degree unobstructed views.
Should you upgrade to GoldStar Service?
Overall, we decided GoldStar wasn’t worth it for our budget. But if you’re a photographer or videographer, it’s probably worth it! And if you want to try it out, we would suggest upgrading for one direction of your journey, preferably your first leg. (We were much more alert and interested in the scenery on our journey from Anchorage to Seward; we were tired on our ride back to Anchorage and we had already seen the landscapes.)
Bottom line: If you decide to upgrade to GoldStar Service, I certainly don’t think you would regret it. But if you don’t upgrade, we are confident you will still have a fantastic Alaska Railroad experience in Adventure Class.
Does the Alaska Railroad Adventure Class have an observation car?
Yes! We had one dome car for Adventure Class on our train (pictured above) with seating for about 20-25 people. These seats are unassigned and you can wander up at any time to check out the views. When the car is busy, passengers are asked to limit their stay to around 20 minutes so everyone can enjoy it. Of course, there were a few passengers who seemed to stay in the car the entire time, but we found most people were respectful and would move when they saw others waiting to sit down. There was also ample time when there was plenty of room in the car. (It is a 4+ hour ride, after all.)
Alaska Railroad On-Board Experience
What can I eat on the Alaska Railroad?
You have a few options for food on the Alaska Railroad. There are dining cars on the Alaska Railroad for both Adventure Class and GoldStar Service. On Adventure Class, we had the option to eat meals in the dining car both ways (breakfast for Anchorage to Seward, and dinner for Seward to Anchorage), but a seated meal service is not always available to Adventure Class passengers. After we boarded the train, an attendant came through and marked who was interested in the meal service, then they served us in two seatings. This means on the way back, we didn’t eat until after 8 p.m.
There’s also a “Wilderness Cafe” for Adventure Class, which includes an assortment of basic sandwiches, chips, desserts and drinks for grab-and-go purchase. (Credit cards only.)
I do have to say: The food on the Alaska Railroad is not that great. (It’s not bad! But it’s nothing special.) You can bring your own food on the train, so I would recommend picking up to-go food to eat on the train. For your ride from Anchorage to Seward, you can buy packaged sandwiches from The Cubby when you get your early-morning coffee. If you don’t have time to eat dinner in Seward before boarding your evening train, consider picking up yummy barbecue sandwiches from Firebrand BBQ. (Note: The seats do not have tray tables, so be prepared to eat on your lap and bring napkins!)
What are the prettiest parts of the Coastal Classic train ride?
As I’ve said about a gajillion times in this post – there are so many beautiful views. Some of our favorite photo spots on the scenic Alaska Railroad to Seward included the area around Portage, the series of tunnels in the Placer River Valley, the S Curve (pictured above), and the lakes along Moose Pass.
If you really need a nap, I thought the hour or so of the train ride closest to Seward was the least exciting. (This would be the last hour on your way from Anchorage, or your first hour after departing Seward.)
How comfortable were the seats?
Our seats on the Alaska Railroad were forward-facing and semi-reclining, and we found them to be spacious and comfortable.
Did they have bathrooms on the Alaska Railroad?
Yes. The worst part about using the bathroom was not knowing if I was going to miss seeing something spectacular.
Was there wifi on the train?
No. There were no electric outlets at the seats and no wifi. At many points on the journey, you won’t have cell service either. But you won’t need it! Your eyes will be glued to the views.
Note: The Alaska Railroad website says some seats do have electric outlets for medical purposes only. Contact Alaska Railroad ahead of time if you require this.
What do you think? Have we convinced you to ride the Alaska Railroad on your next trip to this beautiful state? Ask any questions we didn’t answer in the comments!
Feature photo: The Alaska Railroad train taking the “S Curves” with Bartlett Glacier in the background
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