I went on my first 20-hour Amtrak train for $90. Next time, I’d definitely pay more money to take a plane.

I took a 2 1/2-hour flight from New York to Chicago, and when it was time to return home, I boarded an Amtrak train at Chicago’s Union Station that arrived at Penn Station in Manhattan 20 hours later. On the way to Union Station, my friend and I stopped at a Walgreens to pick up snacks for the train ride. When my friend told an older man about my upcoming ride, he whispered, “Don’t tell this to your friend, but I would hate to be her right now.

” To be fair, I also hated the idea of the trip at that moment. I’ve always dreaded long road trips, and I often feel claustrophobic next to strangers on long flights. The idea of sitting in one chair for 20 hours made me feel uneasy.

Here’s what my first long-haul train ride was like. When I was looking for train tickets online, I was shocked by the price difference between a coach seat, $90, and a private room in a sleeping car, around $700. My economy seat on my flight to Chicago was originally only $113, so paying for a room in the Amtrak sleeping car seemed ridiculous.

When I arrived at Union Station, I stood in line as the Amtrak workers assigned everyone a seat. Usually, coach seats are unassigned, but they were strict about passengers staying in designated areas since it was a holiday weekend and the train was fully booked. There was no security check, and no one collected my ticket until I was already en route.

I arrived around 30 minutes before departure, which I felt was the perfect amount of time to find my seat and settle in without feeling rushed. I had an aisle seat, which was convenient when I had to get up to go to the bathroom. However, I had a hard time falling asleep since I had nothing to lean my head on.

The seats in the coach car looked luxurious. They were wide and made out of leather, and I could lean the seat far enough back that it almost felt like a bed. I could also lift a lever that pulled out a footrest.

I’m only 5-foot-4, but if I miraculously grew another foot on this train journey, I would’ve still had more than enough legroom. It was a humid, hot day when the train left Union Hall. As I walked through some of the cars, the stench made me feel like I was walking through a middle school boys’ locker room.

I felt grateful that I was assigned to a car that didn’t have this issue because it would’ve been impossible for me to ignore the strong body odor coming from some of the cars. I also felt extremely lucky that I didn’t get sick after my trip, since no one on the train was wearing a mask . Plenty of people were coughing around me, and there was no escaping the potential germ particles that may have been floating near me since I was stuck there for 20 hours.

I wore my mask the entire time (aside from when I was eating in the café car), but that can also be annoying to do for 20 hours straight. If I were to do this trip again, the first thing I would pack is an eye mask. I recently took a red-eye flight to Dublin, Ireland, and the Delta Air Lines staff gave everyone on the flight earplugs, an eye mask, and a blanket before turning off the lights and telling everyone to remain quiet.

We didn’t receive any of these luxuries in Amtrak’s coach class. The lights were never turned off, and the man in front of me kept his laptop open the whole night, which was another bright light that kept me up. Plus, the train made stops throughout the night, so there was constant commotion.

If you’re a light sleeper like me, this may be an issue. I had to purchase everything for myself — but I did get free lukewarm water from a fountain. Because coach passengers didn’t have access to the dining car, I was stuck with frozen food and overpriced snacks from the café car.

I purchased a Jimmy Dean sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich that cost $5 for breakfast, and a Hebrew National hot dog for $5. 25 later in the day for lunch. Other food options included a DiGiorno cheese pizza for $7.

25 and chips for $2. 25. Alcohol ranged from a Bud Light for $6.

50 to a glass of wine for $16. I wasn’t aware of how easy it was to move around on a train compared to other forms of transportation. I frequently walked up and down the aisles when I felt restless and was even able to get off at many of our stops and enjoy the fresh air.

At one of our stops in Rensselaer, New York, we were stopped for over 1 1/2 hours. With all that time, I was able to step into the train station, order a real meal, and take a long walk before having to get back on the train. When I bought the train ticket, my original plan was to work a full remote day on my laptop using the train’s advertised free Wi-Fi.

However, the train was so crowded and so many other people were also trying to use the Wi-Fi that it rarely worked for me. I got so frustrated that I eventually gave up and had to work on assignments that didn’t require an internet connection. If I worked a job that required me to have Wi-Fi access full-time, the lack of connection would’ve been a major issue.

I even tried using my cellular data, but that often didn’t work either since we were going through such remote areas. I only had one suitcase and a backpack , but I could’ve checked two bags, two carry-on items, and two personal items for free. Plus, if you have any additional bags you want to check, it’s only $20 per bag.

Just make sure you get to the train early if you have a checked bag, as Amtrak recommends allowing an extra hour. Many people take Amtrak trains because they want to see the US in ways that are impossible by car or plane. We glided along the water and overlooked meadows for certain stretches (mostly in the New York State area), but the majority of the views during the trip were of nothing notable.

If you desire to take a long train ride, I would suggest a famously scenic ride like Amtrak’s California Zephyr , which runs between Chicago and San Francisco and is known for its beautiful views, instead. The train was better than I originally expected , but I still don’t think it was worth the extra 17 1/2 hours of travel. It also didn’t end up saving me much money.

Even though my train ticket was technically cheaper than my flight ticket, the two journeys were comparable in price after I added in the money I spent on Amtrak food. I’m glad I got to experience my first rail journey, but the next time I travel from Chicago to New York, I’ll stick to flying. .