Call to book1-877-929-7245
Tour Search
#Favorites
North America

Glacier National Park & Seattle

Save
You are viewing the 2024 itinerary. Select your departure year
202420252026
7 days From $1,822 per person
4.3 stars(19 reviews)
Gallery
Map

The Emerald City and the Crown of the Continent are highlights of this spectacular Glacier National Park rail vacation.

Travel on your own following a well-planned itinerary

2024 Tour code: RM-GPSR-24

About the tour

Your 7-day round-trip itinerary from Seattle includes travel aboard Amtrak's scenic Empire Builder, accommodations in historic lodges and visits to breathtaking natural attractions including the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road on board the Red Jammer buses.

Highlights

View Dates & Pricing

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Seattle aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder

Board Amtrak's Empire Builder at Seattle's King Street Station and prepare for your 4:40 pm departure. Chat with fellow travelers, read, or listen to music as you travel east, leaving majestic Mount Rainier, the looming Space Needle and the glistening waters of Puget Sound in your wake. Watch the sunset from the Sightseer Lounge or enjoy a presentation about the area through which you're traveling given by volunteer park rangers as part of the Trails and Rails program. Overnight train.

Includes
  • Dinner (Sleeping Car passengers only)
Day 2 - Arrive East Glacier Park, Montana

When you awake this morning, you will be in Montana, nearing your final destination of East Glacier Park. You are slated to arrive at 9:54 am, providing you with nearly a full day to get acquainted with the Park. Your first overnight will be at Glacier Park Lodge, modeled after a Swiss chalet. Immerse yourself in the western charm of this historic lodge during your stay. Take the day to enjoy the Lodge's amenities like its heated outdoor swimming pool or nine-hole golf course, or begin to explore the alpine meadows and lush forests of this beautiful National Park. Overnight Glacier Park Lodge.

Includes
  • Breakfast (Sleeping Car passengers only)
Day 3 - St. Mary's Lake Boat Cruise

Your adventure continues as you arrive at the St. Mary Hotel, situated at the eastern entrance to the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Enjoy a delightful boat ride on St. Mary Lake showcasing the alpine beauty and grandeur of the park. Overnight St. Mary Lodge.

Day 4 - Going-to-the-Sun Road

Today's scenic sightseeing takes you along the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road aboard a vintage red open-air bus. Your travels take you to the top of the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, where you'll be awed by the breathtaking views. Overnight St. Mary Lodge.

*Subject to change based on seasonal road closures

Day 5 - Transfer to Glacier Park Lodge

The day is yours to explore Glacier National Park's alpine meadows, sparkling lakes, and rugged mountains. Keep an eye out for some fantastic wildlife including bears and big horn sheep. Overnight Glacier Park Lodge.

Day 6 - Depart for Seattle

Your last day in Glacier National Park is nearly a full one. Take the opportunity to revisit some of your favorite natural attractions or discover new ones along the more than 700 miles of hiking trails that wind through the Park. Make your way to the Amtrak station late this afternoon to meet your 6:45 pm Empire Builder train for your return to Seattle. Overnight train.

Includes
  • Dinner (Sleeping Car passengers only)
Day 7 - Arrival in the "Emerald City"

The peaks of Mt. Rainier signal you are nearing your final destination of Seattle. The Empire Builder is slated to arrive at 10:25 am. Your Glacier National Park adventure comes to a close here in Seattle. You may wish to extend your stay in Seattle to enjoy this unique seaside city.

Includes
  • Breakfast (Sleeping Car passengers only)

Additional information

Pricing Plans

Amtrak accommodations are available in Coach class, Roomette, and Bedroom.

Coach accommodations include a reclining seat with leg rest.

Roomette accommodations include a private cabin featuring two comfortable seats beside a picture window during the day, converting to an upper and lower berth at night.

Bedroom accommodations feature a sofa and chair by day, and upper and lower berth by night. Bedroom accommodations also include a sink and self-enclosed toilet and shower.
All travelers have access to the Sightseer Lounge. 

Roomette and Bedroom accommodations include all meals aboard the train. Sleeping car passengers aboard the  Southwest Chief enjoy meals in the train's Dining car. New contemporary and fresh dining choices replace traditional dining car service on the  Capitol Limited. Sleeping car passengers may elect to have a chilled prepared meal selection delivered to your Roomette or Bedroom or enjoy meals in a private cafe or lounge car. 

For departure cities other than Seattle, please select the Seattle location and a rail specialist will contact you within 48 hours with a package customized with a departure from your most convenient Amtrak station.

Departure times

Departure times vary based on selected rail vacation. This information will be provided in your final documents. For more information please speak with your rail specialist.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular vacation with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier Park

Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier Park

View hotel

St. Mary's Lodge, St. Mary

St. Mary's Lodge, St. Mary

View hotel

Train

Amtrak's Empire Builder

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Elevate Your Adventure
Extend your stay
Rail Your Way

Reviews

4.3 stars4.3 / 5 · 19 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (10)
  2. 4 stars
    (6)
  3. 3 stars
    (2)
  4. 2 stars
    (0)
  5. 1 star
    (1)

YVONNE ENG

3 stars

Submitted 10 Aug 2023

Timing is everything and when your train is 3 hours late leaving Seattle, the rest of the schedule gets thrown out the window. It didn't help that the toilets in our car stopped working about four hours before we arrived at our final destination. The activities that were included in the tour package where great and with some adjustments on timing, we enjoyed both the boat ride on St Mary's Lake and the bus tour through Glacier was fantastic. The one thing I would change is the "lodge hopping" from the Great Northern lodge to St Mary's. All of the tour activities did have transportation services from both lodges, so if we ever consider this trip again, we would prefer to stay all four nights in one or the other lodge.

Collected by Trustpilot

KATHLEEN TURNBULL

5 stars

Submitted 26 Sep 2022

Our trip was cancelled because of potential railway strike. We are waiting to hear about reimbursement.

Collected by Trustpilot

KATHLEEN HENKEL

5 stars

Submitted 08 Sep 2022

Would have been perfect but we were downgraded to a roomette on the train back to Seattle.

Collected by Trustpilot

KATHLEEN HENKEL
View Gallery

GARY CARL BARTHOLOMEW

4 stars

Submitted 30 Aug 2022

The initial trip from Seattle to park the BATHROOM STOPPED WORKING at EVERETT station and the door handle broke. Waiting for refund information. The BATHROOM on the return trip to Seattle DID NOT WORK. Was instructed to use roomette#20 for the return trip.

Collected by Trustpilot

PAIGE DURAN

1 stars

Submitted 28 Aug 2022

Had a very bad train ride from Seattle to Glacier National Park. Train was 3 hours late, didn’t feed us the dinner that was already paid for, toliets wouldn’t flush, shower water cold. Staff was irritated and rude. Bought food from snack bar and staff wouldn’t let us eat it in the dining room. We were in a roomet and nobody showed us how to set up the bottom bed so, my husband sat up all night. The next morning there was no coffee in the kiosk next to our room so I went to the dinning room. I was told by staff that I needed to get my coffee from the kiosk. They told me I couldn’t be in the dinning room and ran me out. I want a refund.

Collected by Trustpilot

MARTIN KEEGAN

3 stars

Submitted 31 Jul 2022

All the accommodations and transportation was spot on. However, we were very disappointed with the stops after the train ride. The first night at East Glacier Lodge was fine as there could be possible delays that day (and Greer was a 7 hour train delay from Seattle to East Glacier). The transfer to St Mary’s lodge went smoothly. Unfortunately arrived hours before check in. Vacation by rail gave us no indication we would be without a room for 3+ hours. However, both lodges were beautiful. The worst logistical problem was the arrangement to take us back to East Glacier Lodge early in the morning before our train back to Seattle the next day. Our train did not leave till 8 pm the following day! So we were a captive audience from 11am we arrived back to East Glacier until the following evening at 7 pm or 32 hours with nowhere to go. That was an unproductive 32 hours. A more logical approach would have been to stay one more evening in St Marys and enjoy the National park! Then shuttle back the day of the train departure. Very disappointing. Other than those logistics, everything else was spot on.That scheduling snafu was painful though

Collected by Trustpilot

Show 6 more reviews
Related inspiration from our journey blog