G’day folks! In 2004 I spent a couple of months in America exploring the land by Greyhound bus. I enjoyed it but I longed to take a train to be fair. Twenty-one years later in 2025 I was back in the States, and although it was the briefest of visits, I was super excited because I had heard about this new high speed rail on the east coast which I think gets you from Miami in Florida northwards via Fort Lauderdale and others to Orlando. There is a plan to extend it I think to Las Vegas of all places, so it’s going to make a severe left turn at some point and head westwards.

This rail project from Miami to Orlando was announced in 2012, and opened in 2019. It covers a total of 378km in around 3.5 hours, so that’s an average of a little over 100km/h, which granted is not extremely fast (factor in though there are around 6 stops on the way and it takes a little while once out of Miami to pick up some pace.

The ticketing is variable and best done in advance. I paid $89USD for the journey Miami to Orlando. This was for the premium service which included lounge access in Miami and access to a selection of breakfast foods which worked out well for me. A decent meal was served from memory on the train as well. But on different dates the standard fare was more expensive than that, an others obviously less. I booked online. The train was fully booked out.

The station in downtown Miami obviously has this lounge. It was a decent lounge but also very busy, there wasn’t much exclusivity in going ‘Premium’, the price difference wasn’t massive either. The breakfast selection was not that of a Business Class Airport Lounge, but it was pretty decent and I could take a can or two of drink on the train if I wished.

Outside the room the waiting areas really were packed. They hold everyone off the platform until the train is ready, then they open the escalators maybe 15 minutes before the train and let everyone on.

The seats were comfortable. Reasonably spacious (it was premium) and the train left on time. The windows had stickers and Perspex on it so the view was somewhat limited (and did nothing for the shots when I was vlogging) but I’m not sure there is that much to see out there for most of the trip. There are a lot of small towns, a lot of greenery (Florida is a very green state).

The restrooms are spacious too, the staff were pleasant. I will be doing a full vlog review later this year (2026) for you, but I think it’s a great option. I also got an Uber voucher for $10USD but it was super specific about how it could be used, I had to use it at the Orlando station – which by the way is at Orlando Airport, and I had to be picked up from a specific spot. Anyways, a nice little addition as I did need Uber to get to Celebration, which is near the Disney parks where I was staying.

It was still a $25USD ride after the voucher, but working out the buses seemed like a nightmare as they run every few hours as far as I could work out and I still would have needed to walk for half an hour to get to my hotel. Transport, I presume, into Orlando is better. But it’s mostly shuttle buses and ride apps.

Anyways, the USA is a country built for drivers and there are always car parks galore. I enjoyed the train experience, the ability to stretch out, edit on board using my laptop, walk around when I felt like it, I was very happy to take this train! Next I’ll be talking about Florida’s ‘Disney Experience’! Take care wherever you are in the world right now, May the Journey Never End!