Amtrak Is Offering $5-$20 Train Trips Down The U.S. East Coast

With airfare on the rise this year, you may be looking for cheaper travel alternatives. Amtrak is offering extremely low-cost trips along the U.S. East Coast — the only catch is the time you travel.

You could land a ticket for anywhere from $5 to $20, as long as you're willing to leave after 7 p.m. and before 5 a.m. The cheapest fares are between New York City and Washington, D.C., and the stops in between.

Train service between Montreal and New York is restarting in April, which means you could pay $70 to $100 to get to the Big Apple and then pay a fraction of the price to add a second destination.

Amtrak promises "large comfortable leather seats with plenty of space and legroom to stretch out or curl up" for overnight and early morning trips. There are no middle seats on Amtrak trains, so you can even lie down and catch some shut-eye.

The low-cost tickets also come with an allowance of up to four bags for free (two personal items and two bags).

So, if you're looking to skip airport wait times and luxuriate in packing your whole wardrobe for a summer trip, lean into your night owl/early bird disposition and get a cheap train ticket (or two).

Here's a breakdown of the most common fares:

These prices are confirmed at the time of publishing, but they can change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your trip.