A light Rail vacation in Dallas in December (Houston, Fort Worth: renting, hotels)

[tijlover]

As more and more cities add light rail, I'm now starting to take car-less vacations to some of these cities. I was surprised when I found out Dallas has a light rail system.

I'm planning to come to Dallas early December, take the train (TRE I believe?) to downtown Dallas, from the Airport, and connect to the DART lines from there and ride the rails while I'm there. And over to Ft. Worth and back.

I'm looking for a motel/hotel out near the Airport or in Garland or Plano or wherever, where I can merely walk, from where I'm staying, to the nearest train station.

Any lodgings, of this nature, one can think of that aren't going to be too expensive?

This sounds like a fun trip to me as I love riding the rails and hate driving a car. I've railed it enough around NYC and Chicago and it's time to ride the rails somewhere else.

[Bostonian08]

I don't know everything about DFW but I do know that in my little corner of DFW (Richardson near Plano) the Galatyn Station on the Red Line has a whole gaggle of hotels surrounding it of varying prices, distances and qualities. The area is safe though certainly not fabulous. FWIW:

[CelestinoZ]

Bostonian08 took the words right out of my mouth; I don't think there is any other area in Dallas where you'll have the number of hotels that the Galatyn Station has around it. As a student at UT Dallas, the only the I don't like about this area is that it takes two hours to get to Fort Worth by train. If you want to get a good deal on a hotel use Priceline to bid on one. I did this when I went to Houston, and I was able to get a room at Intercontinental Houston for $50, so priceline can definitely save you some money, but it's best to book at least two weeks in advance to get the best deal.

[pepper131]

Hotel Palomar is across from Mockingbird Station.
Sheraton (downtown) is next to the Pearl Station.
Springhill Suites near West End Station.
Hotel Lawrence across from Union Station.

DART.org - DART Rail System Map

[ChristieP]

As others have said, the train doesn't go everywhere and it takes a lot longer than driving. (Ex: Fort Worth takes 45 minutes to drive from Richardson, but 2 hours by train because you have to go through downtown Dallas and change trains.) Also, in Fort Worth, the train stops at the south end of downtown, but the only thing close to it is the Water Gardens (which is very neat) and the Convention Center. It is a long walk to Sundance Square and all of its shops and restaurants, and you will need to catch a bus to go to the museums in the Cultural District across the river, or to the Stockyards across the river to the north of downtown.

As long as you are OK with the inconvenience and wasted time, welcome to Dallas and Fort Worth!

[kacvb1974]

....all of pepper's hotel suggestions are great!! I don't think you could go wrong at any of these spots.

Some of them are not terribly affordable, but if you watch for specials (The Palomar offers great deals, just sign up for their emails) or can book well in advance, you can score a sweet room for very little loot. Name your own price via Priceline has proven very successful for me in the past, but the problem is some of the Dallas areas they define as one 'neighborhood' turn out to be really broad...so you could potentially end up much further away from a station than would prove convenient-- without a car or a cab ride anyway.

I'm really familiar with the Galatyn Park area.... and it's deader than dead after 7PM. The bar at the Renaissance, a decent business class hotel that's literally a few feet away from the station, has last call at a bleakly early 11:30. Even if you're not a party animal, the area offers VERY little to do with the exception of one performing arts center. And the rooms are surprisingly pricey considering the lack of things to do in the area. But if you want a super quiet spot, by all means check out Galatyn. It does have an awesome fountain and some nice trails. I love my little city of Richardson, but it's not a very happening spot for a tourist.

Dallas cannot really support 24/7 trains because the ridership just isn't there and the rails shut down, in my experience, fairly early compared to some other major cities. (e.g., I had to rush to get on the very last Red Line out of Mockingbird at a fairly conservative 12:26AM last weekend.) The TRE has an even more limited schedule, but the trains are really well maintained and you'll have a good time. But just make sure you don't plan a lot of late night activities or you'll be stuck for hours. Cabs are of course an easy option in downtown or near the hotspots, but otherwise you'll have to call for one, and possibly wait a good little bit for it to arrive, because taxis are rare in the burbs you're looking at.

We're still developing our public transport and it certainly has its limitations and growing pains. Otherwise a DFW by train adventure is very doable. I always try and visit train-friendly cities without renting a car and find it endlessly less stressful than my car vacations. (Montreal is my favorite so add that to your list. ) But I find a lot of Dallas residents wouldn't dream of regularly riding DART beyond using it for a concert or a hockey game. Or when gas spikes up to $3.99. It's a driving city, through and through....and sitting for 45 minutes in total deadlock is still considered preferable to using the rail and having to transfer to - gasp- a bus! So yeah, as mentioned in a post above, you may find your time wasted getting from point A to point B, but personally I think train travel, even in Dallas, is pretty stress-free. It's hard to get lost, you don't have to worry about navigating unfamiliar streets with our often erratic drivers, and they run in all weather. But be prepared for some folks to think you're a little bonkers. But patience and day pass is all you really need. And though most areas in Dallas are not very pedestrian friendly, be sure to check out some of the new stops on the Green Line and of course, City Place/West Village in Uptown. There's a trolley that connects to the City Place stop that is worth a visit and can take you up and down one of the best streets in Dallas, McKinney Ave. MATA - McKinney AvenueTransit Authority - M-Line

For Dallassites, isn't there a hotel or motel very near either the Lover's Lane or Park stations? Or nearer Presby maybe? Maybe I'm just dreaming it, but I thought there was fairly convenient lodging near one of these stops. And there may be a motel near Baylor too, on the Green Line route?

[aceplace]

For the best and most convenient access to the DART rail system, stay in downtown Dallas. Downtown is defined as the part of the CBD that is south of the Woodall Rogers freeway. The portion of the CBD north of the freeway is called "Uptown". The McKinney Avenue Trolley, a heritage streetcar line, will take you from downtown, next to the Dallas Museum of Art, to the Uptown area, and to the urban districts to the north. It will connect at its northern extent to the CityPlace subway station.

Mockingbird station has a hotel a couple of blocks north of the station itself, and it should be more moderately priced than the Palomar hotel, which is a celebrity-class place. A word of advice, however. When you ask for a moderately priced hotel, you need to define "moderately". If you are ambiguous in your price specification, many people won't bother to help you.

Now that the Green line to Fair Park is open, almost all of the visitor-attractive places in the DFW region are accessible to transit. Many people here swear that you need a car in the region, but what they mean is that you need a car to drive around strip malls in the suburbs. If I were going to visit another city, such as Washington or Boston, I would need a car to drive from one strip mall to another as well.

Fort Worth's two visitor destinations outside of its downtown do in fact require a bus trip, but don't be put off by that. It is a short ride, and you don't really want to miss them. There are some destinations in Dallas as well that are served by bus only, such as the Old City Park (an historic village), and the eclectic neighborhood known as Bishop Arts District. Actually, a bus ride might be preferable, and you'll see more of the city than on rail. When I first visited Manhattan, I took a bus down 5th avenue, just in order to see it, rather than try the subway.

In Dallas, there is an excellent visitor center downtown, at the corner og Houston and Main streets. It also has a good historical museum in the same building. Downtown Fort Worth also has a visitor center, but I'm not sure where it is.

One of the nice things about the Dallas LRV system is the public art at each station. My personal favorites are the murals at the Tyler-Vernon station, and the "walking man" sculpture at the Deep Ellum station.

Hope you enjoy your visit to our metro. This forum will be glad to offer suggestions and advice, as well as some vicious and demeaning insults and disparaging comments by our handful of Dallas-hating trolls.

[Lakewooder]

Brian started a good thread on this but I guess some of the info is a little old now that we have a new line open:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...xperience.html

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by tijlover

I'm planning to come to Dallas early December, take the train (TRE I believe?) to downtown Dallas, from the Airport, and connect to the DART lines from there and ride the rails while I'm there. And over to Ft. Worth and back.

The TRE is it, but bear in mind that there is no direct rail connection at the airport. You need to take a bus to the airport's South parking lot, and then a shuttle bus will take you to the TRE CentrePort rail station.

By 2013, the new Orange line, a LRV line, will connect to the DFW airport's Terminal A (there are currently 5 terminals, each a half mile wide), and the Fort Worth system, the T, hopes to have a commuter rail line running to downtown Fort Worth and on to its southwestern extents, from terminal B. The two terminals, A and B, will be connected by a bridge to allow a direct FW to Dallas transfer. It won't be a long walk, however... the two terminals face each other across the airport's central roadway and the rail stations will be somewhere in between.

While you're at it, you might want to try the transit line that connects the 5 terminals. You need to ride it before you exit security, however, and before you pick up any checked luggage.

[tijlover]

Thanks so much for your generosity, such a welath of info to carry with me.

ChristieP: The length of the train rides is not a deterrent to me as it gives me more opportunities to look at things more closely, and people watch.

kacvb1974: Galatyn Park area would suit me well, as an option for lodgings, as I'm not a bar/club person and I like winding down my day with a nice book to read. Tourist agencies will one day advertise more to what we're doing: light rail/subway car-less vacations. The hotel websites need to advertise more to us people, including in their hotel amenities section, distance to the nearest train station. I did a 3-day light-rail vacation recently to Portland, Oregon, where once you leave the Airport terminal, there's a train waiting for you, oh so 21st century! Great rail system up there, put it on your list.
My next venture after Dallas will be the ever-growing light rail system in Denver.

Aceplace: I understand there's no rail stop at the Airport, but to be car-less on a vacation, the inconvenience is well worth the price.

Bostonian08: Thanks for the info on Galatyn train stop.

And much thanks to all of you. It should be a fun trip. I see something that perks my interest at any train stop, I'll jump off, explore, and continue my journey later.

There's no plans for LT in Las Vegas. We're touted as being such a futuristic city but the car-loving short-sighted populace here still cheer everytime they spend millions more on freeway construction. The only way we're going to get it here is by shame and embarrassment by travelers who have grown accustomed to it elsewhere, who will come to Las Vegas some day, leave the terminal and ask: Where's the train? Even Phoenix opened up its first rail line and Tucson is working on a smaller system there.