My wife, 3-year-old daughter and I recently had the rare opportunity to escape the harsh reality of a New York winter for a couple weeks. With an invitation to visit my parents in Marco Island, Florida, we discussed the best method of travel. Since we would also need our own car once there, all signs pointed to Amtrak’s Auto Train.

There are airplane-style seats and a variety of rooms available, as well as train cars that specifically move the automobiles and motorcycles. We chose the Family Bedroom because it afforded us the most room for a super-active toddler to be confined for 18 hours. It has windows on both sides of the train and folding desks for her to read or color. The porter puts the berths down at night after dinner, and the rapture and excitement on my daughter’s face at this change told us we decided wisely.

There were three choices for dinner: 5, 7 or 9 p.m.; and several selections on the menu as well as a children’s menu. It’s not difficult to enjoy the ride as evening turns into night. The sights and sounds of business along the rails are intriguing to young and old alike. Breakfast comes about 6:30 a.m., continental with decent coffee. And a couple of hours later, it’s shorts and flip-flop weather in sunny Florida. One benefit I enjoyed was I saved about 850 miles of driving and wear and tear on my car. We will travel this way again.

— Brendan Egan, account executive