Acela With Kids: A Trip Plan for Every Stop
The Acela is the fast one, up to 160 mph, and the only Amtrak train where every seat is assigned, which means a family of four never gets split up and nobody runs for the escalator. The new trainsets that started carrying riders in August 2025 have bigger bathrooms, screens on every car and a few four-seat tables. The catch is the weekday fare: kids pay full price Monday to Friday. My son does not care about any of that. He cares that the trees go by faster than on any other train he has been on. This page is all 14 stops and what to do at each.
By Kelsey Lizee Cecil. Checked against the fall 2026 Acela timetable and each attraction in October 2026. Hours change; read the "know before you go" notes.If you only have one day
- With a toddler: Boston to Providence.Thirty-six minutes, fast enough to feel, with a children's museum on the river at the end. Price a Saturday for the kids fare. Jump to Providence.
- Ages 4 to 8: New York to Philadelphia.Seventy-four minutes, a cafe car snack, the bronze angel in the hall, then a cab to Please Touch and its carousel. Jump to Philadelphia.
- The big one: Washington for two nights.The whole corridor in a morning, then the Postal Museum, the Mall, the zoo and the Capitol, all free. Jump to Washington.
Read this before you go
Three things to know. First, the half-price child fare is not valid on weekday Acelas, so a Tuesday trip costs the same for your 6-year-old as for you; price a weekend, or the Northeast Regional on the same day. Second, seats are assigned and you pick them at booking, so book early for one of the few four-seat tables and keep everyone on one reservation. Third, some Acelas skip Metropark, BWI or New Haven, so check the stops for your train number. Alerts are on the Acela page on Amtrak (opens in a new tab).
Fares, the seat map, the cafe car, strollers and what to pack for the four hours from Boston to New York are all in our Acela parent guide. This page is the fun part: where to get off and what to do when you do.
All trains share one track between Newark and Secaucus while the last track moves to the new Portal North Bridge, so weekday Acelas drop from 20 to 18 and some times change through November 15. Weekend seats between New York and New Haven are also limited through November 1 for the WALK Bridge work in Norwalk. Check your exact train before you leave home.
Stop 1 of 14BOSEvery Acela; the first weekday train leaves at 6:05am
Boston South Station
The Acela starts under the big clock at South Station, which is modeled on Big Ben and has a stone eagle on top that weighs eight tons. Platforms are flat and right behind the concourse, so a stroller rolls straight to your assigned car. The Boston Children's Museum is a 12-minute walk across the Fort Point bridge, and the aquarium's harbor seals are 15 minutes the other way. If you are starting here, the seats are already yours, so there is no reason to rush.
Stand under the clock, then find your car number on the screen outside each door and let your kid lead the way to the row.
Right off the platform
- at stopSouth Station: a concourse with a food court, restrooms, a staffed counter and a Metropolitan Lounge for First Class.
- 5 minThe Boston Tea Party Ships on the Congress Street bridge (admission).
- 12 minBoston Children's Museum, ages 0 to 10, with the giant milk bottle out front (admission; check hours).
- 15 minThe New England Aquarium and the Greenway carousel; the seals outside are free.
- 15 minThe Public Garden's Make Way for Ducklings statues and the Swan Boats in season.
Half a day between trains
- Children's Museum (2 hours).
- Food court lunch, back under the clock.
Make it a full day
Children's Museum, the Greenway carousel and the seals, the ducklings, and an afternoon Acela with seats you picked at home. Or stay for the Science Museum and a duck boat.
Snack stop: The station food court.
Out the window: Southbound you leave through the Back Bay yards and are in the woods of the Route 128 belt within 20 minutes; the Acela does not get fast until Rhode Island.
Amtrak texts the track number once it posts; you can wait in the concourse with the kids instead of under the board.
Stop 2 of 14BBYEvery Acela, about 5 minutes after South Station
Boston Back Bay
An underground stop under Copley Square, five minutes out of South Station. Convenient if your hotel is in Back Bay or the plan is the Public Garden, which is a 10-minute walk. The platform is dim and smells of diesel, so go straight up the escalator.
The ducklings in the Public Garden, 10 minutes away.
Right off the platform
- at stopBack Bay station: a concourse with a cafe, restrooms and the Orange Line.
- 5 minCopley Square and the Boston Public Library's courtyard.
- 10 minThe Public Garden and the Swan Boats, April to September.
Half a day between trains
- Public Garden and the ducklings (1 hour).
Make it a full day
Use South Station for a full Boston day.
Snack stop: The station cafe; Newbury Street is a block away.
Out the window: Tunnel, then the yards and suburbs.
Stop 3 of 14RTEEvery Acelaour honest take: ride on
Route 128 Westwood
A park-and-ride in the woods with a big garage, the stop where suburban Boston families board. Nothing to walk to.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA modern station with a waiting room, restrooms and a garage.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A vending machine.
Out the window: After this stop the Acela stretches out: woods, ponds, and the speedometer feeling in your seat.
Stop 4 of 14PVDEvery Acela; about 36 minutes from Boston
Providence
Thirty-six minutes from South Station, and the single best first Acela ride for a small child: fast enough to feel it, short enough to end before anyone melts. The station sits below the marble State House, and its own little dome was designed to echo the big one. Downtown and the river are five minutes down the hill; the children's museum is 20 along the water.
Point at the State House dome from the platform, then at the station's small one, then walk down to the river and look for the WaterFire braziers.
Right off the platform
- at stopProvidence station: a waiting room, restrooms, a cafe and a staffed counter.
- 5 minThe State House lawn and Waterplace Park on the river.
- 10 minDowntown, Kennedy Plaza and the RISD Museum's mummy (admission).
- 20 minProvidence Children's Museum, ages 1 to 11 (admission; check hours).
- at stopRoger Williams Park Zoo and its carousel, 10 minutes by cab.
Half a day between trains
- River walk and the Children's Museum (2 hours).
Make it a full day
Children's Museum, Federal Hill for lunch, the zoo by cab, and WaterFire if the dates line up, then the last Acela north.
Snack stop: The station cafe; Federal Hill's bakeries are 15 minutes.
Out the window: South of Providence the Acela is at its fastest in New England, through pine woods and past ponds, then along the Connecticut shore with the Sound on the left after New London (where it no longer stops).
Weekend Acelas take the half-price kids fare; weekday ones do not. For a Boston to Providence test ride, price a Saturday.
Stop 5 of 14NHVMost Acelas; a few skip it
New Haven Union Station
A 1920 waiting room 35 feet tall with globe lights hanging from the ceiling, and a stainless-steel tunnel under the tracks with elevators to every platform. Downtown and Yale are a bus or cab away, and the Peabody Museum's dinosaur hall is free. Wooster Street's pizza is a 15-minute walk. Some Acelas skip New Haven, so check your train.
Counting the globe lights in the waiting room, then the brontosaurus at the Peabody.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the grand waiting room, restrooms, a cafe and a staffed counter.
- 15 minWooster Street's pizza places.
- 20 minThe New Haven Green and the Yale campus.
- at stopThe Yale Peabody Museum, free, 10 minutes by bus or cab (check hours).
- at stopLighthouse Point Park's 1911 carousel, 15 minutes by cab, summer.
Half a day between trains
- Cab to the Peabody, pizza on the way back (2 to 3 hours).
Make it a full day
Peabody, pizza, the Yale art galleries (free), the carousel in summer, and an evening Acela.
Snack stop: The station cafe; Pepe's or Sally's for the real thing.
Out the window: West of New Haven the Acela shares the tracks with Metro-North and slows down; the shoreline towns come one after another.
Stop 6 of 14STMEvery Acela
Stamford
A busy commuter station shared with Metro-North, with a modern downtown a few blocks away. Mill River Park has a carousel and a fountain 15 minutes on foot, and the Stamford Museum and Nature Center is a working farm with a planetarium up the hill by cab. For most families this is the last stop before New York, not a destination.
The carousel at Mill River Park.
Right off the platform
- at stopA large station with a waiting room, restrooms and food stands.
- 15 minMill River Park: carousel, playground, fountain and an ice rink in winter.
- at stopStamford Museum and Nature Center, 15 minutes by cab (admission).
- 10 minDowntown Stamford's restaurants.
Half a day between trains
- Mill River Park (90 minutes).
Make it a full day
The Nature Center farm by cab, lunch downtown, the park, and the train.
Snack stop: Food stands in the station.
Out the window: Westchester, then the Hell Gate Bridge high over the East River with the skyline on the right, then the tunnel into Penn Station.
Stop 7 of 14NYPEvery Acela; about 3 hours 40 minutes from Boston
New York Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station
Acelas board at Moynihan Train Hall, the glass-roofed 2021 hall across Eighth Avenue from the old Penn Station, with a food hall, a huge clock and the gates in one open room. The High Line starts 10 minutes away, the Intrepid is 20, and the subway is downstairs. Assigned seats are the gift here: no sprint down the escalator with a stroller when the track posts.
The High Line from 30th Street as far south as little legs will go, then Chelsea Market.
Right off the platform
- at stopMoynihan Train Hall: a skylit hall with a food hall, restrooms, a staffed counter and the Metropolitan Lounge.
- 10 minThe High Line's north end and Hudson Yards.
- 10 minChelsea Market and Little Island on the river.
- 20 minThe Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum with a space shuttle (admission).
- at stopCentral Park's zoo and carousel, 20 minutes by subway or cab.
- at stopThe American Museum of Natural History's dinosaurs, 20 minutes by subway (admission).
Half a day between trains
- High Line and Little Island (2 hours).
- Lunch at Chelsea Market, back to Moynihan.
Make it a full day
Intrepid, the High Line, Central Park's zoo, pizza, and a late Acela. Or two nights for the dinosaurs and the Staten Island Ferry, free.
Snack stop: The Moynihan food hall.
Out the window: Southbound you are in the Hudson tunnel for several minutes, then the Meadowlands with the skyline behind you on the left.
Track numbers post about 10 minutes out; your seats are assigned, so wait in the hall. Elevators are at every gate.
Stop 8 of 14NWKEvery Acela, about 15 minutes after New York
Newark Penn Station
An art deco 1935 station with PATH trains and the light rail downstairs and the Prudential Center across the street. The Newark Museum of Art has a planetarium 15 minutes away. Honest take: on the Acela this is a stop where New Jersey families board, and everyone else rides on.
The planetarium at the museum, if you have a reason to be in Newark.
Right off the platform
- at stopNewark Penn Station: a deco waiting room, restrooms, food stands and a staffed counter.
- 2 minThe Prudential Center arena.
- 15 minNewark Museum of Art and its planetarium (admission; check hours).
Half a day between trains
- Light rail to the museum (2 hours).
Make it a full day
Ride on; New York is 15 minutes back.
Snack stop: Food stands in the station; the Ironbound's bakeries are 10 minutes.
Out the window: The airport's runways on the left, then the Turnpike and the first New Jersey farms.
Through November 15, 2026, all trains share one track between Newark and Secaucus for the Portal North Bridge cutover; expect a slow crossing of the Hackensack.
Stop 9 of 14METSome Acelas; check your trainour honest take: ride on
Metropark Iselin
A garage station between office parks where central New Jersey commuters board. Not every Acela stops, and nobody gets off for fun.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA station with a waiting room, restrooms and garages.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A coffee stand.
Out the window: Office parks, then the Raritan and Princeton's woods, then the Delaware at Trenton, where the Acela no longer stops.
Stop 10 of 14PHLEvery Acela; about 1 hour 14 minutes from New York
Philadelphia 30th Street Station
A 1933 hall with 95-foot ceilings and a bronze angel lifting a fallen soldier, the Pennsylvania Railroad's war memorial, which kids find before you can point to it. The Schuylkill River Trail is five minutes away, the Franklin Institute's walk-through heart is 20, and the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park, with a 1908 carousel, is 10 minutes by cab. New York to here is the Acela's best family leg: 74 minutes, one snack, one book.
Finding the angel, then the carousel at Please Touch.
Right off the platform
- at stop30th Street Station: the main hall, restrooms, a food court, a staffed counter and a Metropolitan Lounge.
- 5 minThe Schuylkill River Trail boardwalk with the skyline across the water.
- 15 minThe Academy of Natural Sciences' dinosaurs and butterfly room (admission).
- 20 minThe Franklin Institute: the heart, the planetarium and a real locomotive (admission).
- at stopPlease Touch Museum, ages 0 to 7, 10 minutes by cab (admission; check hours).
- at stopReading Terminal Market and the Liberty Bell, 10 minutes by the Market-Frankford subway.
Half a day between trains
- Cab to Please Touch (2 to 3 hours).
- Reading Terminal lunch by subway.
Make it a full day
Please Touch, Reading Terminal, the Liberty Bell lawn, the Franklin Institute, and an evening Acela. Or two nights with the zoo and the Art Museum steps.
Snack stop: The station food court, or Reading Terminal Market.
Out the window: Across the Schuylkill, past the stadiums and the airport on the left, then the refineries and the marshes of the Delaware.
30th Street has been under renovation since 2024; the hall stays open but counters and food stands move. Allow a few extra minutes.
Stop 11 of 14WILEvery Acela, about 20 minutes after Philadelphia
Wilmington
A restored 1908 brick station with the Riverfront 10 minutes down the hill: a riverwalk, the Delaware Children's Museum, a minor league ballpark and a marsh boardwalk at the far end. Twenty minutes from Philadelphia on the Acela, it makes a quieter half day than the big city.
The water tables at the Delaware Children's Museum, then turtles on the marsh boardwalk.
Right off the platform
- at stopWilmington station: a restored waiting room, restrooms, a cafe and a staffed counter.
- 10 minThe Riverfront's riverwalk and market.
- 15 minDelaware Children's Museum, ages 0 to 10 (admission; check hours).
- 15 minFrawley Stadium and the Blue Rocks, summer.
- 25 minDuPont Environmental Education Center on the marsh, free.
Half a day between trains
- Riverfront walk and the Children's Museum (2 hours).
Make it a full day
Children's Museum, the marsh, lunch on the Riverfront, a Blue Rocks game, and the Acela on.
Snack stop: The Riverfront Market.
Out the window: The Christina River, Delaware farms, then the long high bridge over the Susquehanna.
Stop 12 of 14BALEvery Acela; about 33 minutes from Washington
Baltimore Penn Station
A 1911 marble station a mile north of the Inner Harbor, being restored a piece at a time. For a train kid the stop is the B&O Railroad Museum, 10 minutes by cab: a roundhouse full of locomotives and a short train ride on weekends on the first mile of commercial railroad in America. The aquarium and Port Discovery are at the harbor by cab or light rail.
The roundhouse at the B&O, standing under a driving wheel taller than a grown-up.
Right off the platform
- at stopPenn Station: a marble waiting room, restrooms, a cafe and a staffed counter.
- at stopThe B&O Railroad Museum, 10 minutes by cab, with weekend train rides (admission; check hours).
- at stopThe National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor, 10 minutes by cab or light rail (admission; timed tickets).
- at stopPort Discovery Children's Museum near the harbor (admission; check hours).
- at stopThe Maryland Zoo in Druid Hill Park, 10 minutes by cab.
- 10 minCharles Village's cafes and the Johns Hopkins lawns.
Half a day between trains
- Cab to the B&O (2 to 3 hours).
Make it a full day
B&O in the morning, crab cakes, the aquarium or Port Discovery, a water taxi, and the Acela home. Or an Orioles game at Camden Yards next to the B&O.
Snack stop: The station cafe; Charles Village is 10 minutes.
Out the window: Southbound you plunge into the 1873 tunnel right after the station, then rowhouses and Maryland woods.
Penn Station's renovation keeps changing which doors are open; allow extra minutes.
Stop 13 of 14BWISome Acelas; check your trainour honest take: ride on
BWI Airport Thurgood Marshall Airport Station
The first American train station built for an airport, a mile from the terminal with a free shuttle bus. Twenty-one minutes from Washington, it is a legitimate tiny first ride if the bus counts as a bonus. Otherwise nothing to walk to.
The shuttle bus and the planes.
Right off the platform
- at stopA station with a waiting room, restrooms and the free airport shuttle.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A coffee stand.
Out the window: Woods, the airport's edge, then the Washington suburbs and the Capitol dome ahead.
Stop 14 of 14WASEvery Acela; the 6:05am from Boston arrives about 1:03pm
Washington Union Station
The end of the Acela, at a station built facing the Capitol: walk out the front doors and the dome is five blocks straight ahead. Inside, 46 Roman soldiers stand around the Main Hall balcony. The National Postal Museum is across the street and free, the Mall's museums are 20 minutes on foot or two Metro stops, and the zoo is on the Red Line from the station. My dad brought me here on a train when I was seven; I brought my daughter at four and she counted the soldiers twice.
Counting the soldiers, then the Postal Museum's railway mail car across the street, then the Capitol lawn.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the Main Hall, restrooms, a big food court, a staffed counter and a Metropolitan Lounge.
- 2 minThe National Postal Museum, free.
- 10 minThe Capitol grounds and the Botanic Garden's jungle room, free.
- 20 minThe National Mall: Natural History, American History and the carousel, free.
- at stopThe National Air and Space Museum, free with timed passes; check which galleries are open after the renovation.
- at stopThe National Zoo, free, by the Red Line Metro.
Half a day between trains
- Postal Museum and the Capitol lawn (2 hours).
Make it a full day
Two nights: Natural History and the carousel, Air and Space, the zoo, the Postal Museum and the Capitol tour, all free.
Snack stop: The station food court.
Out the window: Arriving, the Anacostia, then the Capitol dome swinging into view as the train curves into Union Station.
The Acela ends here; the Northeast Regional continues to Virginia. The Metro is inside the station.
Fast is a kind of fun
I used to think the Acela was a train for people in suits. Then I rode it with a four-year-old who pressed his face to the window from Providence to New Haven and announced every time the train leaned into a curve. The seats were ours before we left the house, the bathroom was big enough for both of us, and we were in Philadelphia before he finished his pretzels. It is not the cheap option on a weekday. But on a Saturday, with the kids fare, it is the one where nobody worries about anything but the window.
Next in this series: the Northeast Regional, the same tracks with every stop and the Virginia branches, the Keystone Service to Lancaster, the Empire Service up the Hudson, and the Downeaster from Boston to Maine. Every route is on the Train Trips With Your Kids page.
Acela trips with kids: questions parents ask
How many stops does the Acela make?
Fourteen between Boston and Washington, including both ends. Some trains skip Metropark, BWI or New Haven. The Acela stopped serving New Rochelle, New London and Trenton between 2021 and 2023.
Do kids get a discount on the Acela?
Only on weekends. Amtrak's half-price fare for ages 2 to 12 is not valid on weekday Acela trains, so a child pays the adult fare Monday to Friday. One child under 2 rides free on each adult's lap any day.
What is the best short Acela ride with a toddler?
Boston to Providence, about 36 minutes; the first weekday train leaves South Station at 6:05am and arrives at 6:41am. From the south end, Washington to BWI is 21 minutes and Washington to Baltimore about 33.
Can my family sit together on the Acela?
Yes. Every seat is assigned and you pick them when you book, in Business, First or the Quiet Car. The new trainsets have no middle seats and a few four-seat tables that sell out early. Keep everyone on one reservation.
Which side of the Acela has the view?
The left side southbound (right side northbound) along the Connecticut shore between New London and Old Saybrook, where the train runs beside Long Island Sound. Elsewhere it is mostly woods, rivers and backyards going by fast.
Which Acela stops should we skip with kids?
Route 128, Metropark and BWI are park-and-ride stations for commuters and flyers. Back Bay, Stamford and Newark are fine for families who live near them. The trip is Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore and Washington.
Sources and how I checked
- Amtrak Acela timetable, fall 2026, Amtrak station pages, and Amtrak's child passenger fare rules
- Boston Children's Museum, Providence Children's Museum, Yale Peabody Museum, Please Touch Museum, Delaware Children's Museum, B&O Railroad Museum, National Postal Museum: hours and admission as posted October 2026
- Amtrak's NextGen Acela announcements (first service August 28, 2025; 16 of 28 trainsets in service by August 2026)
- Great American Stations and Wikipedia station articles for addresses and station history, cross-checked with Amtrak
Hours, prices and bus routes change. I update this page when they do; if you spot something out of date, tell me.