I spent 16 hours on a $249 round-trip Amtrak journey through New York. Here are 7 mistakes I won’t make again.

When I scheduled a getaway to Rochester, New York, back in May, I was more excited about the train rides there and back than the destination itself.

I had been on Amtrak trains a few times before the trip upstate, though this would be my longest journey to date. It would take seven hours to get there and nine hours to return, for a whopping 16 hours on the tracks.

Despite the long rides, I was eager to experience the novelty and ease that trains bring to travel. I rode in coach on the way there and business on the way back, paying $249 for the round trip.

Both of my rides were fun, but I made a few travel mistakes that I’ll try to avoid in the future.

Although it’s good to be early for an Amtrak train, I arrived a little too early.

Amtrak recommends passengers arrive 30 minutes before their trains are scheduled to depart. I am nothing if not a rule follower, so I knew I’d be getting to Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station for my 7:15 a.m. train by at least 6:45.

I ended up arriving at 6:37 so I could grab a coffee before the Amtrak-recommended waiting period began. By 6:50, I was waiting in the train hall for my ride with coffee in hand, feeling proud of myself for being ready and caffeinated with 25 minutes to spare. Soon, though, I realized my track wasn’t even listed yet.

I idled in the waiting area, the minutes ticking by without any news on my train. It ended up getting delayed over an hour for maintenance, and the track listing didn’t become available until about 10 minutes before it left.

I initially blamed the delay for the annoyance I felt while waiting, but when my return trip rolled around, I realized the 40 minutes I had given myself still would have felt too long. My train from Rochester to Manhattan was supposed to depart at 1:27, and I made it to the station by 1 p.m. My fellow passengers and I weren’t even allowed to move toward the train until 1:20, leaving me feeling antsy while waiting.

I’d rather be early than late when it comes to travel every time, but next time I ride Amtrak, I’ll probably arrive 20 minutes before my train is scheduled instead of 30. Lollygag at your own risk.

I sat on the wrong side of the train.

The train to Rochester didn’t have assigned seating. I was among the final people to board the train, so I grabbed the first open seat I saw.

I snagged a row to myself for the whole seven-hour journey, which was great, but as we rolled through upstate New York, I noticed the side I was sitting on didn’t have as nice a view as the one opposite me.

I mostly saw other trains from my window, while sweeping landscapes and the Hudson River were visible from the windows on the other side of the train. Because the train was pretty packed, I couldn’t move to the other side while still having a row to myself, either.

I ended up sitting in a seat that gave me gorgeous views of New York for the return trip, but I wished I could have seen the area well on both routes.

Looking back, I should have anticipated spotty WiFi.

Before my Rochester trip, I had been on a handful of Amtrak journeys and remembered easily scrolling on my phone to pass the time.

I hadn’t ever worked or used my laptop to stream on Amtrak, though, so I didn’t give much thought to the WiFi situation on board, which was included with my ticket.

To my surprise, WiFi was unavailable for the first bit of the journey from New York City to Rochester because you exit Penn Station through a fairly long tunnel. WiFi became available once we cleared it, but the internet was still spotty, cutting out sporadically. I found it hard to get work done on my laptop or my phone, and when I tried to stream “Sirens” on Netflix, it buffered pretty frequently.

Luckily, I had my Kindle for backup entertainment, but having more options would have been nice.

Next time, I’ll download a few shows or movies to my phone or laptop ahead of the ride, just in case the internet cuts out.

I wish I hadn’t sat at the very back of the train for my return journey.

For my ride from Rochester to New York, I rode in the business class car at the back of the train.

The car was fairly small and had limited seating, so I sat in a chair in the final row of seats for most of the journey.

Because it was at the back, the entire business class car was bumpier than the coach car I sat in on my ride to Rochester, and it only got worse when I was seated in the last row. I felt like I could feel nearly every groove and jolt in the track, which made it hard to relax. I couldn’t sleep for any part of the ride and regretted splurging on the fancier ticket.

I’d skip business class on a ride upstate for a few reasons, but the bumpy feel was one of the biggest.

Packing snacks would have been wise.

Because my train rides were over seven hours, I knew I’d be eating a meal on both journeys. For my trip from New York City to Rochester, it was lunch, and I got a surprisingly good salad and a bag of chips from the café car.

To my surprise, though, the café car closed for an hour of the journey, which would have been a problem if I had timed my lunch incorrectly or wanted a snack.

I’m aware I can get hangry, so for my return trip, I packed some Cheez-Its as a backup snack in case the café closure coincided with my hunger. The café car is a benefit of Amtrak, but I’d recommend bringing additional snacks in case it’s unavailable.

My biggest mistake was booking a train with a long stop.

I left New York City early on a Thursday and planned to return on Friday afternoon, giving myself time to do some sightseeing in the morning before I returned.

I was focused on departure time instead of arrival time for my return, not noticing until after I booked my ticket that the trip back would take nine hours instead of the seven it took to get to Rochester. I thought maybe the train would just be making more stops, but it actually made an extended stop in Albany for over an hour and a half to connect with another train.

During the pause, the lights were off, the AC only came on sporadically, and the café car was closed. I was frustrated when I realized what was happening, but I had no one to blame but myself. Amtrak had clearly listed the estimated arrival time on my ticket when I purchased it.

I made the most of the time we were stopped, grabbing a lackluster dinner from a small café at the Albany station and walking around to stretch my legs. It wasn’t a huge problem in the grand scheme of things, but next time, I’ll pay closer attention to journey length when booking my Amtrak ticket.

It sounds silly, but I should have been more careful with my body as I got used to being on a train.

I’m a pretty clumsy person by nature, prone to tripping and lacking basic hand-eye coordination.

I didn’t think that would matter on a train, but when I repeatedly bonked my head on the luggage shelving above my seats, I realized my miscalculation. It was easy to lose my balance as I maneuvered around the moving train, leading me to knock my head more than once on the shelves above my seat when I got in and out of my chair.

I wish I had moved a little more slowly and with more care on the train, as I likely could have avoided some bumps and bruises.

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