I wish I read the reviews first. Saturday at noon nice fall day thought it'd be nice to take the G kids on a real train. The train is clean, seats are rather small, the loud speaker's play some really crappy music from the 30's and 40's I'm guessing. Not much to see from the train. BOOOOORING. Can't wait to get off. read more

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Purchased a groupon for Standard class. The ride itself was about 2 hours from W. Yarmouth up to the Bourne/Sagamore area (~20mi one way), with about another hour stop at Pairpoint Glass and Crystal. We purchased the boxed lunches in advance and were quite happy with them (wrap with deli meat, chips, cookie, and water bottle). The popcorn smelled delicious too. The train has upper and lower levels and seats facing in each direction, offering a variety of views. We did see more forest than I had hoped for, but the tour narrator compensated for that by giving a thorough review of local flora, fauna, and history (from colonial to modern day). The Cape Cod Canal section and salt marshes were particularly beautiful. Overall, a really nice introduction to the Cape and a very relaxing trip. read more

I would like to thank the staff and crew of our dinner train. It was amazing once again, the food was hot and cooked perfectly, the staff attentive and friendly. This was our 10th year on the train and looking forward to another 10. Lord Charles and Lady Patricia read more

I recently took the Saturday excursion. This is not a good fit for anyone with mobility issues - a Walker, cane, or any foot problems - because it is a long walk to board the train. Arrangements should be made for these folks. The commentary is fine, but you hear pretty much the same thing in both directions. And the train doesn't turn around at the end, so everyone sees the same landscape coming and going. And finally, the music is awful. whenever there is no commentary, the music is anything from Dave Brubeck jazz, Bluegrass, country, Arlo Guthrie, Tony Bennett and the Monkees. it's very weird. This was an okay excursion, but nothing special. read more

Overpriced. Old poorly maintained cars. First class was actually pretty lame. Holes in my seat and facing backwards for half the ride.

I took my two grandchildren and it was expensive (a total of $158)!!! The narrator went on and on and on, which was very annoying. The kicker was that it was advertised as being roughly two hours in duration, but they neglected to mention that the maritime traffic has the right of way, so we had to wait over an hour on the train because of traffic in the canal, so the trip was waaaaaaaaay longer than anticipated. My grandchildren (ages 10 and eight) are patient to a point, but they got increasingly, but understandably, BORED!!! I would not recommend this "attraction" to anyone with a schedule to keep because it can throw a real monkey wrench into your day. Thumbs down. read more

Participated in the Thanksgiving dinner train, diamond class. Our seats on the train in the dome were good, there were some pretty good views of nice homes, beaches and marshes. The service was sub par. Servers only came through once for drink orders, no refills. The food was all canned, boring food. Not worth the money spent. I would say a fair price for the experience and food would have about 60-75 dollars. Started out with a few cherry tomatoes, Ritz crackers, celery pieces and and grapes for the table of 4 and individual fruit bowls. Then we had salad, rolls and sweet bread. Next the main course came out, like I said all canned food smothered in gravy. Dessert was served with coffee, pumpkin pie and some cream filled bread thing. Again, just not worth it. read more

What a great time. Lovely scenery, good food, drinks and service. We will be back for sure.

This was extremely disappointing. Do not waste your time or money! Snack bar was nonexistent. Waited half the trip (1 hr) for a warm bottle of water. Saw nothing but trees. Comentator although very nice, spoke about all the things you could see IF you visited the towns on the tour. Please save your money and your time. Go to the beach instead. read more

We are set to go this Saturday night for the polar express train in the first class car. My sons are special needs and we are making an activity banner for them for their patches. There's a ton of stuff they're not able to do due to their disabilities but they love trains. I called in September and inquired about patches and ordered patches for the family. I was told by the lady who answered the phone that she checked the inventory on the computer and they had plenty. She said she added a note to our reservation regarding the patches. She said she would grab them the next day or two or at the latest when they shut down the buzzard's bay depot in October. I asked if I should call back in Oct and she told me there was no need as she had added the note to our reservation. My wife got a call today Dec 9, 2021 telling us they don't have any patches and are searching for a new embroidery company. What happened to filling my order that week or in OCT. How did my order not get taken care of before they sold out to the crowds in Nov or Dec?? THIS COMPANY (EVEN A NON PROFIT IS STILL A COMPANY) IS OBVIOUSLY RUN BY UNPROFESSIONAL FOLKS WHO HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS. THEY HAVE NO QUALMS CHARGING A TON OF MONEY FOR COACH NEVER MIND FIRST CLASS. I placed a call to them today when we got home from shopping @ 4pm. I asked to speak to the GM or owner. The lady that answered the phone took a message and said she would have the manager call me when they got in around 5pmish and they got a moment due to the polar express train tonight. I also agree that it's ridiculous charging people $5 to park in your own lot when you're already charging $39- $99 per person ages 3+ to ride the train. I will update if I get a call and with what the results of this whole mess ends up as. read more

Great experience! Walking in the restaurant cart brings you back in time. The choice of music, food made it special. We really enjoyed the trip, awesome service.. friendly and courteous. Highly recommend it, you won't be disappointed! read more

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I'm channeling Michael Scott right now. No, NO, NO GOD NO, NOOOOOOOOO! It was mid July and we were in Hyannis, and someone said, "Hey, they're train rides here". "Like old fashioned train rides?" I said. "I dunno, let's do it!" So then we went, and nothing happened. Oh we got on, we rode, on a stupid commuter looking train that was years old, (and not nostalgic at all) and rode past trees, and trees, and trees. That was it. Save your money, ride the boats again. read more

The narrator did a fine and informative talk. The staff were all pleasant. The lobster rolls were average. Bar was overpriced. Gift shop was understocked and disappointing.The scenery was dull and the train windows not clean. It was nostalgic to a degree, however, the music using Chattanooga Choo Choo was a racist song (Pardon me Boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?) Photos were difficult with train moving. read more

This is a fine experience, but vastly overpriced for what it is. The food is okay but nothing fancy, the interior of the train car is pretty drab, the windows are so dirty that it's hard to see, and the view isn't much to see anyway. For $90/person for dinner (not including alcoholic beverages), I wouldn't do it again. Also, for $90, you're actually paying for a seat at a table with strangers. This is only advertised on their website if you look at the "Fares" page, but not if you go directly to order. The only way to get a private table is to call and pay $20 extra. Well, the train car happened to be half empty, but my boyfriend and I were still seated with a woman and her elderly mother rather than one of the five empty tables. (It's a very mature crowd on this train - we were the youngest people.) The ladies we were seated with made it clear they were confused by this and would have wanted to have the table to themselves, so we asked to move. The waiter moved us and then, after we had moved, mentioned that we would be charged $20 extra for this. It seemed like poor customer service when the price is already so steep, the tables were sitting there empty, and we were attempting to be considerate. Overall it was pleasant but hard to get past how much it was costing for an experience that did not seem worth it. read more

My husband took me for a dinner aboard the Cape Cod Central Railroad dinner train. It was December, and my husband told me it was dressy, so I wore a dress. That was my big mistake. It was a romantic evening, with a crusty old ticketed, giving us the history of this train, how it used to be an AMTRAK run, and how it was taken over. Our appetizers and dinner were delicious, with crackling music playing over our heads. I was unaware that the doors to the train would be left open during our meal, and my legs were freezing. I tried not to let my personal discomfort disrupt our meal, but it was difficult. The engineer announced town after town, then a point of interest is a jail. I don't want to see a jail normally, I certainly don't want to see one on a romantic dinner. Still, it was a big announcement by the conductor as we went by. We passed a pond, where the moon shown upon it, just so very beautiful. Still, I believe frost bit was setting into my legs, as my husband touched my legs and he was concerned about the lack of circulation. Our coffee and desserts were incredible, we had a chocolate ganasche with raspberry sauce, which topped the meal. My husband was very concerned about me, and the temperature of my legs, thinking that I may need to go to the hospital. We left, got in the car and put the heater on and I was fine. However I would not suggest wearing a dress in December, as the doors are left open between the cars. We were seated near the door. All in all, this was a very special night to remember, and I do recommend it. read more

I usually read Yelp reviews before buying tickets to something... I didn't in this case and I kind of wish I had. It wasn't a terrible experience, but it certainly was not worth the money I paid. I wanted to do something cute and romantic for a date so I booked the train, as the website shows great pictures. I chose the "Diamond" seating which was premium seating on the train. The seating was nice in that we were seated higher than everyone else and in a car with our own bathroom and only 6 people total. "Scenic" is an overreaching term to be honest. As others have said, you mostly just see the backyards of people who live near the tracks and a few salt marshes and cranberry bogs. If you don't go on the train in the fall, when the bogs are almost at harvest, then the bogs just look like brown, dead fields of grass. During the first hour of the trip, the train goes at a leisurely pace and a narrator tells stories of the history of the area and what we are seeing, however, on the way back... it's the exact same route and you go full speed with no narration! Just seemed like a waste... why not have enough to talk about for the whole trip? or take a different route back? Overall, it wasn't horrible, but you can spend your money on something better. If it had been around $20 a person... It would have been worth it, but it was not worth the $47/person that I paid! read more

Quaint, but mostly just views of tree-lined track with the occasional pond and rarely, shoreline, until you reach the Sag bridge. If you want great views, just drive up the coast yourself. If you have a party of three or more, don't pay the extra "private" table fee... All tables seat 4, and they'll only potentially seat you with another group if you are a party of two and there's another party of two at a table by themselves. We went on the brunch tour, and the food was excellent. Full bar. A little hard to maneuver with kids once they get rolling. Otherwise, a fun time. read more

Did the day trip as a rainy day activity. Turned out to be an expensive 2 hour trip through the bushes primarily. Some interesting narration (about a third of it), the rest was...to fill the time. Would be much more interesting to hear something about the history of the old rail cars, if they could talk, what stories they'd tell! read more

Booooo to the "elegant" dinner train! The train rocks like crazy, makes a lot of uncomfortable noise, and the air in the cabin is stale and a bit mildewy. We started out excited for this adventure and seeing all of the lovely sites of cape cod. Within 30 seconds of leaving the station we heard the first BANG. It sounded like a gunshot but we could also feel the entire cabin jump slightly. We wondered if we had run over something on the tracks, but a couple minutes later BANG! It was insanity. Thankfully we were able to salvage the trip by turning it into a drinking game. Every time the train banged we sipped our wine. We went through 5 bottles of wine between 4 of us and the waiter even commented that he has never seen a group drink so much. When we asked what the noise was, the waiter said "That's what happens when you put together a 1920 train and a 1950's engine" and he laughed about it. Not funny. As far as "the amazing sites of cape cod", there are trees on both sides of the train for about 80% of the ride. However, you do get a nice view of a power plant for a bit. SKIP IT! read more

A pleasant way to see real Cape Cod and the dining experience is always fun. The scenery is varied so if a person is looking for all ocean side running they may be disappointed. I'm really jaded because I topped off my last trip with a biplane ride over the coast. I have also been on this railroad with my trackcar twice with my group so I have seen a lot and enjoyed a lot. www.narcoa.org there may still be a video up on the site of one of our trips. read more

Not worth your money. Description states starts with crudites platter. What was waiting on our table was LITERALLY 2 cherry tomatoes, 7 grapes, 4 marinated mushrooms, dried up carrot sticks and a swirl of dip!!! This was for 4 people!!! Corn chowder was below average. Salad was a small wilted plate of typical salad greens. Beef tenderloin was very basic and very average. Served ONE dinner roll (obviously heated from frozen). We held out hope for a special dessert...sadly our came a teeny tiny "chocolate" sponge cake with some form of banana frosting. Didnt even eat it. With such a sub par meal we felt trapped for 3+ hours on a run down train car listening to boring music. Summary: save your time and money. read more

Took the Rails and Ales trip in Aug 2019. It was a blast. The conductors were awesome, full of info. The food was excellent. We went from Hyannis, along the CC canal, and over the CC railroad bridge. Such a great tour. Give this a try read more

First time on the CCDT, definitely a do over, did the $89.00 Sat PM dinner train, the food was EXCELLENT, the staff was very ATTENTIVE, the scenery was what I expected, yes there were some obstructed views, but the salt marshes and the views of the Canal WOW. The highlight was crossing over the Cape Cod Canal Rail Road Bridge. I grew up around here and just seeing the bridge operate has always been a treat, but to be on a train crossing the bridge and eating a great meal WOW! Thank you Tyler, Greg, Brian, David,& everyone else who worked to make this a phenomenal first time experience! read more

Sat in the dome seating... Got to upgrade using a Groupon we all had a great time lots of laughs the main course was amazingly delicious the servers And conductors were fun my only complaint would be the appetizer needs a little boost in the desert could have a better choice than a dry biscuit with berries on it I would definitely do it again read more

Review from Sunday july 8th - 11am tour. I'm sorry but this was a waste of money. Our favorite part of the ride was when it was over. We took the scenic tour and it was not very scenic. What made it worse was the oppressive heat and humidity. There wasn't any AC in our car and the fan wasn't working. The staff should have at least opened up the windows - at least the ones that did open (many were stuck). I felt like I was trapped on this train. It was also very difficult to hear the tour guide over the speakers. The scenery was mostly trees and the back of people's homes. You saw a little water and a cranberry bog (not too impressive). This was the scenic tour for $19 and did not include lunch or dinner. It is possible that the dining car offers a better experience but unless the tour route is different, it would be the same boring scenery. The best thing about this was showing our two year old a real live train. However, it would been better to just take him down to the station rather than on the actual tour. read more

Train is comfortable. Conductor knowledgeable with the narrations of trivia & facts. Always enjoy the ride when we go with our visitors

My husband and I stayed in Hyannis and walked to the dinner train. BEAUTIFUL sight seeing views and the food was delish. Worth the money we spent and great memories made. Can't wait to go again. read more

This train blows 120 decibels of horn in my backyard; I have to sell my home. The train is a domestic terrorist; 120 decibels cause my skull to vibrate; we fear the train 3 or 4 times a day; even in the house it is over 100 db. They care nothing of us track neighbors; they blow the horn loud and long to give you a nostalgic experience but it drives us from our homes; please, please stop patronizing the train. read more

My husband and I went on the 2 hour coastal excursion. It wasn't what I expected, but we still had a nice time. You do see mostly tree's. I thought I would see more scenery, but what I did see was nice. The first hour you hear narration which was great. I found out things I never knew and some surprising things about Cape Cod. I really enjoyed that. When you get to the canal you stop and head back the same way you came. I wish there was a different route to be taken, but my husband and I switched sides of the train, so we saw what we didn't see on the way up, which was good. There is a snack bar that had lots of different things along with water and soda. You could pre order a lunch when you buy tickets online if you so choose. We did not. The staff was so nice and the narrator came and asked everyone if we had any questions about what she talked about during the ride back to the station and that was so nice of her. I wish there was a 'no kid area' though. I have kids of my own, but I was there to enjoy the ride and listen while on vacation and there are some parents who don't care to watch their children and they just ran around being loud. They were talked to 3 times, and no staff really did much but tell them to sit down and be quiet. I think if there should have been more done, but oh well, still had a good time. I bought the standard tickets, which were well priced I thought. We had the option to sit in the upper car or lower. read more

While it seems a nice idea, it was a huge disappointment. We were expecting a much more scenic view of the area, instead we saw run-down, dilapidated neighborhoods, trees, trees and more trees. We spent almost $200 for 4 adults and 2 kids - the $ would have been much better spent on a nice dinner. If you decide to go, I suggest bringing your own snacks and drinks - or you can buy them on the train. read more

Very disappointing. The ride is nearly two hours and you get to see Maybe 5 minutes of anything interesting (twice since you ride back on the same track in reverse). The majority of the ride is spent staring at trees while listening to narration. read more

My 5 year old loves trains. He collects them and loves to ride them. He found a brochure of the Cape Cod Railroad in Grandpa's things and added it to his collection of brochures and flyers. I came across a Groupon for this place and was excited to be able to take him. We drove 1.5 hours to get there. We get there and we find that our seats are actually on a modern Sarasota Railroad train! They took two modern rapid transit trains and hooked them between antique train cars and loaded passengers on it!! Nothing like what is shown in the brochure or on the internet! My commuter rail T pass would have given us a more entertaining ride. My children were disappointed just as I was. "Mommy- this is just like the purple line!" Yes. The interior was it was identical to the MBTA commuter rail. It was so boring, my kids went to sleep!! My son dancing around when I told him we were going to ride an new antique train and this railroad company ruined his experience. This is not for the true train enthusiast so if you want the antique train ride experience, make sure that's what your getting when you call. I have taken my son on quite a few railroad ventures in New Hampshire and Connecticut. This is the first company to have the audacity to do such a fraudulent thing as wedge a commuter trains between antique cars. Called Groupon, they confirmed that the description was for a scenic ride on an ANTIQUE train- they refunded my money. We wasted a day of vacation on this and gas. My children not have a good time - they fell asleep out of pure boredom. Boring narrative and the "scenic" view consisted of people's back yards and front lawns. Must mention the 5.00 parking only to find my car was blocked in since they unsafely crammed as many cars as they could on their lot . So I had to wait for the cluster of cars in front to figure out how they could get out before I could. If you haven't gone yet - get your money back!!!!! read more

Cape Cod Central Railroad - Does this look like the interior of an antique rail car? Looks like like the MBTA commuter rail! - Tours Near Me - Hyannis, Massachusetts

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I believe we received this survey because of travel on the Saratoga & North Creek RR. Have ridden that twice and very much enjoyed the ride both in first class and coach. Excellent service with courteous staff. Have ridden predecessors of the Cape Cod Central and found the trip quite good with some nice scenery. read more

On the train as I type and am so impressed! I read the reviews and most of the complaints are quite silly. The food and staff are amazing! I have very happy 3 & 4 yr old boys! read more

I kind of laughed at some of the previous reviews... not sure what people expected from an old train. My wife loves trains, so I surprised her over the weekend. It really was a fun time. Though you mainly see trees, cranberry bogs and the canal - it's still scenic. Well worth $20 ea. to just have a nice 2+ hour trip. read more

We just went on the dinner train and enjoyed it greatly. Found the food better than I expected and the waiter was very friendly. It is expensive but you are paying for a quality meal and the ride. We went at night int he fall so only saw a little bit but enjoyed seeing the bridge and the canal. They had an employee who came around and told about the history of the train car we were in and that was great. We did have someone collecting the parking and they were helpful. It left right on time and the conductor came around three times to see how things were going. read more

Been coming to the Cape for 35+ years and this was our first ride in the Cape Cod Railway. We had a nice ride, enjoying the scenery and the narration. Learned a lot about the Cape that we didn't known. Would recommend to a friend. read more

The dinner train was apparently not prepared to accommodate anyone with mobility issues. I was treated to this on 9/30/21 as a birthday gift, and we were to dine in the upper level of one of the end cars. It was quite a walk. I will give them credit for offering a wheel chair, but none was visible. Dinner was fine, the ride out was fine, coming back it was pitch black. My disappointment was during disembarking. Apparently there was a bus tour, so it was quite crowded. Everyone was herded in the direction we started at, only to be turned back because the gate was locked. Not one staff person we passed on our way out could tell us we were headed in the wrong direction to exit. Once turned around, I asked a group of 3 young men why they hadn't advised us we were going in the wrong direction... answer? Maybe they wanted you to burn off those calories from dinner! Really? The conductor was of no help, only advising us to turn back and go around the wrought iron fence. As we finally neared our car, there he was, obviously having taken that shortcut through that locked gate that no one could access. In my opinion, this was a disorganized mess. They knew they had a bus tour, who would be picked up at a designated area, and others who came on their own. Couldn't they have put up signs directing folks to the proper exit? Can they train their staff to have more respect and patience for those who are no longer spry and agile? read more

One of my lifetime goals is to ride every heritage railroad in the US. this one does not disappoint. A hour plus long ride from Hyannis to the canal, the first half is narrated and the second half is us enjoying the scenery. Learned a little too much about cranberries and cranberry production, but was excited to hear about the cape from local residents who love their home. Enjoyable for a single or group. Highly recommended. read more

Very disappointed - we did the "Shoreline Excursion Train"... What they did was 1/2 the train was a 'lunch train' and the other half was the 'excursion train." Since we didn't pay extra for the lunch, we get there and we find that our seats are actually on a modern double decker train! They took two modern rapid transit trains and hooked them between antique train cars and loaded passengers on it!! Nothing like what is shown in the brochure or on the internet! My children were disappointed just as I was. "This is just like the purple line!" Yes. The interior was it was identical to the MBTA commuter rail. Boring narrative and the "scenic" view consisted of people's back yards and front lawns. Must mention the 5.00 parking. I would skip this trip. read more