Travel tips: What's the best things to see and do between San Antonio and Los Angeles?

MY HUSBAND AND I ARE TAKING THE TEXAS EAGLE FROM SAN ANTONIO TO LOS ANGELES. WE HAVE NINE DAYS AND WANT TO BREAK THE JOURNEY. MARFA IS ONE STOP WE ARE TOLD NOT TO MISS, CAN YOU SUGGEST OTHERS? IS IT EASY TO GET OFF AND REBOARD THE TEXAS EAGLE? S. DELANEY, KIRRIBILLI

The Texas Eagle between San Antonio and Los Angeles, also known as Amtrak 421, operates once daily, so you need to decide whether any stops along the way justify a full day at least before you could board the following train. The former army base at Marfa​, now filled with art installations and run by the Chinati Foundation (chinati.org), certainly qualifies. Marfa is 40 kilometres west of Alpine, and bear in mind the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Palm Springs is another great choice, well worth a couple of days at least. The Texas Eagle arrives at about 2am, ouch, so you need to book accommodation for the night before. One other stopover you might consider is Tucson, Arizona, a spirited, likeable city that that blends the traditions of Native American, Mexican and Anglo American cultures. Almost half the population is Hispanic and this is a great place to sample real Mexican cuisine. Tucson has managed to preserve something of the historic character of its Mexican origins. Saguaro National Park, which brackets Tucson, is a wonderful place to experience the classic southwestern desert mountain and cactus scenery that you might recognise from old John Wayne movies, and don't miss the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Hopping off and back onto Amtrak trains is no problem but you will have to make a separate booking for each sector. Contact Railplus (railplus.com.au) in Melbourne for more information and bookings.

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