Stargazing and Wine Tasting - It was great! The train is awesome. We were in the Jerome car but spent most of our time outside on the open air car. Byron, our guide outside, had great info about the train, railroad and canyon. Lots of fun antidotes too! The wine tasting was well done. Each cars bartender brought around a wine to taste and told us about the wine and where it came from. There were six total wines to taste. There is also a full bar available and a prepackaged snack that was nice to nibble on. The scenery is amazing. The train well cared for. The employees all seem to enjoy their jobs and serving customers. After dark the stars come out and the stargazing was beautiful. All around a great way to spend an evening.

Superb train ride. - The train ride was memorable. The wine was excellent. The staff was great, Might want to do it again. Kudos to all.

Lovely evening train ride with great wine! - The Verde Valley Railway staff are exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable of the history of the region, and fun. We enjoyed tasting 5 different wines, and they were available for sale at reasonable rates. Other beverages were available for sale. The charcuterie board was delicious and filling and that's just the train experience. The scenery traveling through the gorge was magnificent as we rode right above the Verde River. Sunset on the canyon walls made for great photo opportunities. At nightfall moon and star gazing was just as beautiful. Highly recommend this experience and it's worth the cost!

Great train ride. - What a fun trip. A 3.5 hour train ride through the Verde Canyon and back. We followed the Verde River the whole way. Beautiful scenery and comfortable riding. This was a wine tasting trip and very enjoyable. Friend guides and attendants serving the wine and relating some of the history of the area. We spent most of the trip on the outside open railroad car viewing the scenery but the inside seating and tables are very comfortable Bars are available for drink purchase and I think food also but we didn't eat on the train. The guide was informative but music was playing the whole time and often, (depending on where he was standing) prevented it from being audible. Stopping the music during the trip would have been preferable.

Wine, scenery and a mighty good time. - A very comfortable train ride through beautiful and awe inspiring scenery. The staff are thoughtful, cheerful and seem to be having as much fun as we were. The choice of wines, of course, are limited, but they came with delightful snacks. There was also a full bar for those who want other drinks.

Great trip idea - We had a great time!!! We will be back. I highly recommend the 5:30 trip due to the weather. The employees were very friendly.

Great experience - It was a wonderful evening but they really need microphones on the people talking about all the history of the canyon that is piped into the closed cabins also because we only got one 16th of what he was saying

Fun and disappointing at the same time. - Beautiful views of the Verde Valley! The gentleman sharing information about the valley was interesting. It was a fun trip BUT it was disappointing to return to the station in the dark. It would of been better to return in the sunset. The wine taste was disappointing. I would of enjoyed more commentary talking about the wines and what they pair with. Also riding on the open car to see the view was impossible to hold the box with the crackers etc . We drank the wine and then went in to eat the snacks after dark. It would of been much better to have the wine taste and pairing after dark. If I decide to do the ride again I will not do the wine taste.

Scenic Train Ride & Good Wine Tasting - Nice selection of wines for tasting and scenic train ride but there is nothing at end of train route. In addition, did not see anyplace during booking that allowed friends who booked separately to sit together. The staff were wonderful and rearranged seating to accommodate us but would be better if it could be done before Checkin.

Just OK - My husband and I did the wine-tasting tour. While we did have a table for two, it was on the opposite side of the other small tables that had the view. So we had either full sun on us or a rock wall to look at. This is definitely need-to-know information, although I'm not sure you can "reserve" a spot on the good side of the train. Unfortunately, the excursion was marred by the host of our car. (Shall remain nameless). But she first announced that our car was NOT part of the wine-tasting, and when we all looked at her in shock and began showing our receipts, she apologized but said she simply "wasn't educated" on any of the wines. Sheesh. A champagne toast was hurriedly poured, but never announced, so we all just drank it on our own time. Yes, the music was a bit loud, but our host literally SHOUTED over it--kind of annoying. Give the girl a lavalier microphone with a battery pack, for goodness' sake! And the wine-tasting: the wines were good. But there WAS apparently some sort of mix-up with our car, because another host came through and poured us wine but offered no explanation--just pointed to the pre-printed card we had been given and told us all the information was there. The entire car was just a collective "afterthought". For what we paid, it was kind of a disappointment.