diff --git a/lib/vagrant/actions/start.rb b/lib/vagrant/actions/start.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..06b9865d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/vagrant/actions/start.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+module Vagrant
+  module Actions
+    class Start < Base
+      def execute!
+        @vm.invoke_callback(:before_boot)
+
+        # Startup the VM
+        boot
+
+        # Wait for it to complete booting, or error if we could
+        # never detect it booted up successfully
+        if !wait_for_boot
+          error_and_exit(<<-error)
+Failed to connect to VM! Failed to boot?
+error
+        end
+
+        @vm.invoke_callback(:after_boot)
+      end
+
+      def boot
+        logger.info "Booting VM..."
+        @vm.vm.start(:headless, true)
+      end
+
+      def wait_for_boot(sleeptime=5)
+        logger.info "Waiting for VM to boot..."
+
+        Vagrant.config[:ssh][:max_tries].to_i.times do |i|
+          logger.info "Trying to connect (attempt ##{i+1} of #{Vagrant.config[:ssh][:max_tries]})..."
+
+          if Vagrant::SSH.up?
+            logger.info "VM booted and ready for use!"
+            return true
+          end
+
+          sleep sleeptime
+        end
+
+        logger.info "Failed to connect to VM! Failed to boot?"
+        false
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/vagrant/actions/start_test.rb b/test/vagrant/actions/start_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..078501963
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/vagrant/actions/start_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', 'test_helper')
+
+class StartActionTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
+  setup do
+    @mock_vm, @vm, @action = mock_action(Vagrant::Actions::Start)
+    @mock_vm.stubs(:invoke_callback)
+    mock_config
+  end
+
+  context "execution" do
+    should "invoke before callback, boot, and invoke the after callback" do
+      boot_seq = sequence("boot_seq")
+      @mock_vm.expects(:invoke_callback).with(:before_boot).once.in_sequence(boot_seq)
+      @action.expects(:boot).in_sequence(boot_seq)
+      @action.expects(:wait_for_boot).returns(true).in_sequence(boot_seq)
+      @mock_vm.expects(:invoke_callback).with(:after_boot).once.in_sequence(boot_seq)
+      @action.execute!
+    end
+
+    should "error and exit if the bootup failed" do
+      fail_boot_seq = sequence("fail_boot_seq")
+      @action.expects(:boot).once.in_sequence(fail_boot_seq)
+      @action.expects(:wait_for_boot).returns(false).in_sequence(fail_boot_seq)
+      @action.expects(:invoke_callback).with(:after_boot).never
+      @action.expects(:error_and_exit).once.in_sequence(fail_boot_seq)
+      @action.execute!
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "booting" do
+    should "start the VM in headless mode" do
+      @vm.expects(:start).with(:headless, true).once
+      @action.boot
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "waiting for boot" do
+    should "repeatedly ping the SSH port and return false with no response" do
+      seq = sequence('pings')
+      Vagrant::SSH.expects(:up?).times(Vagrant.config[:ssh][:max_tries].to_i - 1).returns(false).in_sequence(seq)
+      Vagrant::SSH.expects(:up?).once.returns(true).in_sequence(seq)
+      assert @action.wait_for_boot(0)
+    end
+
+    should "ping the max number of times then just return" do
+      Vagrant::SSH.expects(:up?).times(Vagrant.config[:ssh][:max_tries].to_i).returns(false)
+      assert !@action.wait_for_boot(0)
+    end
+  end
+end