Travelling by train with your children - top tips

Travelling by train has several advantages when you are travelling with your children. You have more legroom, train stations are normally in the heart of the town or city, children can climb aboard easily, children are free to move about in their seats and take supervised trips up and down the carriages, you get more room and a table where the children can spread out their toys and play things and you can visit the buffet car for a meal or a snack. You can book train travel here.

Kids love trains and for many it is a novelty. Trains fill many of thier childhood stories such as the Railway Children, Thomas the Tank Engine, the Hogwart Express from Harry Potter, and the Polar Express.

Trains are faster, more comfortable and more frequent than buses and sometimes you can have the benefit of overnight sleeping services. Kids just love the idea of sleeping on a train.  The constantly changing scenes and landscapes keeps everyone entertained and there are no baggage restrictions in terms of weight.On a long journey, children may even make friends with other children. Eurostar has good family friendly trains which you can get to Euro Disney as have the trains in France and Denmark. There are usually baby changing facilities and in some cases bottle warming facilities on board.

Family tickets and discounts for train travel

As a general rule the under fives are free and older kids can travel free or at discounted rates usually half of the adult fare. In some countries, limitations are placed on the number of children on discounted tickets and you may need to sit children who do not pay a fare on your lap. You can often get special family rates on certain routes at non-peak times and designated family carriages during holidays, bank holidays and at weekends.

You should make a point of asking for deals for families and young people. In some cases buying a family travel card is a good idea. You can get a quote for train travel here on sticky fingers travel and make sure you look for special deals. Travel deals such as monthly rail passes may not be such a good idea for children and families however, as you may feel you are under too much pressure to travel long distances too quickly.

If you are visiting a city where you can get a combination of travel for a few days such as Metro, trams and buses this can be a great money-saving family travel option.

Before you book, find out the length of the journey and if there are multiple stops. You might want the faster option. Check out how much time you have to board and disembark at your stop as it can be a frenetic schedule at some stops where children, luggage and prams need to be removed from the train in a very short space of time which can lead to panic and stress. In other cases there may be tight connections to get from one platform to another so do check out the connections and how far you will have to travel.

Reserving your family train travel and selecting your seats

When you are travelling with children on trains always try to reserve your seat even at off peak times. Make sure you book the non-smoking section of the train even if you smoke and aim for air conditioning where possible.

Look into how the seats are arranged. If you are a family of four getting a table facing each other is critically useful for games, arts and crafts and carry cots.

If you are travelling on a train with a buffet car, book seats a modest distance away so you do not have to travel too far but you are not going to be subject to the noise, smells and possible smoke. It may also be a good idea to check where the baby changing facilities are and if you need assistance either on-board or at stations mention this when you are reserving your seats.

If you are booking a sleeper on a train request one that is not positioned over the wheels as extra noise can make sleeping difficult. Similarly, try to stay away from the toilets.

Boarding and all aboard

When travelling as a family you need to decide who will be responsible for getting on, folding the buggy and taking it on board, stowing the luggage and finding seats. It is best to position yourself so that luggage and your children remain in view. With young children, it is best to establish parameters as to how far they can go and we would recommend supervised trips for the youngest members in your family. Toilets on trains and coaches can be somewhat smelly and unpleasant for children and again supervision for young children would be recommended.

Developing countries and train travel

In some countries, travel can be very slow. The difference in comfort class between classes in developing countries can be dramatic. Investigate carefully the class you will be travelling in. Certainly going first class in developing countries will mean more comfort and room and it may in fact be the only way to guarantee you a seat. There can be an issue with food and water on trains and so do bring your own and try to be flexible as delays are common.

We have prepared some articles on what to pack, what to bring on a journey as well as several lists on how to entertain the children while you're travelling through the various ages and hope these are helpful.

For special offers and special online deals, have a look at our train travel partner here on the Sticky Fingers Travel website.

You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday. 

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