Train Travel with Kids: Tips for a Stress-Free Journey

Trains are genuinely one of the best modes of transport for travelling with children. There is none of the seat-belt-fastened-tray-table-up regimentation of flying; kids can get up and move around, press their faces against large panoramic windows at passing scenery, visit the bistro car for a treat, and simply be children. With a little planning, a train journey becomes one of the highlights of a family trip rather than something to endure.

Kids' Discounts and Free Travel

European train operators are broadly generous with children's discounts, and understanding the rules can save significant money on family fares.

Under 4 or under 5 — free everywhere. Children under 4 (or 5 on some operators) travel free on virtually all European services when not occupying a separate seat. They sit on a parent's lap or share a seat. No ticket is required, no reservation needed.

Under 12 — free or heavily discounted on many operators:

• France (SNCF) — up to two children under 12 travel free with one fare-paying adult on most TGV services under the Kid+ offer. This is available when booking in advance and is not automatically applied, so you must select it during the booking process. On busy routes it is worth booking early to secure the offer alongside preferred seats.
• Switzerland (SBB) — the Swiss Family Card is free from ticket offices and station machines. It allows children under 16 to travel free throughout Switzerland when accompanying a parent or grandparent who holds a valid SBB ticket. This is one of the most generous family policies in Europe and makes Switzerland genuinely affordable for families despite its general price level.
• Austria (OBB) — children under 15 travel free when accompanying a fare-paying adult, with up to four children per adult. The Austrian network connects all major cities and many ski resorts, making this an excellent deal for family ski trips.
• Germany (DB) — children under 15 travel free when accompanied by a parent or grandparent holding a full-price Flexpreis ticket. Note that this applies to full-price tickets, not all promotional Sparpreis fares, so check the terms of your specific ticket type.

Always check the specific conditions when booking, as these family promotions have eligibility requirements and are sometimes limited to particular fare types or routes. The savings can be substantial — on a family of four, the difference between paying for all tickets and activating children's free travel is often hundreds of euros.

Family Compartments and Dedicated Spaces

Some operators have invested in dedicated family spaces that make travelling with children considerably more comfortable for everyone on board:

• Germany — ICE Familienbereich: ICE trains include a designated family area in second class. This section has slightly reduced seat pitch to create more floor space, a small play area between facing seats, and is located near a multi-purpose area. Families with children under 15 can reserve seats specifically in this section, which is worth doing: it concentrates families together and away from the quiet car, which reduces any anxiety about noise disruption.
• Austria — OBB Railjet Family Compartments: Railjet trains feature enclosed family compartments with six seats arranged facing each other, a fold-down table, and colouring materials provided. Being in an enclosed space means children's noise stays contained, and the interactive format naturally keeps them engaged. These compartments book up quickly for popular weekend departures.
• Switzerland — SBB Family Coaches: Select SBB trains on the main intercity network include a family coach with a dedicated play area, sometimes featuring a small slide and low climbing structure. These are enormously popular with Swiss families and worth checking for on journeys of more than an hour.
• Eurostar — children's zone: On some Eurostar services, there is a children's play zone in one carriage. The train itself is a novelty for most children — the Channel Tunnel passage, at just over 20 minutes of darkness, is a genuine event that younger travellers find exciting and memorable.

Entertainment Strategies That Actually Work

The window is your most powerful entertainment tool and it costs nothing. Younger children are genuinely captivated by the continuously changing world outside — cows grazing, rivers under bridges, dramatic tunnels, industrial yards, other trains passing in the opposite direction. Narrate what you see, make it a game: count the tunnels, spot animals, look for castles on hilltops. This buys real engagement time and creates memories.

Beyond the window, the most effective approaches include:

• Audiobooks and children's podcasts — downloaded in advance, these are quiet entertainment that keeps children absorbed without disturbing nearby passengers. Stories with strong narrative voices work best; younger children often fall asleep listening, which is its own reward.
• Travel-sized games — magnetic chess sets, Uno, Dobble, small jigsaw puzzles, and colouring books with a flat-topped pencil case doubling as a drawing surface all work well. Avoid games with many small pieces that roll under seats.
• Tablets with offline content — Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube Premium all allow downloads of specific episodes for offline viewing. Download content tailored to the journey length before you board and before you leave home WiFi.
• Journey notebooks — a simple notebook in which children record station names, draw what they see, tally the number of tunnels passed through, or sketch things spotted from the window turns a passive journey into an active project. Older children might enjoy tracking the journey on a printed map.

Food and Snacks

Hungry children make difficult travelling companions, and trains provide a unique opportunity for organised snacking. Bring more snacks than you think you need, choosing items that do not require refrigeration, are not excessively messy, and create minimal crumbs. Fresh fruit, crackers with individual cheese portions, dried mango, rice cakes, and cereal bars are all reliable choices. A supermarket visit near the departure station — picking up food for the journey — is both significantly cheaper than onboard prices and more reliably aligned with children's preferences.

Water bottles are essential. Train carriages are heated in winter and can become stuffy, and children dehydrate more readily than adults. Refillable bottles save money over onboard purchases and reduce plastic waste.

A trip to the bistro car together can itself become a mini-event mid-journey. Let older children order their own drinks or snacks — the independence is exciting, and it marks a natural midpoint break in a long journey.

Pushchair and Buggy Management

Folded pushchairs travel as luggage and can go in overhead racks or end-of-carriage storage. An unfolded pushchair with a sleeping baby is most easily accommodated in the spaces near carriage doors. Many newer trains have dedicated buggy bays — look for them when choosing which door to board from, often indicated by a pushchair icon on the train exterior. Board at the door closest to the buggy area. Conductors at busy stations are generally helpful in showing families where these spaces are.

Night Trains with Families

Night trains hold a particular magic for children: sleeping in a bunk on a moving train, waking up in a new country as dawn light fills the windows, the rhythm of the rails becoming a lullaby. For families, booking a private couchette compartment — usually six berths — is substantially more comfortable than sharing with strangers and gives children the freedom to move between bunks without self-consciousness.

OBB Nightjet, which operates from Vienna, Innsbruck, Zurich, and other hubs to destinations including Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Brussels, and Paris, is the main family-friendly night train network in Europe. Private compartments, though more expensive than open couchettes, are well worth the premium for family travel. Book as far in advance as possible — these compartments are the first inventory to sell out, especially on popular routes and around school holidays.

For the etiquette and consideration aspects of travelling with children in shared spaces, see our train etiquette guide.