Trying to find a buggy for 6 year old

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I'm trying to find a double buggy for my 2 year old and 6 year old -

I know he's too old normally but it's just for a holiday where we will be travelling by train a lot in the night and I want somewhere for both kids to be able to sleep.

Any recommendations please? Thanks!

I've travelled a lot by train in Europe. There really is no space to have an opened buggy and certainly not a double one. Some trains are double decker, and the steps and toilets are in the vestibule.

Bonkers idea.

I have the icandy orange for my newborn and dd with sn who is a bulky 5yr old.

Is everyone completely out of their minds nowadays? Travelling on sleeper trains internationally with two kids in tow? Do you know there’s a pandemic on, with little hope of an end in sight?!

The Joovy Caboose tandem is good for bigger kids, holds up to 100lbs each I think, but I don't think it reclines all the way.

I don't think a tall 6 year old WILL sleep comfortably in a buggy. He'd be better off on a seat or with his head in your lap OP.

There is no possibility that there will be enough room on a train to set up a double buggy for your DC to sleep in, are you out of your mind? Why are you travelling through the night so frequently? Particularly at the moment? No six year old can sleep comfortably in a buggy .

OP have you been on a train before?

Unless you have pre-booked a cabin with beds, there is no way/nowhere you'll be able to leave a double buggy with 2 sleeping kids in it. Not a chance. Unless you want to risk leaving them in the entrance to the coach, whereby one of you will need to stay awake to ensure the kids don't wake due to constant disruptions and go wandering. Many European overnight train services require a booked seat at the minimum.

I understand the need to get miles done whilst they're asleep, but seriously, cheap hotel with triple/quadruple beds, daytime awake travel and you'll all be happier. Why not fly for the longer journeys?

I can't imagine a more miserable way to spend a holiday than with cranky kids and at least one cranky parent. Find a way for them and you to sleep in a bed.

i think it sounds great. in your head. that your 6yo will sleep in a buggy. and that you can get in and out of trains easily with a double stroller.

but in reality it is going to suck hard. make things more difficult and your kid will not sleep in the buggy.

I know it’s a lot for a holiday- but I swear my 7yo could still fit in a bugaboo donkey now. Maybe you could hire one or buy one second hand- you would definitely get most of your money back if you were to sell a second hand one again after your trip

You won't be able to get open buggys or pushchairs on the trains in Europe - no way. And you especially won't be allowed to keep them upright all night so your kids can sleep in them!

If you book a sleeper train your 6yo will have his own bed won't he?

Sorry OP, it just won't happen.

You'll need to fold a buggy for a train.

Sounds a terrible plan I'm afraid.

We used a lot of trains in Italy and France and there is not a lot of room for prams at all. They are typically folded down as PP said.

My youngest DD is 6 and we’ve travelled during the night on trains and she has slept in her seat, using one of our laps as a pillow. I find it odd to want to stick a 6 year old in a pram.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I will have a re-think of our options, maybe look into sleeper trains. Thanks!

Do couchettes still exist? We travelled extensively round Europe as children, often travelling at night, and always booked a couchette compartment. This was back in the 1970s.

OP have you done much night travelling in trains in Europe before? (I'm assuming Europe, sorry if that's wrong). Outside of the sleeper coaches they can be pretty edgy. Definitely not somewhere I'd want to be with young children, you'd be so much better off in a sleeper. I've spent a lot of time on overnight trains in southern Europe when I was younger and I didn't always feel safe enough to go to sleep.

There’s a reason you can’t find one.
He’s too old/big.

6 year olds have seats on trains. On services like the TGV you cant fit a buggy let alone a double one. The ICE has family compartments so your children can keep in the seats in the compartment with you and regional reains generally dont gave buggy spaces. It sounds odd you would expect a six year old to sleep in a buggy not a seat. Is this the best travel plan for you? You tend to keep the smaller child kn your lap on the train. Where are you going? I think it might be a good idea to contact tw appropriate rail companies to find out about child seating and pram arrangements as it sounds like you could be going on a wild goose chase.

Why on earth would you need a buggy when there are seats on trains?
Where is your logic behind this?

Be careful about allowing a child to sleep with their head on your lap for a long journey - I allowed this on a flight back from USA once, because I didn't want to wake my sleeping child I barely moved for a few hours and ended up with a DVT.

There are some brilliant sleeper trains in Europe where you can book a two, three or four berth lockable cabin for your family. They can be pricey but you save the cost of a hotel room for the night and it's so exciting going to bed in one country and waking up somewhere completely different. I've also done this all over China which was equally brilliant, if a bit more communal!

Not sure how this is all working during the pandemic, but I wouldn't consider travelling overnight without a bed for my six year old unless as a one off at the end of the holiday or a complete emergency.

Seat61 is a useful website for advice on holidaying by train.

I have an excel Elise buggy for my nearly 6 year old. We took a double to Disney late last year but in reality it was too heavy to push with both in by that point