Interrailing with kids - anyone done it?

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We are going interrailing this summer with our 11, 6 and 4 year old. I've planned a route with about 4 × 9 hour journeys and one overnight train. Has anyone done it before? Any tips for keeping the children entertained on the long train journeys?

We're doing long stop offs in Slovakia and Romania (1 week in each) with shorter stays in Munich and Budapest. I'd welcome any tips on things to do /see in these destinations too.

Really excited about this, just hoping the kids enjoy the adventure too!

Hello! Not sure if anyone is still around, I may be insane but we are thinking about planning a trip for this year, October time, passes are 20% off at the minute, and refundable, got to be optimistic right?

I've been thinking the same thing too. It might never happen with Covid but I like the idea that we have refundable tickets so a big chunk of our trip is paid for if we can travel again and can be a bit spontaneous and direct our travel to where we're allowed to go. Where are you planning on travelling to?

I was thinking around October, might be madness but I paid the extra money to get fully refundable tickets, we're going to plan the trip and then decide in the summer if we're actually going to book anything, if we don't go then we'll just do it next year instead.

Did exactly the same and bought the sale tickets and paid a bit extra for fully refundable. I'd love to be able to go at the end of summer but I think October half term or even the Christmas holidays is more realistic. In the meantime I can spend happy hours planning out random routes. I'm torn between heading as far south as possible for sunshine or heading north to Scandinavia and the Balkans.

I went interrailing a few times with my parents when I was a child in the 90s so obviously my experience is getting on for 30 years old now. But I have to say I hated being on the train for hours and hours and schlepping around cities. I much preferred holidays when we stayed in one place (still do to be honest). It really wasn't for me.

Hello - resurrecting this niche Zombie number, because I'm (hopefully!) planning an interrail trip with my 5(almost 6) yo next August. I backpacked a lot in my 20s, so familiar with most of the places.

Currently planning

(Travel out London-Brussels-night train to Prague)
Prague 4 nights
Vienna 3 nights
Graz 1 night
Ljubljana 1 night
Lake Bled 3 nights
Venice 2 nights (then fly to)
Barcelona/Sitges 5 nights

(Travel return - Night train Barca-Paris, arrive in time for quick brunch in Paris, then Paris-London)

Sadly, although I'd rather go to Romania/Bulgaria/Greece, all whic hi know well, I'm not confident it will be covid safe to travel to those countries next year - although they have my heart, and are the sites of many happy memories from my younger years.

Im thinking Air BnBs for stays of 3 nights plus and hostels for 1-2 nights, and have costed the entire trip at around

DS is desperate to do this - he's really driving it, tbh, and isn't letting it drop... If we can save up, I'm delighted!

I've tried to go for a mix of low-octane, outdoorsy places (swimming and walking at Lake Bled, a lazy week on the beach at Sitges to round off the trip) with cities/museums, and Im VERY ready to just spend days mooching round the childrens parks in these cities.

Currently, budget is coming in at around £4k all in, including contingencies, and assuming worst case scenario of eating lunch out every day (unlikely, as I'd make sandwiches etc) and dinner out half the time, cooking the other half.

Any thoughts/tips/ideas very welcome.

All covid permitting, naturally.

Hi,we did it in 2019 with 2 10 year olds and they still say it was the best holiday they've ever had.
Flew to Berlin,3 nights there
Train to Copenhagen,3 nights there
Train to Stockholm,3 nights
Train to Oslo,2 nights
Train to Bergen,3 nights.
Flew home from Bergen.

We stayed in air BnB's,booked them fairly early as wanted them within walking distance from train stations/public transport. Booked the trains in advance cos we had to. We didn't do a sleeper because hubby is a poor sleeper anyway so he would have got zero sleep on a train Think we budget around 115 euro a day,used the air BnB's to eat dinner,take packed lunch.

Honestly,I'd do it every year if I could. I defo want to do another in the next few years,maybe doing Eastern Europe,would love to go to Serbia etc.

You'll have a ball. Any questions,let me know

Sorry,actually we did a hostel in Berlin.

We've done quite a lot of train travel from when our children were very young and can't recommend it enough. As others have said the number one thing you need is a decent amount of food taken on board with you, as it will be cheaper and nicer than train catering. Second the suggestion of a good first aid kit.

I would always book seats with children. I know you've said not sleepers but even if you don't sleep they are great for children on a long journey as you have your own private space.

Far and away best amusements are pen and paper and a travel box of Lego.

Pack light but don't skimp on toys and child comforts. The most versatile piece of backup kit is a teatowel - drying, wrapping draping over. Carry a packet of balloons for emergency surprise amusements if you have to stay inside accommodation for a while (eg illness, bad weather)

Use post offices to send things home if you buy souvenirs or only need something for part of the trip. You can even send items to yourself "poste restante" at a destination if you're super organised. I always do this for a single centre holiday because I then don't have to lug a tonne of beach gear or whatever on the train just collect it at the other end.

Following with interest. I've been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but Covid..

DS1 is 12 in February, (DS2 is 6), so I will have to pay for a youth pass for him if we don't go before then. I'm a bit worried things will be too chilly in the October half term or Christmas holidays in Northern Europe though, and it seems like too much travelling for DS2 to get down to Southern Europe and back in just a week? (we'd all like to go to Italy).

Hi, some good advice from @deplorabelle. I'm considering an extended holiday this year. Fly to spain for a week of sun and return by train. When we did this in 2017, our youngest was only 4 and the next eldest 6. I think the longer stopovers worked well for us as it was a lot for the little ones to keep moving and to do just one night in different cities. For example you might just want to combine four nights in lake Bled and just time trains so you can do a day trip around Lubiljana. For each of the cities I did a quiz of the attractions we planned to see, which the kids seemed to enjoy and kept them engaged. Have fun, half the enjoyment was planning it for me!! Oh and I thoroughly support the advice to book seats. So much less stressful. We didnt book seats on a busier train and had to split up the family for an 8 hour journey...

Following with interest. We hope to do this as soon as things calm down…maybe in a couple of years? We fancy doing a small ‘race across the world’ challenge where for a few days we split in two, one parent one child, and get the kids to work out best way to get to next point and race to get there on a budget! 😀 that, or get them involved in planning a route. I also LOVE planning routes and can’t wait to do this. Mine will be around 8 and 10 which I reckon will be a good age to do a trip like this.

Also following. Covid dependant I'm hoping to go interailing around Europe next august with my 11 year old son

Race across the world challenge sounds amazing @donaldbump. Any idea which part of the world yet?

Love that idea @donaldbump

Oh this is such a good idea. We are getting rid of our car soon (ulez extension) so thinking ahead to different types of holiday.

no idea where yet. Def Europe as we're trying to limit plane travel more now. I've never been interrailing so it really appeals.

I've just been telling my 10 year old son about this trip and he was taking about running and racing and then it dawned on me that he was thinking we are doing a race accross the world style trip 🤣

Is everyone planning this for next summer? Inspired by this thread I looked at the interrail website and it'd be free this summer for dd1 though not next. But who knows what covid restrictions there'll be. Quite tempting though. How does it work? Is the Eurostar included? And are the overnight supplements a lot?

Just popping back to say we’ve started saving for our trip and I’m working backwards and about to book the accommodation for our last week, and our return flights home.

Hoping that even if the worst comes to the worst with covid etc and we have to postpone inter railing, we’ll still get our last week in Barcelona (well sitges) (and it’s so cheap right now, that if we don’t, I’m not loads of money out).

If other families are planning for august, let me know, maybe we’ll cross paths!

Just popping by...I did this in 2017 (NC since) and I still say it was one of the best things I have ever done. I'd go again in a heartbeat. Terrifically hard at time but absolutely bloody brilliant in any case. Do it!!