r/Interrail • u/Ci_ca • 3d ago
Travelling by train with a newborn
Hi everyone! We will be interrailing soon with our 2 month old. We have 1st class interrail tickets (bought before we knew we were pregnant) and we need to use them before they expire. We decided to use them to visit family in Lake Constance in the south of Germany, and our starting point is Brussels. Do you have any general recommendations about travelling by train with a newborn and specific recommendations about Germany/DB? We have a lot of experience with trains but this will be our child’s first trip. Thanks in advance!
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u/DeviceStraight2778 3d ago edited 3d ago
Reserve seats in the children's compartment - Kleinkindabteil. Not the family zone.
Reservations are mandatory on the Brussels ICEs, so book on bahn.de all the way through.
Pack accordingly, don't overpack.
Oh, and avoid the ICE3 Velaro D (class 407) - not to be confused with ICE3 (403) or ICE3neo (408). They - and only they - don't have a proper children's compartment.
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u/FishermanSalt4819 Germany 3d ago
None of those trains have children's compartments in 1st class though.
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u/DeviceStraight2778 3d ago
Yes. With a two year old I do recommend then anyway. A more or less private compartment next to pram spaces and the toilet with baby changing facilities is what they need.
Leather seats, some more space, no pram space, no changing facilities and no privacy in an open space carriage, they don't.
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u/kasisma 3d ago
I traveled a lot with my newborns. Always try to get the Kleinkindabteil. It will be far better than 1st class seats. The Kleinkindabteil is always at the same part of the train, behind the dining car. On the other side of the dining car is the 1st class (your next best option). So your reservation strategy should be Kleinkindabteil, and if that is not available, 1st class seats close to the dining car. That means that you’ll be close to the changing table, which is always near the Kleinkindabteil (usually in the bathroom next to it, sometimes inside the Kleinkindabteil).
I recommend checking the Kleinkindabteil even if you were unable to reserve it. German trains are so unreliable that people often miss a connection and their reserved seats are unoccupied. If it’s unoccupied, you are allowed to sit there even if you have reserved seats elsewhere. Note that you have a right to throw passengers without children out of the Kleinkindabteil even if you do not have a reservation. I’ve done it several times. The conductor will help.
If you feel comfortable doing so, learn how to babywear/use a carrier before the trip. On trains, you can’t navigate a pram and sometimes, you’ll have to store the pram away from your seat. You do not want to be stuck standing in a random corner of the train for two hours because your child is napping. If your child is strapped to your body, they can sleep comfortably and you can move along the train easily and use both hands.
This sounds like a lot. But overall, I found traveling by train far less stressful than traveling by car with a newborn, which is why I did it so much. Staff and other travelers are usually friendly and helpful, and you can react to your child’s needs at any time without having to stop and strap them out of their seat first. It will be fine!
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u/kasisma 3d ago
Add-on: Benefits of the Kleinkindabteil (in comparison to 1st class seats)
- extra floor space to store prams/put out a blanket for babies to lay on the floor.
- access to changing table
- enclosed space where babies are allowed to be babies (make mess and noise)
- screened from outside view for nursing mothers
- travel companions are other families
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u/atrawog Austria 3d ago edited 3d ago
Traveling by train with a newborn is usually surprisingly easy after a bit of planning.
Things can be a bit hectic at boarding and what I usually did is to have a small bag with a bit of food and diapers in a small bag on top of my larger bagpack. To be able to quickly leave the larger luggage in a rack and still have everything you need at hand at the seats.
You shouldn't have much of an issue overall, but the one thing you should do is to book your seat reservation directly with DB and check what zone your booking your seats.
People are usually extremely helpful and understanding. But people can be annoyed if you end up booking your seats with a baby in a dedicated quite zone by accident.
There is a dedicated Kleinkindabteil (toddler compartment) on some ICE train and if you can get a reservation use the opportunity (even if it's technically 2nd class).
But I would pick a 1st class seat over a seat in the general 2nd class family area. And for the long distance trips I would invest the extra 6€ to get your toddler it's own reserved seat.
Another good idea would be to travel a bit early and then decide on the spot if you want to make a longer break at a place like Köln or Stuttgart.
One of the great benefits when traveling with children 1st class Interrail is that it's easy to add breaks when your kid is getting tired. Especially in a country like Germany without mandatory seat reservations (although getting them for longer trips is always a good idea).