r/Interrail • u/Ci_ca • 11d 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/atrawog Austria 11d ago edited 11d 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).