Traveling Europe Via Eurail with Kids

This trip was taken in partnership with Eurail and this post is sponsored by Eurail as well.

We had the most amazing fall adventure discovering Western Europe including London, Paris, Brussels, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Frankfurt. We flew into London and then traveled by train to the remaining cities before flying back home from Frankfurt. We did this by train as we have done on previous trips but this time instead of getting individual tickets we traveled with a Eurail Pass. I’ve always been an advocate for traveling Europe by train instead of flying to each destination. Why? Traveling by train was hassle free, the trains took us to the center of each city, they are comfortable and were cost effective. Since we had a Eurail Pass we used one ticket to get to all of our destinations and made all of our reservations on one website. If you are traveling to several European cities in one trip check out Eurail and see how the pass can save you some money over booking ticket separately. What better time to purchase one than now as Eurail is having a special 20% off promotion until December 31, 2017. Once you purchase your pass you have 11 months to use it.

Hassle Free Travel
I don’t know anyone who likes having to arrive two hours before their flight, going through airport security, and stressing about baggage fees or their bag being overweight. These are all things you avoid when traveling Europe by train with a Eurail pass. With the exception of departing and arriving to London when traveling by train you only have to be at the platform 2 minutes before your train arrives. You also avoid security lines and customs and immigration upon arrival. Even when arriving and departing London you only need to arrive 45 minutes prior to your train departing.

Comfort
Traveling by train was much more comfortable than traveling by plane. The seats on the train are larger than airlines offer in economy, cushioned, and you have the option to get a 4- seater with 2 seats facing each other on each side and a large table in between you. This was perfect for our family. We were able to play games on our train ride and had more than enough space with the kids. Our train rides with Eurostar, Thalys, and I.C.E. all had free Wi-Fi as well as outlets on the train. With the purchase of an adult Eurail Pass it is automatically a 1st Class ticket which includes breakfast, lunch, or dinner on your train ride depending on your destination. We received a meal on our train ride to Paris, Brussels, and Rotterdam. During breakfast you can get extra croissants if you want and lunch and dinner comes with unlimited wine.

Arrive at the City Center
When traveling by train in Europe you will always arrive in the city center. This is a lot easier than wasting time getting to and from the airport. In cities like London and Paris the airport is 45mins-1 hour outside of the city center, which means you lose time and it’s more costly to get to/from the airport to your hotel.

Cost Effective
Traveling by train is one of the cheapest ways to travel throughout Europe. If you are traveling to multiple European countries having the option for unlimited travel by train with a Eurail Pass is a great way to save money.

​Children under 4 always travel for free by train in Europe, which gives you an extra two years of savings over flying.  However, when buying a Eurail Pass, children 4-11 also travel free if they are traveling with an adult who purchased a Eurail pass. All you need to do is select the “Family” tab when purchasing your tickets and enter the amount of children and their free ticket will be automatically added. Up to two children can travel for free with one adult, if you are traveling alone with 3 children you will have to buy a youth pass for one of them.  However if you are two adults traveling you can travel with up to 4 children and only pay for the adult tickets, which is a huge savings.

Not only to kids get perks but, anyone under 27 is considered youth and you will save 20% off your pass.  Purchasing a Eurail Pass also comes with special discounts on city cards and ferries in certain countries. The best part about train travel is there are no luggage fees or weight limits.

Take Eurail’s  quiz for the chance to win your own Eurail Stories and travel to many of their 28 European destinations with airfare, Eurail pass, and hotel all covered.
​