Europe travel by train 1 adult 2 kids

indigogirl_3

I have been looking into the possibility of going to Europe this summer by rail with my 2 children age 13 and 10. (I'm not confident enough to drive on my own in Europe so trains seemed a better option than flying or perhaps fly/train would be an option? )

I thought we would go to Paris by Eurostar initially, stay appx 3 days and then onward from there (only at the initial planning stage!)

The first problem I am finding is accommodation for 3 where 2 are under 18 as this means a family room in a hotel - 2 rooms aren't possible on account of their ages. I'll consider any safe accommodation.

Has anyone any suggestions?
Has anyone got experience of this sort of adventure as a single parent?
Are there any websites which might help me plan?

Ah and did I mention the shoestring?
I'd be grateful for any suggestions even if they are to shelve the plan.
Budget is abt £1500

Thx

damoderby

Have you tried https://www.seat61.com.
It is the font of all train knowledge.

indigogirl_3

Thanks. Seat 61 is fabulous on the train side of things.

Accommodation is proving a bit trickier tho. I guess not many people travel on their own like this with kids

LittleMrsThrifty

indigogirl wrote: »

The first problem I am finding is accommodation for 3 where 2 are under 18 as this means a family room in a hotel - 2 rooms aren't possible on account of their ages. I'll consider any safe accommodation.

Has anyone any suggestions?

I would have thought a family room would be ideal for you? Although it may sleep up to 4 people whereas you'd only have 3 it would still allow you to share a room with your two children and therefore not have to worry about their safety. The other option may be a triple room, searching as if you were to have 2 adults and 1 child and then checking with the hotel whether 1 adult and 2 children would be acceptable (I can't see why it wouldn't?), but this would probably result in 1 double bed and 1 single so it depends whether any of you are up for sharing?

Ponkle22

I have done this with two children in tow. You generally end up paying as two adults and one child - which is annoying but......

Ponkle22

Also, if you make it as far as Italy, two things come to mind:

1) It is normal for Italian hotels to put more beds in the room.

2) If you make it as far as Florence in Italy..... (you could fly/train to Pisa and go down the western coast - Pisa then Florence, then Rome, then Naples then Sorrento or the island of Ischia then fly home from Naples)...... there is a lovely cheap but charming 3 room in the Hotel Elite in Florence. Though it might be booked up of course.

Rome is very expensive btw.

If you make it to Croatia finding a room where the children can share is VERY hard work.

Hope these ideas help.

Oldernotwiser

For travel in France, look at chains like Etap and B&B as these have rooms to sleep 3 and sometimes even 4.

I'd also suggest looking at some of the European Youth Hostels, many of which have small family dormitories with private bathrooms. I've stayed in some in Paris, Brussels and Bruges and can highly recommend them.

Whereabouts are you thinking of heading ?

Voyager2002

I endorse the Youth Hostel idea.

Note that the cheapest tickets for journeys to and from Paris are offered for advance booking on the voyages-sncf web site, but only the French version. (If you click on the little union jack, you get taken to another site which is in English and charges a lot more.)

indigogirl_3

Some excellent ideas.
Exactly the sort of info I was hoping for.
Great tips about booking French tickets and Yh family rooms.

It seems that its not the travelling part but the eating part that might make it prohibitively expensive

damoderby

Are you really dead set against driving?
It really is completely different driving in France than the UK.We drove from Calais to the Vendee,it took about 6/7 hours but was a real pleasure.The main roads outside of cities are really empty its like driving in a car advert with plenty of places to stop for breaks.Just invest in a decent satnav.
We stayed at a place called St Jean de Monts which is full of campsites with loads of Brits.The whole area is set up really well for families with loads to do and see as well as glorious sandy beaches.
We stayed in a mobile home which we booked with www.directcamping.co.uk , they are a lot cheaper than Eurocamp,Keycamp etc.
I can understand your wariness about driving overseas with 2 youngsters . I felt the same way but found it was the best holiday we've ever had.

Also if you've got clubcard points they can be used for the eurotunnel crossing.

HTH

DCFC79

Hotels in france in order of quality(could have been improved over the last 6 years or so), some of them include breakfast in price of the room or its a little bit extra,

formule 1
etap
balladins
villages hotel
ibis
premier classe


ive stayed in a couple of hotels from each brand and they are perfectly acceptable and the majority(from experience) of them are reasonably(walking distance) close to a shopping centre with hypermarket, place/s to eat etc

HTH