MTomek
Traveller
0 comments
Posted 8 years ago
Hi,
I'm following this forum for some time as a guest, and I have to say that I am amazed how helpful it is (thank you for that).
Now I'm planning my first family train trip so I decided to sign in and ask for help.
Anyway our plan is to take night train on 30th April from Zagreb to Munich. We will stay there for two days than we are planinng to go to Bordeaux (thee should be one short stop - Paris. In Bordeaux we are staying 3 days and than plan is to go to Bilbao(3 days staying). After that Barcelona is next on the list. After one or two days in Barcelona we will go to Nice (or somewhere near). After Nice, Genoa is next stop for one night. From Genova back to Zagreb.
I'm traveling with my wife and two little babies (1 and 3 years old).
Do you think that this route is ok for kids.
I would like to know where on this route We could take night trains?
Is there OK to bring stroller in trains?
Also, I am wondering wihich interrail ticket to take, or should I consider point to point tickets?
I hope that this is not to many questions?
Thnk you,
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
Thank for your kind words! :)
I think when travelling with small kids you shouldnt travel too long distances and avoid many changes. The route is good, lets have a closer look:
Munich - Paris: There is a direct TGV early in the morning (dep 0625) which might be a bit too early. Maybe leave a bit later, travel to Stuttgart and then take a TGV from there.
TGV have compulsory reservation, 13€ in 2nd class: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/tgv-alleo/172[/u]
If you want, you can spend some time in Stuttgart for a quick walk, just walk Königstraße in front of the station for a few hundred meters and you will reach Schloßplatz with a nearby nice park.
Paris - Bordeaux: Regular direct TGV services; online reservation possible via [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf/reservation/[/ux]
Bordeaux - Bilbao: This is a bit more complicated but you\'ll do fine: First, you have to travel to the border at Hendaye. There are a couple of TGV trains but I\'d recommend taking a regular TER regional train where you do not need reservations and which are almost as fast as the TGV.
At Hendaye, change to Euskotren local train to get directly to Bilbao via San Sebastian. Euskotren does not accept Interrail, but tickets are very cheap. If you want, you could break the journey at San Sebastian for a quick look to the promenade and beach.
Euskotren schedule: [u]http://www.euskotren.eus/sites/www2.euskotren.es/files/G10_Donostia_BilbaoINV2014CMODImp_1.pdf[/u]
Bilbao - Barcelona: There are two direct Alvia trains which I would definitely recommend; all other options require awkward changes of trains. 6,50€ reservation
Barcelona - Nice: Is a very long trip, requiring many changes and/or travelling with trains with expensive reservations. I would definitely recommend adding one extra stop, for instance Montpellier, Nimes, Avignon or Marseille.
Nice - Genoa is easy; frequent regional trains run from Nice to the border station of Ventimiglia, from there you can continue by regional trains to Genoa.
Sometimes there are also slightly faster IC trains which you could also use. Do not use the direct Thello trains as these require an extra ticket costing 26€ (you would not need to use a travel day though if you travel with Thello!).
Genoa - Zagreb isnt possible within one day; I would make an intermediate stop either in Venice, Trieste or at Lake Bled.
There is no night train available except for Zagreb - Munich at the start of your trip.
You could think about Interrail ticket with 7 travel days in one month. This would cover: Munich - Paris, Paris - Bordeaux, Bordeaux - Hendaye, Bilbao - Barcelona, Barcelona - somewhere, somewhere - Nice, Genoa - last stop before Zagreb.
Then, buy additional tickets for Hendaye - Bilbao; Nice - Genoa with direct Thello train and from your last stop to Zagreb plus Zagreb - Munich night train.
To compare prices of regular tickets use:
[ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] or [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux] for Munich - Paris
[ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux] for Paris - Bordeaux and Bordeaux - Hendaye
[ux]https://rail.shop/acprail/renfe[/ux] or renfe.com for Bilbao - Barcelona
[ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux] for fast connections Barcelona - Nice
[ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux] or thello.com for direct Thello train Nice - Genoa
[ux]https://rail.shop/acprail/trenitalia[/ux] or trenitalia.com for Genoa - Trieste
For the remainder of the trip we\'ll have to see first how you want to travel back to Zagreb.
We are official partners of interrail.eu - to support the free information and the forum on railcc, please be fair and buy your official Interrail pass via our railcc partner link: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Thank you! :)
Flo 8)