What I learnt on a rail adventure across Europe with my kids

“Why can’t we just fly there?” my youngest questions as we stand on the platform waiting for our train to Paris.

I’m about to go Interrailing with my husband and two children, aged eight and 11. I have never done this before. My youth was misspent hopping between beach huts in Southeast Asia, not trains in Europe.

But long-haul flights for four are expensive, and I’m now more conscious of the environmental impact of flying. Plus, Interrail passes are very cost-effective for families. Kids under 12 travel free, and ticket prices are fixed year-round.

“Train travel will be more fun!” I say. “No hanging about in the airport, more room to move around, and flexibility to change plans if we want to.” Airports conjure up visions of queues, restrictions and long, uncomfortable journeys, while travelling by train feels far more civilised.

It seems others agree. Train travel is experiencing a renaissance, with more people opting to take to the rails. There are more routes than ever to enjoy, too, with the EU’s high-speed network nearly doubling in a decade, along with the revival of night trains.**

How to plan a cross-European rail journey with kids

Our route takes in France, Germany, Croatia and Austria, with most of our holiday centred in Slovenia, a country I’ve longed to visit for a while. Slovenia is one of the greenest countries in the world, so it’s a fitting tribute to venture here by one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transport.

Travelling by train instead of flying cuts individual carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent.

However, booking cross-border train travel can be more challenging than opting for a flight. Along with a myriad of different country and route options, juggling different operators, navigating which routes need seat reservations and still have availability, plus ensuring the itinerary isn’t too intense for kids, becomes rather mind-boggling.

The Interrail and Seat61 websites are invaluable in helping smooth out our trip planning woes. For those less inclined to DIY, there’s Byway, a company specialising in organising flight-free trips.

Plans are also underway to improve European rail travel, and the EU is working towards a unified cross-European booking system to simplify the whole process.

Seat reservations open up to three months in advance, so make sure you book early if you want to sit together. When you’re planning your itinerary, it’s a good idea to space out longer journeys too, to prevent kids from getting overwhelmed.

When it comes to accommodation, apartments are also often cheaper and easier for families.

And while you are on the train, a bit of preparation can save you a lot of headaches down the line. Download movies or TV shows to watch in advance as WiFi can be patchy and expensive. Many trains lack decent food options as well, so make sure you pack some snacks.

Trains are a luxury compared to overnight economy flights

Planning now well behind us, we ease into train travel with a short first journey. Eurostar whisks us from London to Paris, where we bed down in a cosy Parisian apartment.

In the morning, fuelled by warm flaky croissants, we hop on the metro to Parc de La Villette, a fantastic family-friendly urban park in the northeast of the capital and wander back slowly along Canal St. Martin to Gare de l’Est for our onward journey—first to Stuttgart and then overnight to Zagreb.

The novelty factor is still high, and my two children love sitting on the upper deck of the German train. “It travels at 199 miles an hour!” exclaims my eldest, tackling a giant pretzel. Jaws drop when they find out that some Swiss trains have playgrounds on board.

Travelling overnight by train is also unique. Our private couchette had six small bunks, a lockable door and a bottle of water and a croissant each. Some of the newer sleeper trains have showers and room service on board, though I’m selective in who I divulge this information to in case the kids feel like they’re missing out.

Either way, it’s luxury compared to flying economy class overnight, and still a fraction of the price. And boarding just 15 minutes before departure? A dream.

Cable cars and wacky museums in Zagreb

We wake to softly falling snow in Austria before rattling alongside ice-cold rivers towards Zagreb, Croatia’s overlooked capital. The city greets us with a blast — quite literally — as the Gric cannon fires its daily noon salute from the Lotrščak Tower, a tradition that’s held strong since 1877.

Zagreb’s quirks are further unveiled as we admire grand Austro-Hungarian façades rubbing shoulders with Brutalist buildings, a pretty botanical garden adjacent to graffitied walls, and damaged steps patched up with colourful mosaic tiles. There are nearly 50 weird and wonderful museums here too, covering everything from broken relationships to hangovers.

We plump for the more kid-appropriate museum of laughter, the Ha Ha House, with its upside-down rooms and distorted mirrors.

Our friend Ivo tells us Mount Medvicnica, to the north of the city, is a beloved part of Zagreb, so we board a cable car and ride dizzyingly high up to explore its trails.

“On Mondays, people will ask if you made it into the hills. If you did, it means you had a good weekend. Good moods are found up there,” he says.

Moods are good back on board the train, too. The rhythmic clickety-clack of old carriages and the ever-changing European landscapes unfolding are soporific and soothing. We settle into the enforced downtime easily with Uno battles, books and a little bit of screen time. A young interrailer remarks that our trip is ‘‘so cool,” and my boys grin, chuffed they have impressed her.

The urban sprawl of Zagreb soon gives way to forested hills, wide turquoise rivers, and clusters of houses on the hills. “Look! A mountain! With snow!” shouts my youngest, as we forge into Slovenia.

Fairytale castles and crowd-free skiing in Slovenia

Slovenia’s enchanting capital, Ljubljana, is instantly likeable. A compact, car-free centre of cobbled streets and café-lined riverbanks, it’s made for wandering. Trees are in blossom everywhere when we arrive.

We stretch our legs further in Ljubljana’s prettiest public space, Tivoli Park, before stomping up to the medieval castle’s viewing tower for sweeping views of the winding River Ljubljanica and the red-roofed city.

At Bled, we bike ride around Slovenia’s most famous lake, admiring the fairytale cliff-top castle and 15th-century Gothic church marooned on a tiny central island.

But it is Bohinj we truly fall for. It’s quieter and wilder. There’s no station here, so more effort is needed to reach it. Better for us, I think, as we canoe through water as clear as glass on Lake Bohinj, with only the surrounding mountains for company.

Late afternoons bring the fresh mountain air and the kitesurfers, so we head home for thick hot chocolate and Bled cake, a cream and calorie-filled local pastry, which tastes as good as it looks.

Central to Bohinj are the mountains, and we are lucky enough to catch the tail end of the ski season at Vogel, 1535m above the lake. My husband takes off to enjoy the crowd-free slopes alone, and a one-to-three ski lesson enables my boys and me to wobble down a blissfully quiet blue run by mid-afternoon.

The boys are hooked. As the cable car carries us silently back up into the peaceful snowy peaks for another slow descent, we plot our return.

Alas, it is finally time to leave. Valleys become steeper and mountains loom larger as Slovenia moves aside for Austria. Fluffy clouds scud across the blue sky as we whizz through the dramatic alpine landscape. “We’d miss seeing all this going by plane,” my husband says.

After a fleeting stop in Salzburg, where we eyeball Mozart’s birthplace and play at the rather excellent Spielzeug Museum (toy museum), our journey takes us via Stuttgart back home to the UK.

Breaking off another bit of Austrian chocolate, just to check it still tastes good, my youngest muses, “In the end, I’m glad we didn’t fly.” High praise indeed.

Train travel was provided by Interrail.eu.