Train Travel

Keywords: train, travel

By Stacy DeBroff

• Book well in advance. Many trains offer a limited number of sleeper cars or family cabins that you can book for overnight or cross-country travel.

• Find out details about the various accommodations offered on the train. Even some private rooms might not be large enough to sleep your family comfortably. If you live close enough to the train station, go down and ask to take a look at the actual compartments to help you gauge what type of seat or room you will need.

• Find out which amenities will be available for the entire length of your trip.

• Request a room that is not over the wheels, which can be noisy.

• Ask what services the line offers families with small children. Most do not have cribs or high chairs.

• Ask if your train allows you to check bags through to your destination, or if you are responsible for them for all or part of the trip.

• Pack your own food and drinks. Food on the train can be expensive, unreliable, sometimes inedible, and the hours of the dining cars vary. Especially on trains outside the U.S., the tap water is not potable. Bring plenty of water for drinking and brushing your teeth.

• As in all other travel, pack a bag of goodies for your child filled with games, toys, and snacks.

• Look at a map or atlas for sights or landmarks to search for along the way.

• Put your child next to the window, as the view will often mesmerize him and save you long stretches of entertaining.

• If your travel itinerary includes a long layover, find out what kind of sightseeing you and your family can do while you wait for the train to get started again.

• Trains do not have seat belts, so don’t bother lugging your car seat onto the train.

• The length of train rides can cause some children to become stir-crazy and run up and down the aisles. This proves dangerous because a sudden lurch or stop could send your child into a seat or a fellow passenger. Establish a rule that your child may only walk around while holding an adult’s hand.

Stacy, heralded as a “parenting guru” by the Wall Street Journal, authored four best-selling parenting books (Simon & Schuster) and launched Mom Central, Inc. (www.MomCentral.com), a company devoted to providing savvy advice to simplify and enrich the lives of busy Moms and their families. Stacy appears as a regular parenting expert on national TV show, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, The View, Tyra Banks Show, CBS’ Early Show, The Daily Buzz, Mike And Juliet, Fox & Friends, and the Rachael Ray Show. Stacy also serves as a corporate spokesperson, trendspotting for the media on behalf of over 30 national brands.

In the 1990’s, Stacy founded and ran as an attorney the Public Interest Office at Harvard Law School. Stacy lives with her husband, Ron, and happily engages in imperfect parenting of their two teens, Kyle and Brooks, in Boston, Massachusetts.