Travelling With Children On The Canadian

[jim-sK6dKysfGH7D0D/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

I am planning a vacation next summer on the Canadian with my family; myself, my wife, and
my 2 daughters aged 12 and 9. We plan to travel from Vancouver to Toronto for 4 days.
I was wondering what experience you have travelling with children on the train. Although
my daughters are pretty good entertaining themselves, I am worried that they might get
bored with 4 straight days of train travel. I am also concerned about the impact on
other passengers. My girls are very well behaved, but they are children. A few years
back we took a cruise and some of the older passengers made it clear they did not
appreciate their presence.


I would also appreciate any advice you can offer in terms of which sleeping class to book,
when / how to book to get the best deal, etc.





Jim G.

[llholmes1948-/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

I think your family will do fine and it will hopefully be a memorable and pleasant trip. I would not recommend getting upper and lower berths but would recommend one or two room accommodations (Others can better advise you of your options in that regard.) In that way if one or more family members wish to take a nap during the day they can go back to the room, close the door, and sleep. This is not so easy in an open berth.


Bring some maps so you can present a geography lesson to your daughters. And hopefully they like to read.


We took our children on a number of rail trips when they were growing up although none were as long as the Canadian. I was pleased to see that my daughter has often used rail transit for her trips (even without my urging.) Didn't work for my son, he became an aerospace engineer and always flies except that he and I did travel on the Crescent a few years ago (I paid for it - that was probably the incentive).


I bet that many passengers will enjoy having your children on board. Don't worry about the cranks.
And I hope you will post a report of your trip.


Lyman Holmes

[douglas.bardeau-FFYn/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

My family made the westbound trip with children ages 7 and 10. At the time, we had family in Saskatchewan, so we took a two day break half way through the trip.There were a fair portion of seniors on the trip - no one complained. There happened to be another family aboard for one of the legs, which was a bonus.

We had two sections rather than rooms. For the children, the open sections were more fun, and less expensive. For the first leg, we were able to get sections across from each other, for the second leg, we were on the same side, but adjacent. The side by side open sections allow one to see out either side of the train when the dome is full.



Doug Bardeau

[Charles Peck [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

I would certainly want to consider a cabin for three AKA drawing room.
With three berths, one lower could be left made down for when someone
needs a nap. And a private place to take them should a child get
rambunctious. And speaking as someone who grew up traveling with a
railroad family, this sort of travel is
such a wonderful experience. Looking at the tops of clouds is not a
cherished memory.
Chuck Peck
Gainesville FL

Post by douglas.bardeau-FFYn/***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
My family made the westbound trip with children ages 7 and 10. At the
time, we had family in Saskatchewan, so we took a two day break half way
through the trip.There were a fair portion of seniors on the trip - no one
complained. There happened to be another family aboard for one of the legs,
which was a bonus.
We had two sections rather than rooms. For the children, the open sections
were more fun, and less expensive. For the first leg, we were able to get
sections across from each other, for the second leg, we were on the same
side, but adjacent. The side by side open sections allow one to see out
either side of the train when the dome is full.
Doug Bardeau