Traveling to Warsaw by Train with Children – a Serious Challenge or a Fun Experience?

We have already written about a train trip to Krakow with children, and this time Agnė Kontautė shares with us the impressions of his trip by train to Warsaw with his children.

Traveling to Warsaw by train with children – a serious challenge or a fun experience? As soon as we heard that Litrail launched the Vilnius-Warsaw train route, we immediately wanted to try it. 9 hours of travel (one way) with a transfer in Mockava and stops at intermediate stops – we talk to friends, think about how it will look with children. You won’t know if you don’t try! Let’s go.

We traveled with 6 adults and 4 children (five, three and two years old) – we bought the tickets in January, two weeks before the trip, because the places were disappearing quite quickly. Theoretically, children under the age of 6 don’t need to buy a ticket, but you won’t be sitting on the lap for that long, so we took a total of 8 round-trip tickets (6 full price and 2 for children at half price).

Preparing for the trip – food and games

First, we found information about the route and service on trains. The trip lasts 9 hours: – ~3 hours on a Lithuanian train and ~6 hours on a Polish train. Transfer takes place in the territory of Lithuania near the border in Mockava (that’s how we learned about an unheard-of Lithuanian town). On the way forward, food and drinks are sold only in the Lithuanian train section with a simple menu (biscuits, chips, sandwiches, coffee, tea, etc.). On the way back, snacks and drinks were also offered on the Polish train, but for a very limited time and with an extremely limited menu (chips, chocolates, coffee, tea).

So, we packed food like a good hike – sandwiches, porridge, fruits, vegetables, yogurts, other snacks and water for the whole day. The most important thing was to have something that our children really like – believe me, it was one of the “trump cards” of the trip.

Friends and Children when Traveling

One of the best solutions is to travel with friends. It was easier for everyone – the children were busy with each other for part of the time, we only needed to catch up (or separate). We had a good chat – it was a luxury to spend so much time together! Well, friends are a help if you want to go to the toilet calmly or before you can put on your shoes, the little one is already at the other end of the train.

All kinds of games were useful for children (it is important that there are no easily lost or small details, you can understand) – coloring/sticker books, sound toys, toy cars, etc. Everything that attracts children’s attention at least for a while.

The advantage of traveling by train – the children (and us) could walk quite freely, explore the carriage or look out of the windows – in this sense it was easier than a long plane flight, where you are forced to sit in one place for a long time (the biggest suffering of children after “being quiet”).

Two Trains – Advantages and Disadvantages

After boarding the Lithuanian train, it was necessary to find a place to put strollers, scooters and suitcases – a special place is reserved only for suitcases (small ones), we put other things near the free seats in the aisles. The carriages are small, the seats are not very spacious. It would not be suitable for a longer trip, but for a shorter section it was fine. The advantage is the nearby rosettes and a neat, large toilet with a changing table for children.

The first part of the trip passed quickly. We successfully reached Mockava, disembarked there. We transferred our things to the arriving Polish train, “vented” our heads outside for about 20 minutes. and we sat down to travel further. The Polish train was much more spacious, it had a special place to store not only suitcases, but also scooters and strollers.

The seats are wide, there is a lot of legroom, as well as the rosettes nearby – I was happy, there was enough comfort.

Traveling for Children

The children, tired from the first part of the trip, fell asleep, and we had an hour to rest, look around or take a nap (whatever we wanted). The remaining few hours passed more slowly (I wouldn’t want to travel further), we had dinner, played the remaining games and were already waiting for the end of the trip.

Aand.. Warsaw! We arrived, successfully and with smiles on our faces, that, well, finally. Warsaw train station is bigger than Vilnius, but nothing unusual, it’s quite easy to figure out where to go, and on the way back it wasn’t difficult to find the platform and the train – everything was written on the notice board.

From the station, we went straight to the rented apartments. We took two apartments next to each other, close to the station (1.3 km) and close to the center – we walked almost everywhere. After dropping off our things, we took a short walk, had a late dinner and went to rest.

Exploring Warsaw by train with kids

Exploring Warsaw by train with kids

One day in Warsaw

We had exactly one day in Warsaw. This was our plan: have breakfast, walk around the old town and visit the Copernicus Museum.

For breakfast, we chose Charlotte Menora, a well-regarded place (you may have to wait in line to get a table). Overall assessment: The baked goods were really tasty, but the rest of the breakfast was a bit disappointing. After breakfast, we walked around the surrounding streets and, as lunch approached, we were already looking for a place to hide again (because it was pouring!) The weather was not kind – it rained all day, so good rain clothes for the children and waterproof shoes for everyone came in very handy.

Lunch and the Evening

For lunch, I highly recommend visiting the Food Hall Browary – here you will find food for various tastes – from pizzas to Thai cuisine or tapas. The place is spacious, has a cozy courtyard, many tables inside and chairs for children.

Copernicus was waiting for us in the evening! Well, more precisely, a museum named after him, which is more like a large laboratory for young and old. We decided to take the metro to the museum – it’s convenient, fast and inexpensive.

We bought museum tickets in advance on the website – you may not get tickets live, there were really many people. We had an embarrassingly short time there: barely an hour. If you have more, feel free to plan 2-3 hours. This is an extremely interesting and meaningful place. The place has various inventions, experiments and laws of the world under one roof. We decided that the best age for children would probably be first grade and older – then you will also see more and the children will be able to explore more on their own.

Kopernik museum

Kopernik museum

Kopernik museum

After the museum, we still had time to go around the old town. We were lucky since in the middle of January, Warsaw was still festively decorated, so it was really beautiful. We had dinner at the Pizzeria 360° Krakowskie Przedmieście restaurant – we were pleasantly surprised by the delicious pasta and pizzas. After everything, we stopped at a grocery store to get some snacks for the return trip.

After returning, we fell into bed – an early train was waiting.

The Journey Back

Without going into too much detail about the return journey – everything went the same way as before. It didn’t last long, nor did it go by faster. It was interesting to share impressions (once again – traveling with friends is more fun!), we occupied the children with games, ate and slept in between. In Mockava, we changed to a Lithuanian train – this meant that we had already traveled most of the way. The half-empty train filled up on the way, especially at the Kaunas station. And an hour later we successfully reached Vilnius!

We’re little tired, but happy. All in all, it was a great decision to try a further trip by train. I think we will do it again, maybe in the summer, to another Polish city. There we’ll be with less jackets, but with no less good mood!

Exploring Warsaw with kids by train

Exploring Warsaw with kids by train

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