Traveling to Central Europe with 3 kids...help with itinerary

Everybody has different styles and speed of travel. You will have to travel at the pace of the slowest member of your group, probably the 7 year old. For my taste, you are moving around too much.

Day 1 you may lose to jet lag. Berlin is a fascinating city where you could easily spend 5 full days or more. You are going to lose at least half a day each time you move countries. Personally, I would drop Krakow and add a day each to Berlin and Budapest. I don't sleep on night trains, so this wouldn't be my transport of choice, as it would wipe me out the following day or two.

There is far more to see in Berlin and Budapest than in Split or Krakow. With children so young, I would opt for Berlin, Poznan and one other city with your given timescale, particularly as you are also proposing to see an additional 3 cities before heading home. This will give you time to experience each place, rather than spending most of the time in transit.

Is this too aggressive/not enough time/too many cities in too little
time/crazy?

YES

I always have the best trips when I keep them compact. You are all over the map on this one.

One or 2 outliers is okay but you are stretching a lot. Why not just make the trip about Poland and France; plus 1 stop. Fly into Krakow so you dont have to make that round trip, then on to Pozan then on to a town in Poland with direct service to either Budapest or Zagreb; then on to Paris. The local flights if you plan well will be under $100

What are the dates for your trip?

I'd skip Split. There's lots to see in Croatia and its neighbor Slovenia. Wait till you can spend more time in that area.

Budapest and Berlin both need more time.

I agree about overnight trains. It's hard to get much sleep in a couchette, and I think regular sleeping compartments are considerably more expensive. Some of your group might well arrive in Budapest without having slept, and you may not be able to get into your lodgings until 3 PM. That would be miserable for adults; I can't imagine what it would be like for young children. Budget hotels will be cheaper and more comfortable than berths in real sleeping compartments, I believe.

The night train between Krakow and Budapest makes nine stops between midnight and 6 AM--each involving braking, station noise, and acceleration. The day train takes more than 8-1/2 hours, which is certainly not ideal. Flying would be a better option, but I don't know whether there will be any reasonably-priced non-stop flights on the day you need to make the trip.

The train will take roughly 3 hours from Berlin to Poznan and about 5 hours or more from Poznan to Krakow. Adding in the time needed to pack, get to the train station, and then get from the train station to your new lodgings, you'll lose about 1/2 day on the first trip and 3/4 day on the second. So consider whether you'll have enough time left for what you want to do in each city. A lot of us don't count travel days at all, figuring that what we manage to see in those days is a bonus.

Thank you so much for your feedback. I had already scaled down from my initial plan, but the travel reality check is super helpful. My children are quite used to being away/on the go for a month or more, just not in Europe. We've previously only spent that kind of time in parts of Asia, US and Central America.

Regarding Split - I was thinking it would be a good respite for the kids amidst all the historical, art, architecture sightseeing. I feel like we will need a little downtime...relaxing by the water. I could certainly add a day each to Budapest and Berlin.

Someone recommended skipping Krakow, but I've heard such wonderful things. If I were to skip Krakow and Split, what are the recommendations in Slovenia and Croatia? I haven't done any research, Split was recommended to me but I'm open to all ideas.

Krakow is a fantastic place but not really for kids, especially as young as 7. My 10 year old would be bored stiff in Krakow whilst my 13 year old would be fine as he's into history and old buildings etc. The proximity to Auschwitz also means that it really should be visited however not with kids so young.

As tempting as all the history and culture is throughout Europe you have to remember how the kids will find it and it's very unlikely that they'll share your enthusiasm and with that in mind I would be looking at splitting your time equally between sightseeing and water based downtime.

What time of year is your trip?

I agree that water activities are probably essential for pacifying young children on long trips. I hadn't thought about Split from that perspective. It's just that I wouldn't travel to a new country for only a few days primarily in search of water. If you're traveling during the summer, you could seek out attractive lakes much closer to your other destinations.

Slovenia has only a tiny bit of coastline in northern Istria, but the town of Piran is very picturesque. It might not be as easy to reach as Split, however, because there are probably flights from Budapest to Split. I don't know that Split is the ideal place to head for beach time, either, though it is indisputably on the coast.

It might work OK to spend 4 days in Istria (both Slovenian and Croatian). There definitely are beaches there. In fact, during summer vacation season there can be back-ups at border crossings heading toward the coast, probably somewhat worse around weekends. Rovinj and Porec are lively (meaning touristy) towns on the Croatian Istrian coast--very different-looking. Two historic towns inland (easy by car, more time-consuming by public bus) are Motovun and Groznjan; I suspect they would not especially excite young children. If yours are dare-devils, check out the zip line in Pazin. (I have no idea whether there's a minimum age.)

Sorry not to be able to contribute anything really useful. I don't do beaches, and I don't have children.

Hi,

If you have 15 days or more, then this trip including staying in London (which should amount to 20 days total) is doable. Take the night train to Budapest, you squeeze out another day. Since the time factor on this trip is tight, I would suggest detailed planning, along with contingency planning. With that it can be done (I could since I know what I'm doing) logistically.

We did a trip a little like this in 2011. We rented a car. It was price competitive, and with kids, it gives you that flexibility. Budapest to Split is a pretty long shot. We went Budapest - Zagreb (started at 8 AM, lunch in Zagreb in the market). We then stayed overnight at Plitvice Lakes. For a 7 YO, a day at Plitvice Lakes may be OK, maybe not, depending on his/her level of nature love. Driving PL to Split was another 4-5 hours. One thing about Split - watch the old town in a car. It can be confusing and has many small streets which have cars parked everywhere. With the size of your party, and the bags, a car might be a very good thought.

I've only traveled twice in Europe with a child, ie, just in France with my grandson when he was 5 and the second time a month prior to his 11th birthday. Traveling with children depends exclusively (barring no health issues) on the family dynamics. It sounds as though your kids are really good troopers. I am sure your children will do fantastic with going to Split or dropping the stay in Split.

If you drop Krakow, you'll still need to reach Budapest from Poznan. Take day/night train. It's a long ride (I'd do it) but with only one change of trains (Krakow) at still a decent hour with ample time before the night train Krakow to Budapest. Have I seen parents (locals) with their kids on night trains? Yes, more than once.