Going on a train trip with family, does that tempt you? In this article, Amélie, behind the YouTube channel Five on track, tells us about her amazing journey of 4 months on the train across 15 countries, with her three sons and husband. Follow the guide!
French‑Hungarian, travel lovers and parents of three boys aged 12, 9 and 5, we decided to turn our everyday life into a big adventure: four months on the rails of Europe…
No kerosene, no sky streaked with white contrails — just rails, landscapes, stations and time. The train journey seemed obvious to us: a slower, closer, more conscious mode of transport.
Our ambition? To show our children (and ourselves) that adventure can rhyme with family… and carbon sobriety.
Since April, we've already crossed 14 countries and the adventure continues. Here’s our journey so far:
Our easternmost point? The Black Sea. And by the school term, we still plan to cross Serbia, Hungary again, Austria and northern Italy before heading back home.
Our son on the Polish train
The whole family in Finland
A big backpack each (except for the youngest, equipped with a small toy bag) and two small daypacks. Layered clothing, the onion method (stacked) for Nordic climates.
We chose to not take an Interrail pass. Why? Because with three children, spontaneity has limits: we wanted to ensure we had seats side by side, especially on night trains. And in our case, booking in advance was often cheaper.
We try to stay at least 4‑5 nights per stop – ideally via accommodation on the Home Exchange platform. Less running, more landmarks for children. Traveling is not just “seeing”, it’s “living in a place”, even briefly.
Old town of Riga in Latvia
The Stockholm–Narvik remains our favorite with a wake‑up in the snow… Tip: have a small accessible bag for the night (pajamas, toothbrush, water, snacks…).
Many accommodations have no blinds, and in Luleå in Sweden in May, the sun rose at… 3:30. A good sleep mask is essential.
Regular calls with friends (long live video), reunions with family or friends met along the way: it helped us keep balance in this rolling closed room.
On the Narvik‑Lulea train
Our children are schooled in the public system in Paris. We obviously anticipated their absence, talked with their teachers, and
clarified the trip to the Academy.
Every day we took out the textbooks, notebooks, or an app. The goal? Stay in the pool in math and languages. For the rest, we counted on museums, exhibitions, encounters, landscapes… Another way to learn.
Organization? Two groups, one parent per group, and we rotated each week. Surprisingly, it worked better than during Covid!
On the way to Sweden!
Before, our two older ones only read manga. This trip reconciled them with novels: thanks to the e‑reader! Train journeys became reading bubbles.
Talking with other travelers, hosts, children in parks… Their English made a leap forward.
With one bag per person, we chose the essentials. Here’s what we could find:
Result? They didn't ever bored.
Whether you’re solo, in a couple, or with family… the train changes your way of traveling: you feel the miles, you cross seasons, you absorb the landscapes. The journey becomes an experience again, not just a destination. Our best advice if you want to try the adventure? Go for it!
To follow Amélie’s and her family's adventures on the rails, head to their Instagram account @fiveontrack !
Amélie a créé Five on Track, une aventure familiale franco-hongroise avec trois enfants curieux et voyageurs, portée par un rêve simple : traverser l’Europe en train, à vitesse humaine. À travers ce projet, elle défend un voyage en train lent et engagé, pour vivre l’Europe autrement et raconter de nouveaux récits durables.
