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Route suggestions for Father and son trip

J

My son loves travelling and discovering new countries. He turns 13 this July and a couple of years ago we agreed that for his 13th birthday we would do a big trip together.

I'm looking for:

A. Central Europe route suggestions that cover a good number of countries

B. Scandinavian route suggestions that include Finland

We are planning to be travelling for 14 days. We would like to spend time in each country to really experience it (2/3 days). We also enjoy doing long distance train journeys and nighttime journeys.

All suggestions welcome.

Many thanks

Best answer by thibcabe

Let me add some suggestions here... :)

A personal favorite of mine (though I'm not alone) is the Bernina railway in Switzerland. You could do something like:

- UK - Paris - Strasbourg (overnight) -> expensive high-speed trains, must be booked ahead of time

- Strasbourg - Basel - Zurich - Chur or somewhere in Engadin (little hike maybe) -> very frequent trains, all reservation-free. Motto: go with the flow.

- Chur/Engadin - Tirano : the trip's highlight aka the Bernina Railway! In summer there are open-air wooden carriages, regular carriages with pull-down windows or the touristy Bernina Express.

- same day continue towards Lake Como and Milan: a replacement bus will be involved (upgrading works for the 2026 Olympics) but don't worry about it, it's well setup.

- Northern Italy - Trieste - Ljubljana: rather than Milan perhaps stay for a night or two in either Verona, Bergamo, etc.

- Ljubljana - Zurich or Stuttgart night train: very convenient and usually not too expensive. Book a private double sleeper ahead of time.

- Stuttgart - Paris - UK: you could head home straight after the night train. Do allow for a 1-2h delay into Stuttgart.

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T
Full steam ahead
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  • thibcabe
  • Full steam ahead
  • 4912 replies
  • Answer
  • March 11, 2025

Let me add some suggestions here... :)

A personal favorite of mine (though I'm not alone) is the Bernina railway in Switzerland. You could do something like:

- UK - Paris - Strasbourg (overnight) -> expensive high-speed trains, must be booked ahead of time

- Strasbourg - Basel - Zurich - Chur or somewhere in Engadin (little hike maybe) -> very frequent trains, all reservation-free. Motto: go with the flow.

- Chur/Engadin - Tirano : the trip's highlight aka the Bernina Railway! In summer there are open-air wooden carriages, regular carriages with pull-down windows or the touristy Bernina Express.

- same day continue towards Lake Como and Milan: a replacement bus will be involved (upgrading works for the 2026 Olympics) but don't worry about it, it's well setup.

- Northern Italy - Trieste - Ljubljana: rather than Milan perhaps stay for a night or two in either Verona, Bergamo, etc.

- Ljubljana - Zurich or Stuttgart night train: very convenient and usually not too expensive. Book a private double sleeper ahead of time.

- Stuttgart - Paris - UK: you could head home straight after the night train. Do allow for a 1-2h delay into Stuttgart.

T
Full steam ahead
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  • thibcabe
  • Full steam ahead
  • 4912 replies
  • March 11, 2025

Perhaps this wasn't enough Central European. ;)

Alternatively something like:

- London - Brussels Eurostar followed by the Brussels - Prague night train run by European Sleeper (not daily). Waking up along the Elbe is really cool.

- Prague - Brno (to avoid visiting only capitals!)

- Brno - Tatra mountains: some nice scenery there and cute little trains

- Tatra - Budapest

- Budapest - Vienna - Graz

- Graz - Zurich: long-distance EuroCity across the Alps. There's a 1st class panorama carriage.

- Zurich - ... - home

(Budapest - Zurich/Stuttgart night train exists as well.)

About option B with Finland: the obvious idea would be a loop around the Baltic Sea. I'm not a big expert on the Baltics but I know international train connections have recently gotten better.

The Hamburg - Stockholm night trains (SJ and Snälltåget) are extremely convenient so I'd recommend them. Book ahead of time. Same for Stockholm - up north.

We always recommend the Man in Seat 61 website for much helpful advice, for example: https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

 

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