Tickets for children: do I need to buy one?
Whether a child can travel for a discounted rate or for free depends on the rail operator and age. Below you will find more details about each rail operator’s child ticket fares and reservation requirements.
Child tickets
SNCF: There’s no extra cost for children under 4. They do not need a ticket or reservation as long as they sit on an accompanying adult’s lap. If a seat reservation is desired, a Forfait Bambin ticket can be purchased for €9 and can be purchased by including the child as a passenger in the reservation.
Renfe-SNCF: Children under 4 years of age must be included in the reservation. They travel free if no seat reservation is made for them, but they are expected to sit on the lap of an accompanying adult for the duration of the journey. If a seat reservation is desired, there is a 40% reduction in the ticket price from the “Flexi” or “Essential” fares (according to availability at the time of booking). This reduction is also applied to any children travelling under the age of 14.
Eurostar: There’s no extra cost for children under 4. They do not need a ticket or reservation as long as they sit on an accompanying adult’s lap. If a seat reservation is desired, round trip child tickets start from €61 and can be purchased by including the child as a passenger in the reservation.
Deutsche Bahn: Children under 6 do not need a seat reservation or a ticket. So they do not need to be included in your reservation and do not need to present a ticket on board. If you add them to your booking, they will not appear on the e-ticket.
Children between 6 and 14 years of age travel for free (when travelling with their parent or grandparents) yet they must have a ticket, so please include them as a passenger in your reservation. You must add the optional seat reservation if you're booking 2nd class. If you're booking 1st class, the seat reservation is automatically added.
Children between 6 and 14 years of age cannot travel for free on cross-border journeys between Germany and France. You must buy them a ticket if traveling between these two countries.
If they are travelling alone or with someone who is not a parent or grandparent, children under 15 will pay 50% of the normal ticket price. Please note: this type of fare is currently not available on Trainline Europe. We recommend booking a separate ticket at www.bahn.de.
Thalys: There’s no extra cost for children under 4. They do not need a ticket or reservation as long as they sit on an accompanying adult’s lap. If a seat reservation is desired, Kid tickets start from €15 one-way and can be purchased by including the child as a passenger in the reservation.
Lyria: There’s no extra cost for children under 4. They do not need a ticket or reservation as long as they sit on an accompanying adult’s lap. If a seat reservation is desired, Baby Pass tickets start from €9 and can be purchased by including the child as a passenger in the reservation.
Thello: Children under the age of 4 can travel free of charge, and do not require a ticket, provided they share a bed or a couchette with an adult accompanying them. There is a limit of one child (under 4) per adult. If you are travelling with more than one child under 4 years old per accompanying adult, you need to book an additional bed or couchette.
Children between the ages of 4 and 14 must have their own couchette or bed and must be included in your reservation.
OUIBUS: Infants under the age of 24 months (on the day of departure) will receive a half-price ticket. Each infant is required to be accompanied by at least one adult. Please remember to carry a form of identification for each child, since this will be requested at boarding. Children between the ages of 24 months and 12 receive 25% off their tickets. A form of identification is also needed, and it must mention the child's birth date and have a picture of them on it.
OUIGO: A seat reservation costs €5 for children under 12.
Trenitalia: Trenitalia’s child discounts differ depending on the type of train and route. On national trains, children aged 4 and under (on the day of departure) travel free, without a seat reservation. They are expected to sit on the lap of an accompanying adult for the duration of the journey. Children aged 4-14 receive a 50% discount. Anyone above the age of 14 is given adult fare on national trains.
On all regional trains, except in the regions of Campania, Abruzzo, Lombardia, Sardinia and in the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano (see below for details), children under the age of 4 (on the day of departure) travel free, without a seat. They are expected to sit on the lap of an accompanying adult for the duration of the journey. Children aged 4-11 receive a 50% discount. Children aged 12 and above pay full price on regional trains.
Tickets for children in the regions of Abruzzo, Bolzano, Lombardia, Trento, and Sardinia
Abruzzo: children under one metre in height, accompanied by an adult, travel for free, without a seat.
Bolzano: children under the age of 6, accompanied by an adult, travel for free, without a seat. Child of the age of 6, as long as they are living in the province of Bolzano and are not yet attending school also travel for free, without a seat.
Campania: children under the age of 6 accompanied by an adult, travel for free, without a seat.
Lombardia: children under the age of 4 (on the day of departure) accompanied by an adult travel for free, without a seat. Children aged 4-14 (on the day of departure) receive a 50% discount. Children aged 14 and above pay full price on regional trains.
Trento: children under the age of 6 years accompanied by an adult (paying or with a free ticket or ticket pass) travel free, and can have a seat. An adult is allowed to travel with up to 5 children of under the age of 6 at a time.
Sardinia: children under the age of 6 accompanied by an adult, travel for free, without a seat.(proof of age has to be supplied upon demand). If an adult is travelling with more than one child under the age 6, they must purchase a travel ticket at the appropriate full fare for every two children (e.g. one child travels for free, two children - one full fare ticket, three children - one full fare ticket, four children - two full fare tickets, and so on).
SPECIAL FARES
Lazio-Fiumicino Airport fare 1_Ter: Children under the age of 4 (on the day of departure) travel for free if they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. Children between the age of 4 and 12 (on the day of departure) also travel for free, if accompanied by an adult with a valid travel ticket. Only one child per paying adult can travel for free.
Fare 14 for urban/metropolitan areas: In the cities of Bari, Rome, Venice, Palermo, and Turin, as a special Fare 14 exists for child tickets, regional discounts for children don't apply.
Trenitalia's Bimbi Gratis fare allows children under 15 to travel for free if they’re included in a family/ group booking of 2-5 people (with at least one adult and at least one child under the age of 15). The other members of the group pay the Basic price for their tickets and the child under 15 travels free.
This offer is available in 1st and 2nd class on Frecciarossa (Business, Premium, and Standard service), Frecciargento, Frecciabianca, and Intercity trains. This offer does not apply to Night trains or Executive level trains.
Tip: the unofficial method of booking a reserved seat for a child under the age of 4 on a Trenitalia or Renfe train is by entering the child's age as 6-14. The child will still receive the 50% discount and s/he will be given a seat on the train.
Italo: If it's available, you can get the Italo Family offer, and children under 14 years of age travel free of charge with their family in Smart ambiance and if Adults purchase a Flex ticket. According to Italo's Family offer conditions, a family or group is composed of minimum 2 and maximum 4 people, with at least 1 passenger over 18 years of age. Infants under 36 months of age are not counted, as they can travel without a seat on an adult’s lap. If the offer is available, you will see it displayed in the fare conditions to the right of the timetables when you conduct a search.
The rules for Italo special child fare: children under the age of 3 years (36 months) travel for free if they sit on an accompanying adult’s lap.
NS: In the Netherlands, all tickets for children aged 11 and younger cost €2.50. As of 12, all children are charged a standard adult/youth fare. Children up to the age of 3 may travel for free if they do not occupy a seat themselves and are able to sit on an accompanying adult‘s lap. This means they do not have to be included in your reservation and do not require a ticket.
SNCB/NMBS: Children under the age of 12 travel for free in Belgium if they are accompanied by someone over the age of 12 (adult/youth) when travelling. This is valid for up to 4 children per adult/youth. For the 5th child, a ticket would have to be purchased and will be sold at a discounted rate of 50%. If the child is included in your reservation, they will be charged a standard child fare ticket.
SBB: In Switzerland, children under the age of 6 travel for free if they are travelling with an accompanying adult/youth that is at least 12 years of age. A maximum of 4 children under the age of 6 are able to travel for free in this case. If the accompanying adult/youth is 16 or older, then a maximum of 8 children are able to travel for free. The children do not need to be included in your reservation and instead only the accompanying adult/youth must have a valid ticket. If they are included in your reservation, you will see that the price of their ticket is €0.00. If there are more than 8 children travelling, each additional child must have a ticket and will be offered a fare that is at least 50% of the standard adult price.
Children between the ages of 6 and 11 travel for free and need to be included in your reservation. You will see the cost of their ticket is listed as €0.00. As of the age of 12, all children pay the standard adult fare.
ÖBB: In Austria, children under the age of 6 always travel for free when accompanied by an adult. They must be included in the booking and their ticket price will be listed as €0.00. Children between 6 and 15 receive a 50% discount. As 15 years of age, all children are considered adults and will be charged the standard adult ticket price.
ALSA: Children from ages 4 to 11 receive a 30% discount on fares. Children from ages 0 to 3 travel for free when accompanied by an adult on the same booking. They do not need to be included in your reservation and do not need to present a ticket on board.