Anyone been on Eurostar with a todder?

[verds]

I just booked Eurostar tickets, and didn't book one for my toddler as she's under four.

Which means she won't get her own seat.

So now I'm wondering if I should book her a child's ticket in case things get a bit squashy. (We're travelling with a baby as well.)

Has anyone taken a toddler without the promise of a seat?

The journey's only an hour and a half, but it's in August when the train will probably be busy, so I'm wondering if I've scrimped too far!

[nikki73]

We ve done it with 2 kids one 2+ and a baby a couple of times. It's a bit cramped if the train is full but it is a relatively short journey.you could try booking the seats facing each other although at peak times you might end up with another family with kids. If money is an issue I wouldn't bother booking the extra seat, unless perhaps you re on the Eurodisney train which is packed with families.if you go to the seating plan, you ll get a feel for how busy your train is. Good luck!

[lucyA1308]

We went to scotland - 5 hr journey, with a 4 month and a 2 + yr old. It worked ok with them on our knees, because the baby hadn't yet got to the wriggly stage, and the toddler had just come down from that, and was a bit more able to focus on stories, colouring etc.

We were in a family carriage, so everyone else was in the same situation, which was nice. Sometimes the kids ran up and down the aisle together, sometimes they shared out their books / snacks etc. pack a few new books to keep their interest going.

Perhaps you can arrange a nap time, so that they both fall asleep on your lap, and you can all have a bit of a snooze.

[jollybaby]

I recently took the direct Eurostar to Avignon with my 21 month old daughter I paid extra for a seat for her as didn't think I could cope for 5 1/2 hours with her on my lap. Mr JB wasn't with us and so I was also worried about ending up with a random next to us - not sure they would have enjoyed being in close confinement with a toddler for that long!

the journey itself was fine. We walked to the buffet car a few times and she sat quite contentedly in her seat for most of it. I packed a bag full of colouring books, stickers, toys, books and lots of food. The iPad also came in handy towards the end. There were lots of families and so nobody seemed to mind a little noise.

You'll probably be fine doing a shorter journey without the extra seat. There were loads of empty seats in our carriage so you may be lucky there too. Happy travels.