Traveling with Kids During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is upon us! This is a time for family, friends, sharing and love. However, it’s hard to experience all of that when you’re trying to travel with children hyped up on gingerbread cookies and other sweets.

Make your holiday travels stress-free this year with Amtrak!

HOLIDAY TRAVEL WITH AMTRAK

Road trips can be a disaster because of inclement weather and holiday gridlock—not to mention the constant stops, lack of entertainment for the children and being crammed in a packed car. Airports can also a nightmare, especially in December. Mobility is limited for children, security lines are backed up and weather can delay flights for hours—even days at a time.

Amtrak proposes the best option for holiday travel. Here are some of the many ways Amtrak can improve your holiday travels.

BATHROOMS

Does this scenario sound familiar: You’re a few hours into the road trip, there is a gridlock of holiday traffic, and one child needs to visit the nearest restroom. You pull over at a rest stop and are back on the road soon. Just a few minutes later, the next child has to go to the bathroom because they drank their hot chocolate, too fast.That’s another stop in your journey and precious family time at your destination spent. On Amtrak, you and your kids don’t have to worry about losing travel time because the restrooms are right in your train car. Not to mention, the standard for cleanliness is much higher than that of the highway rest stops.

REFRESHMENTS

The holiday season, for some reason, makes children crave sweet and festive candy! If you travel with kids, you will definitely have to feed them snacks and meals, especially for long-distance trips. On Amtrak, you can visit the cafe car (available on journeys from NYC past Albany) whenever you or your kids have a craving for some delectable foods. Now, more than ever, is the best time for cuisine on Amtrak. Don’t forget—Amtrak and Taste NY have recently partnered up to provide guests with the best food and drinks of New York-based companies! You’re not losing out on travel time by walking to the cafe, like you would when pulling over the car while driving.

WIFI

You and your children will love this one: the wifi on Amtrak trains is complimentary! Now, while they make their wish lists, parents can online shop and avoid going to stores! Not to mention “Amtrak Kids Depot,” has online games and activities for the youngins to play individually or with your help without wasting your wireless plan’s data.

SCENERY

It’s hard as a parent to take in the beautiful winter scenery mainly because of the weather, the children being rowdy, or because you’re driving next to large trucks and other cars. On a plane, you miss getting to see the snowy wonders of the land. With Amtrak in New York, families can see the beautiful snowy landscape of the Catskills the Adirondacks, the Hudson River, and Lake Champlain. Children will be amazed by the views that are so different than driving in a car.

TRAFFIC

Actually, what traffic? On Amtrak, you’ll never have to deal with traffic and the headaches that come with it. All you’ll be responsible for is enjoying yourself. You won’t hear your kids asking, “Are we there yet?” because they’ll be having too much fun!

DISCOUNTS

These are crucial during the holiday season! Why pay more for traveling, when everyone knows that saving money during Christmas time is nearly impossible! Children under 2 years old ride for free, and kids ages 2-12 ride at a 50% discount when traveling with an adult over 18 years old. That’s right—you get to sit back, relax and enjoy a traffic-less journey and your kids will ride 50% off. It could not get better.

If the idea of traveling by car or plane with your children this winter is exhausting, then you should consider taking the train to your next holiday getaway. Your kids will revel in the fun winter experience and you get to relax and enjoy your time, not at the wheel of a car on the snowy roads. If you need another reason to choose trains over planes or automobiles, Amtrak offers a 15% discount for train travel within New York. Amtrak stops at tons of family-friendly destinations all over the state. For details about destinations and travel ideas, visit New York By Rail.