Trains and ferries with a baby

Trains and ferries are the gentler way to travel with a baby: you can walk about, feed when you need to, skip airport liquid limits for baby milk, and bring your stroller or pushchair free. They're usually much lower-carbon than flying too.

Rules come from each operator's own website, checked October 2026.

Start here: US, UK & European rail and ferries

• Amtrak with a baby or toddler (US)infants under 2 ride free on your lap (50% off for ages 2–12), two extra baby items (stroller, car seat or diaper bag) go free on top of two 50 lb carry-ons, free Red Cap boarding, and Coach vs Roomette vs Family Bedroom sleeper cars.Read the guide →
• Pushchairs on trains and ferriesNational Rail, Eurostar, P&O Ferries and DFDS.Read the guide →
• Sleeper trains with a babyCaledonian Sleeper to Scotland and the Night Riviera to Cornwall, with free under-5s, rooms, cots and pushchairs.Read the guide →
• New York City subway, LIRR & NYC Ferry with a babyaccessible MTA elevator stations, open-stroller buses, and why up to three children under 44 inches ride free.Read the guide →

• Eurostar with a baby (UK & Europe): free under-4s on your lap, folding pushchairs free on top of your luggage, no liquid limit for milk, passports and EES, plus easy links to Disneyland Paris.
• Eurotunnel Le Shuttle with a baby: one price per car, no luggage limit, terminal baby changing and border checks.
• Stena Line with a baby: infants up to 3 travel free, free cabin cots if pre-booked, and the 28 Sep 2026 passport rule on Holyhead and Fishguard.
• DFDS with a baby: car-only Dover crossings, travel cots on Newhaven–Dieppe, and bed rails and free meals for under-3s on the Newcastle–Amsterdam overnight ferry.
• P&O Ferries with a baby: under-4s travel free on Dover–Calais, Hull–Rotterdam and Cairnryan–Larne, with cots in selected cabins on the overnight Hull ferry.
• Irish Ferries with a baby: under-4s travel free, €11 cabin cots on the overnight Dublin–Cherbourg ferry, baby changing on every ship, and the 28 Sep 2026 passport rule on Holyhead and Pembroke.
• Isle of Wight ferry with a baby: under-5s travel free on Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel, crossing times from 10 minutes, baby changing on the car ferries, and lap rules on the hovercraft.
• Lightest travel pushchairs & strollers: easier on station stairs and train aisles.

Quick answers

• Do babies ride free on Amtrak in the US? Yes — one infant under 2 rides free on each paying adult's lap, and two infant items (stroller, car seat, diaper bag) are carried free on top of your luggage. See our Amtrak with a baby guide.
• Do babies need a train ticket in the UK? No. National Rail says children under 5 travel free on most journeys, though they can't take a seat a paying passenger needs (National Rail).
• Is a pushchair free on Eurostar? Yes. Eurostar says you can take a folding pushchair, pram or buggy free, on top of your luggage allowance.
• Do babies pay on P&O Ferries? P&O Ferries says under-4s travel free, though you must add them as passengers when you book. More in our P&O Ferries with a baby guide.

Sources

• National Rail

Last checked and updated: 30 October 2026 · Kiddieko · How we check facts