Overlander to Melbourne with small children?

[Guest Sachertorte]

Hi guys

 

I have looked up a couple of posts some time ago where there were short mentions of The Overlander... but not enough to enlighten me enough to make a decision one way or the other

 

A few moments ago ago speaking to an Australian friend we were advised against doing it (we were going to go Red Premium) as people on those trains resent the noise children make (and esp when they pay the premium to the upper class) and he was recounting travelling at night - which does not seem to be the case now (I'm thinking he might have taken another train line ) so I'm not sure we are on the same hymn sheet on this one?

 

Any experienced opinions really appreciated

[cliffy]

The Overlander did use to run at night, but it is many years since I used it. It was a cold and long night in "red" seats then.

My husband travelled "red kangaroo" from Perth a few years ago and said he would never do it again. He found the uncontrolled children very noisy and irritating - his words, and there were also a few other people with anti-social habits.

I think it would be a good experience to travel in the day, with scenery to look at all the way, and no stress of driving, but I'm not sure it would be entertaining for children, depends on their ages, maybe.

[True Blue Aussie]

'The Overlander' is a train in NZ, that travels from Auckland to Wellington.

 

'The Overland', is the train from Adelaide to Melbourne and vice versa.

 

It now runs in daylight, but was an overnight trip some years ago.

 

It depends on how well your children travel on public transport as to whether or not they would be annoying.

 

If they are the type that would mostly be in their seats, and would be happy to read books, do puzzles, (not sure HOW young they are, LOL), and be relatively quiet, then they would not be annoying to other passengers.

 

If, however, they are likely to be rowdy, run up and down aisles, cry, fight with siblings etc., then yes, they would be annoying to others. It is about an eleven or twelve hour journey, so it's a long time to be cooped up in a carriage if children are running wild. However, it can be just as annoying with loud adults who don't know how to respect other passengers.

 

Personally I like travelling on the train, as it is usually a relaxing way to go, and the train takes you right into the city in Melbourne.

 

If you book online via Ready Rail, you can get a return journey for $99.

 

Happy travels!

[Rob and Mel]

I have one thing to say on the journey why not fly in a couple of hours in stead of the long hours on a train?

 

Rob

[sidestep]

The Overland is an underused service so the train length is governed by how many bookings are made for a given trip. I have seen it run with only two cars on occasion and it's rarely more than three. In turn this means the cars have most of their seats occupied. Doing this journey with children in tow wouldn't be a good idea.

[wizzywozza]

I wouldn't take small kids on any of the interstate trains. I've worked on them, and only rarely saw children ........ there's nothing to amuse them on there, and you'd have to feed them from the cafe car, which can be basic and expensive. The kids I did see were older and most had portable DVD players or laptops to keep them amused, but it would be hard to keep small ones quiet for the entire journey. (There's not a lot for adults either unless you are happy to look out of the window for hours ......... even the Nullabor gets boring after a couple of hours on the IP)