reserving trains over xmas and new year in s india

magicfairy · Oct 12th, 2009, 03:16

Hi, myself and my family (husband and 2 kids, aged 1 and 3, and also my brother) are coming to south india in December.

My husband and I have travelled in India before so know what to expect when it comes to the railways etc, but that was in our life before children!

We have a route planned that can be flexible-ish, but we have a wedding to attend in Mangalore and accomodation booked in Goa.

We land in Bangalore on the 19th Dec and wish to go to Hampi, then Goa (28th dec-5th jan), then to mangalore, then to coorg, then to mysore then back to bangalore.

My question is, do we need to be thinking of booking trains in advance for the bangalore - hospet, and hospet - goa routes, as it is peak time. Obviously we want to be as stress free as poss, traveling with 2 very small kids, also we think we would need A2 carriages, we wish for first class non AC as one of our kids is a bit hyper so a lockable carriage would be good for him(but not so great for us, lol!) but from what i can gather they dont exsist much anymore.

Also how effective is a bit of baksheesh if the train is fully booked?

Any advice will be gratefully recieved

c195ikon · Oct 12th, 2009, 11:45

Dear Magic fairy

I shudder to think of how you are planning this journey leg on the train without booking

. Do not delay and book up...for shorter journeys ( say Mlore-Goa) you could use the sleeper class / 2nd seater- more for ease & experience rather than creature comfort. The daytime journey is bound to be ok as temperatures have come down

The baksheesh system does work....but with kids and family, I would stick to going the reserved tickets way.

ps: Might not be relevant for your itinerary, but please be informed that these days there is a thrice-a week day train from Mlore to Blore which does not touch Mysore- but a scenic route is guaranteed!

arunganpath · Oct 12th, 2009, 13:30

Never take a risk in Indian Railways with small kids around..

Baksheesh - Am sorry.. Doesnt work all times..

magicfairy · Oct 12th, 2009, 21:18

Thanks guys, you have said what i was expecting to hear! Its just hard for us to think about things like reserving trains in advance as spent so many years winging it!

Oct 12th, 2009, 03:16	#1
magicfairy Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 22	reserving trains over xmas and new year in s india Hi, myself and my family (husband and 2 kids, aged 1 and 3, and also my brother) are coming to south india in December. My husband and I have travelled in India before so know what to expect when it comes to the railways etc, but that was in our life before children! We have a route planned that can be flexible-ish, but we have a wedding to attend in Mangalore and accomodation booked in Goa. We land in Bangalore on the 19th Dec and wish to go to Hampi, then Goa (28th dec-5th jan), then to mangalore, then to coorg, then to mysore then back to bangalore. My question is, do we need to be thinking of booking trains in advance for the bangalore - hospet, and hospet - goa routes, as it is peak time. Obviously we want to be as stress free as poss, traveling with 2 very small kids, also we think we would need A2 carriages, we wish for first class non AC as one of our kids is a bit hyper so a lockable carriage would be good for him(but not so great for us, lol!) but from what i can gather they dont exsist much anymore. Also how effective is a bit of baksheesh if the train is fully booked? Any advice will be gratefully recieved

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Oct 12th, 2009, 11:45	#2
c195ikon Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: India Posts: 23	Dear Magic fairy I shudder to think of how you are planning this journey leg on the train without booking . Do not delay and book up...for shorter journeys ( say Mlore-Goa) you could use the sleeper class / 2nd seater- more for ease & experience rather than creature comfort. The daytime journey is bound to be ok as temperatures have come down The baksheesh system does work....but with kids and family, I would stick to going the reserved tickets way. ps: Might not be relevant for your itinerary, but please be informed that these days there is a thrice-a week day train from Mlore to Blore which does not touch Mysore- but a scenic route is guaranteed!

Oct 12th, 2009, 13:30	#3
arunganpath Junior most member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 752	Never take a risk in Indian Railways with small kids around.. Baksheesh - Am sorry.. Doesnt work all times..

Oct 12th, 2009, 21:18	#4
magicfairy Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 22	Thanks guys, you have said what i was expecting to hear! Its just hard for us to think about things like reserving trains in advance as spent so many years winging it!