Getting around: cars, transfers and passes
Travelling with children: documents, seats and practicalities
What do I need to travel with a child, and what should I plan for?
Applies to: European Union · National law variesRules last checked:
On this page
In short
In the EU children need their own valid passport or ID card to travel. When a child travels alone, with someone other than a parent or with only one parent, an authorising letter may be required — and there are no EU-wide rules on this: each country decides.
In cars, EU law requires children under 1.35 m to use equipment appropriate to their size and weight. Plan seats, luggage and breaks around the child, and check family-related conditions with each carrier.
Documents
The EU’s Your Europe portal states that children travelling in the EU need their own valid passport or ID card. It also states that minors travelling alone, with non-guardians or with one parent may need an extra official document signed by the parents or legal guardians authorising the trip; there are no EU-wide rules on this, each country decides, transit countries may also ask, airlines often have their own forms, and rules change without notice.
By car
The European Commission’s road-safety page states that children under 1.35 m must use equipment appropriate to their size and weight in cars and lorries, and that it is against the law to use a rear-facing child seat on the front passenger seat unless the airbag has been deactivated. That is the EU-level rule; national requirements on height, age or weight can be stricter, so check each country you will drive in.
If you rent a car, ask the rental company in advance which child seats it provides and how they are fitted, or bring your own approved seat.
Planning journeys
- Trains, coaches and ferries: check each operator’s rules on children’s tickets, prams and reserved family spaces.
- Flights: check the airline’s rules for infants and car seats on board, and allow extra time for security with children.
- Long transfers: build in stops and allow for luggage — see the transfers guide.
Check before you buy
- Check each child’s passport or ID validity for every country on the route.
- If one parent travels alone, ask the embassy of each country whether a consent letter is needed.
- Book or bring an approved car seat suited to the child’s height.
- Check carriers’ rules for children’s tickets and prams.
Sources
- Travel documents for minors — Your Europe — European Union (Your Europe)
- Children in cars — European Commission road safety — European Commission
General information to help you understand your options — not legal advice, and not a promise that any payment or refund is due to you. Your rights depend on the facts of your journey and the law that applies; check the official sources above and the carrier’s own terms.