Ben and Claire have now crossed multiple European borders by car with two young children in the back seat. Here’s what each crossing has actually involved, updated as they cross more.
Before we left, border crossings were one of the things we worried about, would it be stressful, would it take hours, would the kids cope. Three months and several borders in, the honest answer is: it depends enormously on which border, and when you cross it.
What we’ve found so far
Albania → Montenegro: Quick and simple. No real delays, straightforward document checks.
Montenegro → Croatia: This is the one to plan around. We saw people queuing up to 5 hours going the other direction (Croatia into Montenegro). We crossed around 8-9am and were through in about 30 minutes. Cross early, before the queues build through the day. Expect to show passports for everyone, including getting the children out of the car to be seen individually, plus car registration documents and a green card, and a small fee (around £15 for us, likely insurance/green card related).
Slovakia → Poland: Essentially nothing. No passport checks, no vehicle checks, no visible border control at all. One minute you’re in one country, a short drive later you’re in the other.
Poland → Austria (via Czechia): The same story again, no border control found crossing into Czechia, and none crossing out of it into Austria either. A completely seamless stretch across three countries in one long day of driving.
What this tells us
Border experience in this part of Europe varies far more by which specific border you’re crossing than by any general rule. Schengen-to-Schengen crossings (like Slovakia to Poland) can be completely invisible, while crossings involving a non-Schengen country (like Montenegro) can mean real, unpredictable queues depending on time of day.
Practical tips for crossing with children
- Cross early in the day where a border has any history of queues
- Keep passports, car documents and green card easily accessible, not buried in luggage
- Have a plan for keeping kids occupied during a longer wait, snacks, a film downloaded in advance, anything that doesn’t rely on live data
- Don’t assume a “difficult-sounding” country will have a difficult border, and vice versa, our experience has repeatedly surprised us
What else is possible when the borders you worried about most turn out to be the easiest, and the ones you expected nothing from take hours?
FAQ
Do you need to show documents for children at every border? At some, yes, at the Montenegro/Croatia border we had to get the children out of the car to be seen individually alongside their passports.
Is it worth planning routes around border crossing times? For borders with any reputation for queues, yes, we’ve found early morning crossings noticeably faster than later in the day.
Are Schengen-zone border crossings usually this relaxed? In our experience so far, yes, crossing between two Schengen countries has involved essentially no checks at all.
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