How do you take your car seat on holiday?

[letstryanewone]

Stupid I know but I'm baffled- I've seen the way luggage gets treated, it'll get destroyed if I check it in. I assume it won't fit in over head lockers ...

Can someone tell me what I'm supposed to do or how to protect it? (DS is 2.5 years - it's a britax eclipse)

Have never taken one. Seen too many drop off the belt from a height, surely that's worse than being in a low speed car crash.

We found the cost of hiring car seats was too high (twins) and so we just bought two (joie car seats) and took those with us in the hold
We didn't want to take our maxi cosi axiss car seats in case they got destroyed
We take them in travel bags that we bought specially

Thanks @MustStopSnacking28 that's really helpful.

And thank you so much to everyone else too, you're responses have been really reassuring.

I have one of those car seat bags, think I'm going to pack that into a suitcase wrap clothes round it for extra protection.

Thanks again

Seen too many drop off the belt from a height, surely that's worse than being in a low speed car crash.

I have literally no idea but we drop ours all the time moving them between cars, and I’d have thought the force involved in even a low speed car crash was incomparably greater than just being dropped on the floor. Happy to be corrected though.

That's a really interesting point @Isitmybathtimeyet - I wonder what level of damage they do need to break?

I shall attempt a google ...

I had a HBB that I split in half at the base (where you would take the back off) folded it in on itself and used a luggage strap to hold together. When I've gone on a train or bus it's possible to fashion it so you can carry backpack style.

On the plane it got bubble wrapped and put in the hold.

We once hired one in Spain and had to go through loads to find one that was usuable. Several has straps that had for some reason been stitched...others were filthy

Get a special car seat bag.
Put seat in bag.
Put it in the hold. It’s free.

Done it loads of times. Never had a problem.

In my experience seat hire is awful. The seats themselves are non existent, dreadful quality or filthy. Car hire firm reps just shrug when you challenge or complain.

I'd bubble wrap and check it in if it's an older child's seat. My maxi cosi baby carrier used to get handed over as we boarded and was fine in just its travel bag. They tend to come off on a different carousel to suitcases.