Carseats on planes question, help please!

[AliBingo]

Hiya

We haven't been on a foreign holiday for years and are now thinking of booking to go to Sensatori Crete for a week in September with our 2 year old and will-be 4.5 month old.

I have the option of booking a return taxi instead of the coach. Not decided what to do yet.

What do people do with toddlers and babies either on coaches or in taxis in terms of carseats, should I be taking my Maxi Cosi Cabriofix with me for the baby? If so, how will I transport it, will it be allowed on the plane or have to go in the hold? If in the hold, will it need to be in a bag/wrapped or anything?

Thanks for any advice you can give on this (or any aspect of travelling with this age group - am daunted at sheer amount of stuff we'll have to take! and the logistics) but the carseat thing has me totally stumped. We are not hiring a car/planning to travel by taxi except for the airport transfer, other than that we'll be walking.

The taxi firm might have car seats.
Otherwise, most airlines will carry them in the hold. We've never wrapped them and they've been fine. Some airlines (but not all, Ryanair for example) might let you take them in the cabin but you will have to buy an extra seat.

Are you going with a tour company? If so, ask them if the taxi can provide a car seat.

Alternatively take yours and check it in. (you can generally do this for free, in addition to your baggage allowance). Bit of a hassle though.

Carseat will go in the hold. Infants don't have a seat allocated on plane. They go on your lap. There would be nowhere for seat to go on plane and it wouldn't fit in overhead. You wouldn't need to get it wrapped.

If you did take a carseat, there would be no guarantee that it would fit in the taxi.

If you are worried, I would phone Thomson see if they could get the taxi firm to arrange for a suitable carseat.

Personally, whenever I have taken my son abroad, I haven't bothered with a carseat. That's not to say that my opinion is right. He has just sat on laps whilst on plane, or in taxi/coach

Great thanks will ask about car seats in taxi but otherwise take ours, am a bit worried it'll get bashed about though.

Just book it! The Sensatoris are lovely
Once you've been to one you won't be able to do a 'normal' holiday again!

I think you can ask them at check in to put a fragile sticker on. I doubt they take any notice of it though!

We recently flew and used the carseat on top of the travel system (leaving the regular top bit at home, iyswim). Both the carseat and the chassis were checked at the plane door.

That's a bloody good idea Angus you would just need to remember to get them 2 put a luggage label on both parts.

Yes, exactly, we did have to point out there were two bits to it.

You can get large bags to put carseats in - eg. www.preciouslittleone.com/product-information/41/5944/diono-car-seat-travel-bag/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwxZieBRDegZuj9rzLt_ABEiQASqRd-mMghdA0EsV9CooqE6vHJAV_pUkbZx-j_pleraMPP9MaAu4Y8P8HAQ

A little bit of cost but we travel every year and seeing how bashed about the bag gets am glad the car seats were in it. Also a good place for stashing things like nappies...

Every airline I've flown with, put the baby car seat in a large clear thick bin bag, with tags for the flight all over it.

Off to google Sansatoris.

I can't decide whether to not bother with seat or check ours or try to buy a cheap one to check in. Don't know how bad a drop/throw would be to s car seat. Or maybe buy a case but they seem quite expensive. Argh!

Sensatori looks lovely, we thought we'd go mad and splurge for first family hop plus DH's 40th while we're away.

I wouldn't take the cabriofix - they weigh a ton and more lugging around is not good when you travel with kids.

We have booked taxi transfers for all our holiday (it makes it so much easier) and DD sits and just used a lap belt and I have infant DS on my lap just as they would be with a coach transfer.

We bubble-wrapped our cabriofix when we flew to Florida last year, then put it through one of those cling film wrapping machines airports have nowadays, and liberal application of packing tape with 'fragile' written on it. The airline also put its own labels on. I don't think anything untoward happened to it and it was worth having it for the peace of mind that a) we definitely had a seat for DD (no taxi company would guarantee one would be available), and b) we more or less knew that it hadn't been damaged versus totally unknown car seat from a random taxi company in a foreign country!

Ps. It was checked in with our luggage.

We used to take the maxi cosi pebble on the plane with us ( think the cabrifix doesn't pass plane safety test though , hence we had pebble)

Never had a problem taking car seat on plane to seat and far easier as baby could sleep in car seat not on us all the time. However you do have to buy baby own seat ticket to do this

We usually take the baby seat with us and stick it in the hold. Never had a problem with it being bashed about, although it did go missing at Gatwick once (delivered back to us the next day).

Hm still can't decide what to do about car seat! Thanks for all the replies. I reckon we will probably end up taking one for the infant and then either Trunki boostapak or nothing for the then-to-be 26 month old. Don't really want to pay for extra seat on plane, as knowing DS he'll want to be in our arms anyway.

I have been to this hotel and as I remember the coach trip from airport was very short (20 mins maybe). I had a 4 year old and 7 year old then. I wouldn't bother with car seats, just take pushchair for use there.

I would just mention that when we went there were no gates on the area around the children's pool. You will have to be careful your little one doesn't escape!