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Original poster

Advice for long haul travel and car seats (+ isofix base)

21 replies

HolidayHollie · 12/07/2023 21:44

Have you travelled with a car seat (toddler car seat and isofix base)? How did you pack it and did you check it in? Was it relatively easy?

We will need a car for travel to and from the airport and both ends of the journey as well as while we are abroad.

OP posts:

supersonicspeed · 12/07/2023 21:52

I was flying with a car seat and the airline first lost the seat and then delivered it broken (they literally ripped it apart and delivered only bottom part of the seat 🤦🏼‍♀️)
My advise would be to either use a car seat bag or that cling film thingy you can wrap your luggage with at the airport.
Good luck!

supersonicspeed · 12/07/2023 21:53

I checked it in, sorry, I forgot to say. You do it at oversized luggage desk (but perhaps not at every airport).

JobMatch3000 · 12/07/2023 21:54

I would not risk taking my own car seat as luggage. Add it on as an extra to your car hire booking.

Catsonskis · 12/07/2023 22:05

We hired them due to hearing numerous stories like the above: lost or damaged.

we just went to Spain and paid for car seat for my 8 months old but none materialised on the coach as they legally don’t have to provide one on the coach so I literally held the baby in my arms,’it was awful.

tweener · 12/07/2023 22:23

Where are you travelling to? For example UK car seats don't conform to USA standards, and can't legally be used for example. You'd be better hiring a car seat with the car.

Original poster

HolidayHollie · 12/07/2023 22:57

@supersonicspeed That sounds stressful!

@JobMatch3000 We are not hiring a car

@tweener US but we are not hiring a car. We are staying with friends who have a car but no toddler car seat. We thought about buying a car seat there but we also need a taxi to the airport here and not every taxi co will provide one.

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elodiedie · 12/07/2023 23:02

I would buy one there. As has been stated, a U.K. car seat is not legal there. Whether anyone would ever know is another matter.

Just have the baby in your knee in the taxi. It’s legal and it’s a one off. The only other solutions are using a taxi company that will keep your seat for you until they pick you up, or get somebody to give you a lift. Putting a car seat in the aeroplane hold is a really bad idea as they get damaged; you may not see the damage and continue to use an unsafe seat.

Original poster

HolidayHollie · 13/07/2023 08:18

@elodiedie I am leaning towards buying one there but I'm going to try to get a taxi to the airport as it's about 1.5 hour drive and on the motorway and I would rather be safe. If it was more local I might not mind so much.

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Original poster

HolidayHollie · 13/07/2023 08:19

You are right about the seat possibly getting damaged too.

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MikeWozniaksMohawk · 13/07/2023 08:22

a taxi journey that long, there and back, is likely to be expensive. Can you drive yourselves and pay for airport parking?

Jellycatrabbit · 13/07/2023 08:30

Our local airport taxi firm will let you use your own car seat travelling to the airport,store it for you while you are away and pick you up with it for the return journey.

We hired a car seat with the car - it was €80 for a fortnight and not a very good one. I would probably have been happier and not much worse off buying one over here (amazon to local locker maybe) and leaving it somewhere.

Also, our airline lost our luggage for a week so even if we had taken our own it would have been pointless!

trrk · 13/07/2023 10:51

We have taken our own and padded out the car seat bag with lots of nappies to try to reduce the chance of damage. An isofix base isn't very convenient to travel with. Does your seat also belt in? If you can belt it in that's an easier option. If you have an expensive isofix only seat it might also be worth getting a cheaper belt in one for travel, particularly if you will use it again. Car hire companies are notorious for poor quality seats so it's always a bit of a risk hiring one.

For the UK end we have also used our own car seat in a taxi and had them keep it for us when we got back which worked well (we had a decent one supplied by family on holiday in that case).

If the people you are staying with are picking you up you could then order a cheap but safe seat to their house and use that while away.

Original poster

HolidayHollie · 13/07/2023 19:11

@MikeWozniaksMohawk No because there are five of us going with lots of luggage so we don't have space in either of our cars. We'd have to take two and pay for two lots of petrol and parking.

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Original poster

HolidayHollie · 13/07/2023 19:12

It doesn't belt in @trrk

@Jellycatrabbit taxi co storing it may be an option

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Caspianberg · 13/07/2023 19:15

We bought a cheaper belted version for travel as our usual is isofix and heavy.
It was cheaper to buy second for travel than pay car hire car seat daily prices.

But I don’t know about USA laws. This was only within Europe.

gogomoto · 13/07/2023 19:18

When mine were small I took the car seats onto the lane to secure them during the flight, a game changer! Toddler seats were forward facing and smaller then.

gogomoto · 13/07/2023 19:20

My seat was faa approved (graco)

Midlander01 · 13/07/2023 21:06

Can your friends borrow a car seat? That's what we used to do with family visiting form overseas, put a call out to our friends locally to borrow a spare seat for a few weeks. Always lots of offers.

Or just ask your friends to buy one and sell it on afterwards (reimbursing them obviously!). Much cheaper and less stressful than taking one or relying on car hire/taxi to provide, and you can specify to friends exactly what you want.

Massivescreen · 13/07/2023 21:30

I would consider buying a cheap second hand seat from local Facebook site and taking that.

BertieBotts · 14/07/2023 14:58

I'd get one delivered to your friend's house. Go on one of the American car seat pages on FB and ask them for advice (e.g. Car Seats for the Littles) with your friend's car make and model. Then bring it back with you. For the taxi ride to airport UK side, either ask for a black cab and steer your buggy in with the brake on, ring around companies until one says they can provide a seat, or do it as a one off without (obviously not the best option, up to you). Legally you can use taxis in UK without car seats. Since you'll have the American seat on the way back you can use that in the taxi.

Most US car seats have plane approval, and they can be fitted into UK cars - just be aware that US cars have seatbelts which lock for car seat use, which UK cars don't. You can usually use the LATCH fitting instead, which fits into isofix, until the child is approx 18kg (slightly different weight in each seat). If you want to use the seat in the UK beyond this, you'll want to get hold of a seatbelt locking clip from the US manufacturer - you can't buy them here.

This way you get a lightweight, plane compatible car seat for travel and you can use it anywhere in the future. Your friend can install the seat before you arrive so no stressful rush too. There are usually youtube tutorials.

TropicalTrama · 14/07/2023 15:09

I take my US seat which is airline approved and they sit in it on the plane. In this scenario I vote for getting one delivered to your friends. Try Buy Buy Baby, they’ve just gone bust so loads of clearance bargains to be had.

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