Car seats for turkey??

[JustMePlus3]

Has anyone on here traveled to turkey before with an infant (my daughters 8 months old) we’ve booked a minibus transfer from the airport to the hotel and are unsure weather she has to be in a car seat or not, me and my partner are travelling to the airport with 6 kids, 5 suitcases and a pushchair so have no idea how we would manage to carry a car seat around with us as well if it’s required 🤦🏻‍♀️ panicking

If you've booked a private transfer, the best thing would just to contact the transfer firm and ask what they provide.

Sorry no advice, but what a great thread title! Anyone else picturing a large rather startled looking bird strapped into the passenger seat of a car at Christmas?!

@Notquitegrownup2 😂😂😂 didn’t even think of it that way, now I can’t unread it in that manner 😂

I have travelled in turkey a lot with children. Even if your transfer promises a car seat, you’d be best to take your own infant carrier, I’ve seen some absolute shite out there and the safety standards re car seats just aren’t the same.

We booked one with transport in Spain and it absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. I would take your own

Yep, my first thought, too.

If it's a legal requirement, the transfer company will provide it.

If you are particularly concerned about safety, take your own.

Otherwise, if they are not required/provided and taking your own would be a massive pain, then it will probably not be the end of the world if you just keep the baby on your lap for the duration of one transfer. The chance of an accident on this one trip where a baby seat makes a huge difference to the outcome is very small indeed. (Yes, of course this is not the absolute safest option, but when you're going outside the EU with 6 children, one or two small compromises might need to be made.)

Apparently minibuses are exempt from the child seat law in Turkey (and in any case, it's not very strictly enforced). Whether you want to take one yourself is up to you - you can usually transport them free on the plane. If you take an infant carrier, you could attach it to your pram for easier transport although of course that then makes it harder to take the main seat attachment.

If you decide not to take a child seat, never put a seatbelt around both you and the baby, as your weight would crush them in an accident.

Instead, the adult should wear the seatbelt and the child should sit on your lap. Children over the age of 2 should sit on their own seat and wear their own seatbelt - it's better than nothing. You might consider backless boosters, possibly Trunki Boostapak, Mifold or Bubble Bum, for the older children.

The other thing you could consider is something like Maxi Cosi Nomad, although it's not approved for babies under 15 months, it might be a better than nothing situation. However this assumes that the baby will be allocated their own seat and seatbelt. If the minibus is full with the assumption that children will sit on an adult's lap, there might be nowhere to install it.