Hiring a car in Australia, and booster seats needed?

[hazlinh]

Will be going to Australia (gold coast) next month and wondering if it's easier to take public transport to get around, ie taxis and buses, or to hire a car. Will be based at surfer's paradise for a week.

also, if we take taxis or hire a car, will we need a booster seat for dd, who is 5?

many thanks for any advice.

There is public transport at the coast. Mainly buses but trains to the big stops like Beenleigh, Nerang etc. It does not run as often as here in London though. Considering the heat and/or rain at the moment, I would want a car. As for a booster seat then yes use one.

Yikes, is there a lot of rain then at the moment.

Thanks

We have stayed at Surfers twice and one time we got the public transport everywhere, then the next time ds was only 16 months so we hired a car.

If you are near the bus station I wouldn't bother with a car - or just hire one the days you need one. I'm not sure of the law in Oz - but in NZ you wouldn't be legally required to have a booster seat in any situation - just appropriately restrained.

Australian hire cars have ferocious excesses on them, and the cost to buy out the excess is often quite a cost on top of the hire. We also struck bizarre extra taxes - which we thought we had prepaid and then got charged again and because of a change in exchange rate lost out to the tune of around $20.

A lot depends on how much your dd likes to walk.

Depends what you plan on doing while your there and where you are staying. If you are doing theme parks or other touristy stuff there would be good pubic transport links from hotels but not private accommodation. The bus and train services run every 1/2 hour I think.

The traffic is horrendous at the Gold Coast. Only one main highway in/out.

some info on transport options

hmmmm

we're staying at the paradise resort, which seems quite a major resort? so hopefully near the buses? i'll be bringing dd's stroller definitely, she is not terribly fond of walking great distances haha.

am looking at taking public transport maybe, due to the ferocious charges and also dh says he doesn't really fancy driving whilst on holiday, so perhaps i don't need to pack my booster seat? would taxis demand it, i wonder?

tks again!

There will be good transport links from the paradise resort. They will also have a free shuttle bus I imagine.

You don't need a booster seat for taxis. Some do carry their own for people to use.

oh good.

thanks mymama. that's such a relief!

A five year old would not need a booster seat for a taxi ride.

The law:

Children who are 12 months old or older must also be in a
suitable approved child restraint, OR:
»» must
wear a seat belt that is properly adjusted and fastened;
and
»» must
not occupy the same seating position as another
passenger.
While current laws permit children to wear seat belts from the
age of 12 months, they will be much safer if they use a child
restraint that suits their weight and size.

That is a lot less strict than I thought it was going to be.

oo thanks twentypence, very useful info.

yes it is isn't it?! such a surprise..