Traveling with toddler

[T1623]

Hi all, can somebody help! We are about to go on holiday abroad with our toddler, we always hire a car and usually a car seat. Every year we have the same issue of struggling to fit the car seat and then always seemingly not being very secure or effective. This year I want to take one for ease of knowing that it will be safe and not having to spend an hour the other end trying to fit straps etc.

Can anybody recommend a good, lightweight (foldable would be amazing) seat for a two year old? He's too small for the trunki and needs the three point harness still. Or is there a good bag or way of transporting your own seats?
I'm getting a bit lost in it all, I don't want to spend a fortune but there must be an easier way of doing all this that I don't know about!
Thanks!

We have just gone through this. I spent ages online and in the shops and struggled to find something for my 2 year old.

In the end we went for the Joie Elevate. It was very easy to install and really lightweight to carry.

I ordered a car seat bag off amazon, it didn't really provide any protection but was a good quality bag that wouldn't rip etc. The car seat was absolutely fine both ways.

It doesn't fold but it is possible to unhook the base from the back (they remain attached by a strap) which means it's completely flat.

Hi that's great thanks so much I will have a look at that now. Our isofix ones are so bulky and heavy it's going to be a nightmare to carry. I don't suppose you know how long it is once it's flat do you? Thanks

Pricy, but the RyRy Scallop are compact foldable car seats for travel and are supposedly excellent

Yeah we have isofix too and it's just not even an option is it with how heavy they are.

It's 1m flat. Just measured as it's out being used in a taxi today ☺️

We use the joie tilt for travel. It’s not folding but can be used rear or forward facing and seatbelt strapped in. Was only around £60 at the time and bought a car seat bag. It’s easy enough for travel if your just putting in hold luggage. No large isofix leg like main seat.

I have struggled with this and taken our joie stages and it's huge! I saw the maxi cosi nomad car seat which is folding which looks great but I'm not sure how safe it is?! Is there a way to check...?

I ruled the nomad out because I saw a YouTube video on it that worried me. Was something about it not getting close enough to the seat. Can't remember exactly.

ADAC is the official car seat testing place that gives ratings. It might be on there

Genesis padded bags are great and can be made to order to fit your car seat.

https://www.genesistravelbags.co.uk/products/genesis-car-seat-travel-bags

Go for Graco Extend R129. It's the more updated version of the Joie Tilt and it's one of the cheapest, lightest seats you can get without it being totally flimsy.

You can rear face in it too.

If you need it to be more compact than this, then you have the choice of less-safe seats like the super cheap Argos ones (which are probably similar to what you get offered by hire places, hard to fit securely as well) or the Maxi Cosi Nomad, which is again hard to fit securely. Being Maxi Cosi it probably has good safety features, but it is a more compact travel seat, so it's never going to be as substantial as a proper car seat, and probably wouldn't protect as well as a proper car seat. The Urban Kanga, which is a similar design, did not very well in the ADAC test.

Or if you need it to be compact and safe and you don't mind spending a lot of money then you can look at Nachfolger, or the RyRy Scallop as suggested above. (RyRy is heavy but folds down. Nachfolger is light but must be inflated. Crash test result is good.)

Joie Elevate can have the same fitment issues as the backrest/belt path is very slim. However I've just found this video which seems to show a better method for getting it tight, which may help:

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Thanks all so much, I have gone for the elevate in the end, actually might end up fitting in our suitcase which is a bonus this time around! Thanks for all the advice and that video is super useful!