Bringing a child's car seat on holidays

seamus

Long story short, we're flying to Italy and have one of these for our enormous 3 year old.

From asking people who work in the car hire business, they've told us that booking one with the car hire company is hit-and-miss; they may not have one, it may not be clean, it may just be a booster seat, etc etc. So we should bring our own.

Booster seats are out of the question and luckily aer lingus seem to take these free. However our one isn't cheap, I'm concerned about it getting damaged in transit.

Would we be better off buying a less elaborate one (i.e. not ISOFIX) and using that?

Any other tips?

dori_dormer

I don't think you are necessarily guaranteed isofix either. But most hire companies like hertz etc it's probable.

Depending on your child's weight, you could get a cheaper seat in halfords/ smyths. Then it wouldn't matter too much if it was damaged/ went astray.

We have the joie stages for travelling. Goes to 18kg harnessed, rear and forward facing easy to belt in. About 150 full price, but often there are sales etc for it. We also got a travel bag for it and pad out the travel bag with towels, nappies, and bubble wrap.

We went to nice once without the infant carrier and got a completely unsuitable ff seat with twisted straps. They had no others. So we basically didn't drive very far from our accomodation!

dori_dormer

I don't think you are necessarily guaranteed isofix either. But most hire companies like hertz etc it's probable.

Depending on your child's weight, you could get a cheaper seat in halfords/ smyths. Then it wouldn't matter too much if it was damaged/ went astray.

We have the joie stages for travelling. Goes to 18kg harnessed, rear and forward facing easy to belt in. About 150 full price, but often there are sales etc for it. We also got a travel bag for it and pad out the travel bag with towels, nappies, and bubble wrap.

We went to nice once without the infant carrier and got a completely unsuitable ff seat with twisted straps. They had no others. So we basically didn't drive very far from our accomodation!

colm_mcm

Far as I know Ryanair take child seats for free.
We got a basic mothercare non reclining one for a spare seat, obviously it's not as good as the one you have now, but it basically comes in two parts and is very portable.

olaola

From Wiki: Under the current UN/ECE R14, all new vehicles produced since February 2013 are required to have ISOFIX lower anchorages and top tether attachments.

The rental car will be newer than 2013, so no problem there regarding ISOFIX.

We're travelling in March and we've booked a child seat. I suppose if the worst comes to the worst and they don't have one, one of us can spin off to the nearest hypermarket and buy a cheap one.

I wouldn't bother bringing ours, it's very cumbersome & heavy. Debated getting a second hand one on Adverts (I know you're not supposed to buy 2nd hand, but would prob be easy enough to see if it was damaged) I would also be a bit worried about it getting wrecked!

slinky2000

olaola wrote: »

From Wiki: Under the current UN/ECE R14, all new vehicles produced since February 2013 are required to have ISOFIX lower anchorages and top tether attachments.

The rental car will be newer than 2013, so no problem there regarding ISOFIX.

We're travelling in March and we've booked a child seat. I suppose if the worst comes to the worst and they don't have one, one of us can spin off to the nearest hypermarket and buy a cheap one.

I wouldn't bother bringing ours, it's very cumbersome & heavy. Debated getting a second hand one on Adverts (I know you're not supposed to buy 2nd hand, but would prob be easy enough to see if it was damaged) I would also be a bit worried about it getting wrecked!

Still doesn't guarantee it. Some newer models of cars are ISOFIX compatible but don't actually have the ISOFIX points in them from factory. They could be an extra part purchased from the dealer at any time and bolted in by the owner.

orchidsrpretty

Has an absolute nightmare with a car hire company a few months ago. They gave me two HBB to use for my 12months old. I had rang beforehand and they had guaranteed that the seats were not HBB's... He told me to go to Halfords and buy two new seats if I wasn't happy putting them it... I have now bought two second hand seats and use them when travelling as my own were expensive. Works out fine. When we get to the airport we just use a trolley to transport the seats to the oversized baggage and then to the hire car so its not that much extra hassle.

slinky2000

orchidsrpretty wrote: »

Has an absolute nightmare with a car hire company a few months ago. They gave me two HBB to use for my 12months old. I had rang beforehand and they had guaranteed that the seats were not HBB's... He told me to go to Halfords and buy two new seats if I wasn't happy putting them it... I have now bought two second hand seats and use them when travelling as my own were expensive. Works out fine. When we get to the airport we just use a trolley to transport the seats to the oversized baggage and then to the hire car so its not that much extra hassle.

What's a HBB? Please don't use abbreviations.

Millem

I brought my car seat with Ryanair. It is a Britax two way elite. My isofix seat was much heavier than non isofix and Ryanair that a certain weight limit on car seats.

I got two big clear bags from my hardware store tand covered the seat and put in the tether straps.

Moonbeam

find out if it is airline approved and bring it on the plane?
I wouldn't put a seat in hold because i would be afraid of it being bounced around or damaged.

Moonbeam

find out if it is airline approved and bring it on the plane?
I wouldn't put a seat in hold because i would be afraid of it being bounced around or damaged.

orchidsrpretty

slinky2000 wrote: »

What's a HBB? Please don't use abbreviations.

Apologies its a High Back Booster.

LegacyUser

Brought a Maxi cosi axis to Portugal last summer. Big, heavy piece of kit!! It travelled ok, but you could always get yours wrapped in cling film too for extra protection??

We got a travel bag for it online (just a generic travel car seat bag). Aer Lingus will take them for free. It's buried on their website a bit, but they will, they allow you 2 out of 3 items free - a buggy, car seat or travel cot. You can bring the buggy to the gate, but the car seat you just check in as oversized baggage when you get there. (https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/travelling-with-children/baggage-allowance/)

Furthermore they offered us the option of early check-in of bags. So a few days before we were due to go, we got a text saying that we could check-in and drop our bags at the airport the night before (think it was in the 24 hour period beforehand). Whether that had to do with the fact that it was the middle of July, or that we had a toddler, or simply that we live near enough to the airport, I don't know - but it was an absolute godsend. Meant all we had to do was show up (at 5am ) the next morning, check-in the car seat and off we went through security. When you're flying with a 14 month old, that is amazing!

We were told not to bother hiring a seat through the car company. Basically they can't guarantee you that there will be one available on the day. I know there is a now a business in Dublin airport (https://www.thestorkexchange.ie/baby-kids-equipment-hire/) - don't think they've expanded to Italy, but you could browse through their site or even ring them, they might have some suggestions.

olaola

So, we're back from holidays. I emailed the company (Europcar) before we left to confirm that it was reserved. No problems on arrival in Geneva. Got a decent (non isofix) seat which was in good condition & clean. We were happy with it. And glad I didn't traipse over there hauling a seat with me! They seemed to have loads in stock.