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Car seats abroard

Hi Ladies,
I have popped across from pregnancy as I am currently 31 weeks pregnant and my sister in law has just booked a big family holiday to a villa in Spain. However, car hire is essential so we will be driving from the airport to our villa and therefore I will need a car seat for baby who will be about 4 months old by then. How do I go about taking one with me? Do I borrow my sister in laws baby car seat as her little boy will be out of it by then? If so, does it just get "thrown" in with the rest of the luggage (I thought the whole point was that it is meant to keep baby safe, and it could easily be cracked from being thrown around)? Will taking a car seat with us cost us extra? We will also need a cheap buggy right? I dont fancy taking my Quinny travel system with us and risking it being damaged on the plane.

If anyone has any tips or advice on travelling abroad with a baby, then please please pass them on to me - I need your wisdom ladies!!! image

Becky x

Replies

  • Hi there - we travelled with lo when he was 5 months. It depends which airline you travel with as most you are able to take a car seat with you as standard allowance and a buggy. We took out car seat and buggy system (silver cross 3D) and we put it all int he hold at the plane side (when we walked onto the plane at the gate) and it all came out immaculately at the end. We travelled with BA nad they were fab so I think it would be fine (depending who you are travelling with)
  • hi becky

    are you hiring a car in spain? if so you can hire car seats too.
    i went to spain last year when my lo was 10 months old but we jsut used taxis and he jsut sat on our knee. i personally think it is completly unpractical to take a car seat on the plane. if you did take your own car seat it would be taken off you at check in and put through with all the suitcases etc....
    we bought a pushchair bag and we put ours in that. you are allowed to take your pushchair to the plane and then leave it at the entrance and then its put on last. we also put our jackets and lo blankets in with the pushchair so it had extra padding.

    We suffered a few problems at the airport too. we were told by our airline (bmi baby) that we could take un limited amounts of baby food on board. we had packed in our hand luggage baby jars, baby juice and ready made cartons of milk. we had to chuck it all out. we were allowed to empty some of the milk and juice into any bottles/beakers we had with us but the rest had to be chucked. we were told we could buy it in departures which we couldnt as nowhere sold it. we were told that because the milk, juice and food was in packaging over the amount allowed it had to be chucked.
    then what was allowed through had to be tested in front of them. this meant opening the baby jars and testing it. only problem being the food went off.
    so my advice would be to make sure you get all the info you can and even ring the airport and double check with them. also i would get written confirmation from them and the airline.

    hope that is some help.
    rach and harry xx
  • hi babe we took an eight month to cyprus and hired a carseat with the car hire. If you take your own car seat it goes in hold and is taken out of your luggage allowance. i personally would take your own if you are going to be in taxis etc as they are crazy drivers abroad i could never put my baby on my knee as i dont feel safe myself over there.
    I too have a quinny buzz and didnt want to risk any damage to it so i bought an OBABY pushchair for ??60 it was fab reclines totally flat so baby can sleep in it. from mothercare x
  • Iv flown to tenerife twice sine having Grace once with monarch and once with Air Europia, both times i took Graces car seat (maxi cosi) and her quinny, we didnt have to pay any extra the just put the carseat in with the Fragile things when we checked in and then we took the pushchair to the gate. I would defo recommend taking your car seat tho hun its to dangerous not to abroad!!!
  • Iv flown to tenerife twice sine having Grace once with monarch and once with Air Europia, both times i took Graces car seat (maxi cosi) and her quinny, we didnt have to pay any extra the just put the carseat in with the Fragile things when we checked in and then we took the pushchair to the gate. I would defo recommend taking your car seat tho hun its to dangerous not to abroad!!!
  • I looked at a brochure I had through the post a few days ago and wikth the car hire you can hire child seat if needed as well. I know that if you hire a car in America then you have to have a seat for LO, but dont know the laws for Europe.
  • Hi ladies, thanks very much for your replies, definately something to think about. We have been told that because lo will be under 9months they dont hire out car seats to that age, only older babies. I think I will have to take my sister in laws and have it put in with hold with fragile items if possible.

    Thanks again.

    Becky 31+1x
  • Check with who you are flying with, we live in Norway so have travelled back and forth from the UK with our lo since he was 10 weeks old with Ryan Air. We used to be able to keep him in his car seat when he was small (it was one with a carry handle for first borns) and then it would be taken off us as we boarded the plane and put into the hold. Then it would be waiting for us as soon as we got off the plane. Never had a problem with it and they seem to really take care with it. More recently we have taken the pushchair (as lo is 13 months old now) and done the same thing with that no problems.

    Baby food wise you can only take in your hand luggage what the baby will need for the journey, and they may ask you to taste it.

    Have a fun trip! xx
  • i've flown a lot with the 3 kids needing car seats,and now, i take them all myself!

    a pain in the neck, i agree, but as we drive to the airport anyway, it is only a short time to have them together. i pack them into a big bag from Ikea (the white ones), and pad them with blankets etc. we just pick them up, then straight to the car.

    they go through the Fragile lane, not along the usual conveyer belt etc

    i have never yet been charged for taking any baby item - cot, car seat, pram etc, and although we now usually fly Monarch, this has been with a number of airlines!

    i have had the misfortune of hiring a seat in Spain - it didnt fit correctly to the car we had, smelt of smoke, and was a cheap one with little padding, and it did put me off! - was 9months + seat....


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