Car Seat on Vacation Question

A lot of Car Rental places will rent Car Seats, too. Are you visiting freinds or family? If so, try their local freecycle board and maybe someone has some seats to offer, that could be re-freecycled after you are done using them.

For the two older kids, I would pack the bottom part of their boosters or carry them on the plane - they fit in the overhead. For the 3 year old, I would bring the car seat strapped to a luggage carrier.

I've traveled many times between MN & TX w/ my daughter. She was scared of the plane until she was sitting in her car seat on the plane. I strapped the car seat to a luggage carried that folds up. I would strap our backpack to the car seat to give a dual duty walking through the airport. Plus a small child can become airborne during turbulance.

I would never trust car seats from a car rental agency. You do not know the history.

Good luck & have a great trip!!

You are already going to San Diego, where things are totally overpriced and expensive. In other words, you are going to be spending a ton of money anyhow just by being there so spend a few more bucks--it'll be a drop in the bucket--and save yourself the hassle. Buy a car seat and a booster seat once you get there and donate them to a women's shelter when you leave.

we've traveled a lot with our infant and 3 year old.
here are a few things we have done:

friends or family have borrowed car seats from their friends or family for us to use while visiting.

we have rented them from the car rental company.

we have rented a mini-van which has the flip down car seats.

we have dragged both car seats along, checking one and using the "Go Go Babyz" travelmate, which is expensive, but has been well worth it for us- it keeps one kid confined and wheel-able!
http://search.happymothers.com/search.aspx?q=Go-Go+Babyz&...

We just traveled too and rented car seats from the car rental place. For 2 car seats, it was $70 for 3 days! We are bringing our own next time.

Alot of the newer vans have built in car seats. not sure of the cost- renting a car vs a van.

When we are going on a vacation we usually rent them from the place we rent our car. It has worked out well and then you don't have to lug your carseats with you from home. Last time we went on vacation we were given a minivan that had built-in carseats. Neither of my daughters (ages 4 and 2) found them very comfortable.

We always just checked the car seats with the rest of our luggage. You can also rent car seats from the rental car agency, but it's a bit pricey.

As much as I miss the days when my kids were little, I do not miss the car seats at all!

Have a great trip!

N.

I lean towardthe folks with the get the seats from the car rental company crowd or find a company that rents kid stuff. CA definitely has them. From the car company it will cost more than just buying a new seat and make certain they have what you need available. The rental companies can be cheaper.

If you choose to bring your seats with you, make certain the baggage rules haven't changed. With American charging for any checked bag now and others limiting travelers to one, you'll want to know before hand and not be surprised.

Personally we still lug ours through the airport (for our 20 month old). I did just buy a "stroller" for the car seat to latch onto for walking through the airport. I haven't used one yet, but saw it in use and it looked great. The name is "gogo kidz travelmate" and might be a good option for the 3 yo.

Good luck and have fun!

My cousin has traveled about 8 times with her son who is 10 months old. Almost everytime she has gone she has been able to borrow car seats from friends or family (or friends of her friends and family she was visiting) The couple times she has not been able to borrow them she has checked them as luggage at the airport. I don't think they count them as''one of your bags'' but you'd have to double check with the airline. If you do check them she does recommend putting them in the travel bags they make for carseats otherwise they will get really dirty.
If neither is an option I can only imagine that the car rental place can give you more information. I'm sure there are places to rent car seats.

You absolutely need to bring your carseats. A 3yr old requires a 5pt harness carseat, and your 6yr old still needs to be in a booster at all times regardless of the law.

We have flown across the country with our two boys numerous times, and we ALWAYS bring the carseats. I will not check them, you've seen how they throw the baggage around? They do the same thing with a carseat, they don't give jack if its a carseat or something else important, they throw it in just like that, even if you gate check it. For your 3yr old, bring her carseat on teh plane, hook it in the seat just like in your car, and strap her in. Your 6yr old has to sit in the seat as boosters are not airline approved, so you can bring her seat on board, and have them put it in the closet by the entrance door.

I wouldn't trust carseats from rental car companies either, they do not regulate them, and plus how many other kids have ate, pooped, puked, slimed all over that seat, and you cannot guarantee that its not been in an accident. Plus, I wouldn't pay $50 for something like that.

So bring your 3ry olds 5pt harness carseat, nd your 6yr olds booster. STrap the 3yr olds seat into the plane like in your car, and put the booster in the closet by the entrance door on the airplane. You'll need them both when you get there because at thier ages they need a carseat all the time, no exceptions.

I'm a former Corporate Travel Manager and can assure you that reputable (read LARGE) rental car companies have good car seats available, you just need to make sure to request them at the time of booking. Conversely, bringing them and putting them through checked baggage is certainly a feasible option, just be sure to check with your airline to make sure they won't charge a fee for an 'extra bag' as many of the airlines have started doing in the last week or so. Good luck and have a blast in CA!

You'll have to take the car seats with you, the good news is that they can be stored on the plane as a piece of luggage. We had the airline wrap them in a special bag that they provided for us, when we traveled to San Diego in Feb. Just call your airline ahead of time and ask their advice. Otherwise see if there is a rental company (like one that you can rent tables/chairs for weddings from) that handle childrens items. I have seen car seats, strollers, cribs and high chairs for rent before. You would just have to have the car seats delivered to the rental company for the day that you arrive, and have them picked up the day that you leave, which means delivery fees ontop of rental fees. Good Luck!

IT's good that you know about the laws in other states. Maybe the car rental place has then. I would call them first. Sometimes you can borrow seats from the state police or check with schools or preschools/head starts in the area you are going to.
If all else, you can usuaully find a booster seat for around $15.
Good luck

We are flying in to Utah this summer and renting a car. I was told by my mother that you can rent seats with your car rental so that's what we are doing. I hope this helps you.

I didn't have time to read all the othere requests so someone may have already mentioned this, but what we did when we traveled was bring their carseats/boosters with and put them with our checked luggage. It was free to check them and did not count against our 2 bag per person limit, although each airline may be different. You could check with yours to be sure. Also we did look into renting some with the car rental, and sometimes that is possible we were told. So you could also check with your car rental company and see what they say. Have a safe and fun trip!!

Some rental places will provide you with a carseat aditional cost of course but cheaper than to take it with you call are=ound and check with the rental places.

When my family flew, children 5 mo and 19 mo, we took our own car seats and just checked them with the baggage. It was easy! When we got to our destination, we picked up our car seats along with our luggage and proceeded to the car rental place. It was very no hassle, I would definately do that again if we opt to fly somewhere. Good luck!!

Check out the go-go kidz travelmate.

http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html

There are also rental companies for kid supplies, I know I used one when traveling with my 18 month old, I got a crib, stroller and highchair.

http://sandiegotravelbaby.com/catalog/

They'll bring everything to where you're staying and set it up for you.

Have a fun trip!

Some car rentals do offer rental on carseats however are they safe or clean?! You don't know if they have been involved in a accident and think about how many kids have used them. I recently went on a trip with a three month old. We checked our carseat.

I know that some rental companies rent car seats. Or you could check the car seats and just have them at the luggage pick up. You could try on of the backless booster's for your older child.

We check our car seats with our luggage. Last time we rented a car seat for a week and it cost more than buying a new one.

I think we moms could make MILLIONS of dollars if we created rental places in airports for situations like these. We could rent strollers, carseats, exer-saucers, pack and plays....Who's in?!
Anyway, I do believe some people ship their things ahead of them. My friend did that when she traveled. You could look into having someone pick cheaper carseats up for you at a consingment shop, if that would be cheaper than shipping, then you could donate it to a Goodwill type store when you are done? OR, call your car rental place. Some new mini vans have built-in car seats. Or they might even have some suggestions about how to get a carseat for you to use! Good luck! :-) Happy vacationing.

I have traveled to CA several times with my children and we have taken our carseats. You can check them at the ticket counter and there usually insn't a fee and they don't count as luggage. You might want to consider caring the 3 year olds on the flight, that way he/she can't run around freely. My 3 year old did much better in his carseat. You do need to verify that your seat is aircraft approved though. We have a Britax and it is.

We always take our car seat (and base) and check them with our checked luggage. Some airlines will provide a plastic bag for the car seat to go in. Others put them with the luggage that needs special handling (skis, dog carriers, etc.). I just purchased a piece of luggage especially for car seats. I got mine at Babys R Us for about $30. It has wheels on it or backpack straps. We will be using it for the first time in a couple of weeks. Just be aware that it does count as one of your checked pieces of luggage.

We just flew from Toronto to Minneapolis and then to Omaha and actually forgot our carseats. We called the car rental place (National) while on our layover at Minneapolis to order them and make sure they had what we needed. We have had problems before where they didn't have a toddler seat when we needed it, so we had our fingers crossed. When we got there, they gave us a new Dodge Caravan that has two car seats inside the middle bench seat - AWESOME! No lugging car seats through the airport, I felt they were perfectly safe, they still had the tags on everything so I knew no other kids had been in them, it worked out great. I would definitely try this option again, especially if you plan to rent a car anyway. Its worth the money on the mini-van rental if you don't need a massage at the end of your vacation after lugging all that stuff around AND you don't get back home and have to put your car seats back in your car before you can leave the airport.

I rent the car seats from the rental car company as I find it less of a headache trying to carry along our own plus all of our luggage. I think anything to make the trip less of a hassle.

You can rent them from the car company, boosters are cheaper than car seats. We often bring the seat and rent the booster with our two. Good luck... if you like Japanese food, check out a little place called Yakimono, there's one near UCSD and one off of Balboa. (I used to live in SD)

I would check with the car rental company first. Then check with the county of where you are traveling to. I contacted the county during a trip of mine and they helped me out. Do you have any friends or relatives that happen to be there that may know someone you could borrow one from? What about just buying a couple of boosters that you could do as luggage check and you won't have to worry about carrying them in the airport. I have even seen some special "bags" for such items that help protect them.

Also, check with a few churches as they may have some moms that are willing to help them out. Or MOPS groups (at the churches or www.mops.org) and explain the situation. You'd be amazed how resourceful those women are!

Just rent a car seat at the car rental place, we've done that before.

You can use the car seats/booster seats on the airplane or check them as baggage. I've done both. If you don't want the hassle most rental car companies will provide them.

You definitely need carseats in CA and we usually take ours, although now you may have to pay extra to ship them. You may be able to rent carseats from your car rental place. The bigger companies often offer them, but be sure to call ahead and make arrangements.

SAHM of seven, originally from CA

I would suggest lugging your car seats through the airport and checking them at the gate (you can do this with car seats and strollers). They will put them on the plane, and they will be there in the walkway when you get off of the plane. It is a hassle, but it is so much cheaper than renting car seats along with your rental car. You'll usually end up paying more for the rental seat than you would if you bought a new car seat. I travel to Las Vegas with my two kids (now 2 and 3) at least once a year to visit my sisters and have never had a problem doing it this way. I have a double stroller and usually stack the car seats in the stroller with one of my kids. My sister used to check her car seat with her luggage, but on TWO occasions had her seat stolen! You just never know. My next trip to Vegas is in December, and I have two new Radian 80 car seats which fold and will be putting them in an oversized duffle bag and checking them at the gate. You also have the option to bring them on the plane and have your child strapped in it during the flight, which I may consider doing as well, keeps them more under control and similar to auto travel when they know they must be strapped in their seat. If money isn't an option: Sure, it would be easier to rent them with your rental car. Just be cautious of weight restrictions, etc. I don't know what the rental cost of a booster would be, but I think I paid $50 a week for the toddler car seat, which I believe went up to 40 pounds. It's really your call. Good luck!

Don't lug your car seats with you. You will already have plenty of stuff to bring along. All rental car companies have car seats, just be specific on the kind of seat you need (booster and toddler front facing). It's worth the addt'l $15 or so to rent than the hassle and weight of more stuff to carry.

A., you should be able to rent the car seats when you rent the car. They will most likely be "well used" and a bit grimy, but they have to be up to code. So if that doesn't sit well with you, you may want to consider other alternative. I would call the rental company and ask them about it. You are right it is difficult to lug car seats around when traveling. Maybe other moms have better ideas, but I rented while in Europe and it worked out well. GOOD LUCK! C.

We travelled to CA last year and rented a car seat from Hertz. I'm not sure about a booster seat, though...

Our family went to Florida when our son was 8 months old. I just did a Google search for "car seat rental" or something similar. We found a company in Tampa that rents car seats, as well as a pack-n-play for him to sleep in, and they even dropped it off at our rental car pick-up location!
These companies tend to be local people who maintain the equipment and rent it out to tourists/visitors. I'm sure San Diego would have something similar. Good Luck!

Some rental companies have carseat you can rent. Check in advance and you should be able to find one, just make sure that the carseats are not expired and that the company does periodic checks to make sure they are safe and have not been recalled.

I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old and I bought a carseat bag from Babies r us. I just put both of them in the same bag. And then it is counted as a normal luggage. It makes it easier. Plus you have the safety of having your own car seats for your kids. Hope this helps

I usually bring my daughter's car seat with us (she is two). I don't bring it on the plane (I check it), and it does not count as a piece of luggage (or at least, didn't use to). The other option that you have, is that most rental car companies will rent them to you. They are kinda pricey, and not the best quality, but it does save you the hassel of having to carry them.

our experience has taught us to always bring a car seat, we rented a car one time while on vacation, were we requested a car seat and never got one. You can request one but there is NO Guarantee that you will get one, so I would play it safe and just bring them.

We went to Dallas last May with my then 3 year old and 6 month old. We did check our 2 carseats for the flight. We rented one of those carts for $3 to haul our stuff through the airport. It was worth it.
Some car rental places may offer car seats but I feel more comfortable using my own.

We've done a lot of travel, and always have checked the carseats in luggage. If they are in their own bag (a huge duffel bag) they should not count against your luggage allowance as they are safety items. Many car rental agencies will also rent you the car seats, but it's pretty pricey, the seats may not meet your standards, etc.

Morning A.,
Call or email your car rental place and ask them if they have car seats. I believe that most car rental places carry those so you can request them for your rental. Even if it is an added small fee - it would be worth it not to carry those things through the airports.
Have fun!
D.

A lot of car rental places also have car seats to rent so you don't have to bring yours. You might want to call around and ask if that service is avaliable.

Hello, I have a son (7 next month) and a daughter (5mos) and I have to take out her car seat pretty much every time we go somewhere because I don't have a car. It's a pain kinda, but if you wanna have your kids safe...right? So, my suggestion would be to TAKE the car seats...better safe than sorry.
Also, I'd like to add that they have things that you can get to carry or pull the carseat along through the airport.
Check out www.onestepahead.com, I know they have the things I'm talking about. Look under Travel & Gear.
Hope that helps out some! GOOD LUCK!!

Most car rental agencies have car seats available. They should also know the state/local laws concerning their use.
Ask about this when you reserve your car.

Our family went to San Diego last year on vacation. We rented a car there, and it got a car seat with it. If you talk to the renters, they should have car seats that they'll let you use with the vehicle. Have a great trip...we had a blast.

We traveled to Florida for spring break and brought our carseats. We just crib-side check them with our luggage and picked them up when we got there; it really wasn't a problem. I have heard that you can rent them along with your car, but it is at least $50.00 and what if they are out when you get there?!?! I called the airline and they suggested putting them in huge garabage bags and putting your name and cell numbers on them with duc tape; thank goodness I did on the way home they forgot to attach the luggage tags and they called me in the airport to find out where we were flying to!

I would sugest taking your own car seats, with the 3 year old you can take a car seat with you through the airport and with the 6 year old you can get one of those cheep booster seats that don't take up much room and just pack it in a bag. We have traveled when my son was 7 months old to San Diego so we just checked his car seat at the gate. (we bought a cheeper car seat so that if it broke - we still had a good one when we got home.
We used to live in San Diego area and my step-son still lives there and I have friends there - so if you have any questions about the area - e-mail me ____@____.com The zoo / wild animal park is awsome there!!!
Good Luck & Have Fun!!

sorry, being nosy. have nothing to add but was curious of other mom's answers.

ok am editing only to remind you to check with the airline if you do take yours with & plan to check it as there may be possible 'check' costs & weigh it out that way. some airlines are now charging per checked item or are planning to start. so i would check out both options. for me, i would try to rent one there for convenience & ease of travel.
good luck.