Has anyone traveled with young children to Europe and used a rental car? What did you do about carseats?
We've traveled all over Europe with our children. They have car seats available at rental car companies there just like we do here. They have similar laws that we have. How many children will you be traveling with? Their cars tend to be much smaller than ours are. Where in Europe are your traveling to? I'm so excited for you. We love Europe!
As long as you are on vacation in Europe you can use your US Spec seats (or if you are on orders with the US Armed Forces). I would take my own seats as I know how to install them, and the kids are used to them! As far as I know all the airlines will let you gare check car seats and strollers in for free, but check with your airline! Make sure you can get the seats installed at the car rental agency to make sure you have enough room , not much fun trying to exchange the cars... How many kids do you have and how many of them need seats! I know in Germany the law is that every child that is less than 12 years old AND less than 1meter 50 centimeters (4 ft 11 inches) need to be in a child or booster seat!
Have fun traveling in Europe!
We have rented them with the car. Sometimes it's a bit of a hassle at pick up to actually get a seat that works (there's a lot of demand for them, especially during holiday season, i.e. July/August). The person who hands the car over often has no clue about these seats, so be prepared to check and install yourself. We have been given ones with missing buckles and straps (both in the US and in Europe), so make sure you check and get the right stuff right away.
In Europes all car seats need to be certified by the EU for savety. So when we moved to Austria we got rid of our US car seat (then we had only one child) and got one here that was legal here, too. I don't know if it's lawful to travel with US car-seats on a holiday here, but i would assume it's fine.
The colour and design of carseats on average is much brighter and joyful in Europe than in the US, i find. I like Europe's better, but then, i am European, so biased...
Have great travels!
D.
take their carseats with you and use them in their airplane seats, and then in the rental car.
I have brought my own and I have rented them with the rental car. Both ways worked. When we rented, it was from Hertz and it was a clean, safe carseat. If you are visiting family/friends, you may want to ask if anyone has a car seat that you can use - I've done that before too.
Have a great trip,
C.
Call the airlines and find out if they will store your carseats on the plane for free. We are going to Hawaii in November and the airlines will let us check in the carseat for free. Now I have to convince my husband to carry it to the counter!:)
Our car seats fit fine in European cars. We brought ours along with us... We did get a slightly bigger than the smallest car you can rent and made sure it had the latch system. It worried out fine. I do know you can rent them with the car though when you get there... Have fun!
