So, our parents surprised us with a trip to Mexico! I'm so excited, but it's relatively soon, and there's a lot to figure out. We've flown internationally, but never with a toddler. Sadie will fly as a lap infant, but we'll be renting a car when we get there., so we'll definitely need a car seat for the week. We can either rent a car seat from the rental company for $4/day or we can bring and check our seat. Would it be a huge hassle to check our car seat? We don't have a case or anything, so I'm worried it might get messed up. Would you trust a rental car seat?
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I'd say check it but I've never traveled internationally with it before. I hope someone who has can chime in! We flew a couple of times with ours and both gate checked and baggage checked it. It came out fine every time. How old will she be?
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@mediagirl: She will have just turned 16 months. What does gate checking entail? We've never had to do that. I was looking through old posts about traveling with toddlers and saw people suggested gate checking the stroller, but I don't even know what that means! ha.
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@photojane: it just means you carry it through the airport and then check it when you get on the plane. It will be waiting for you when you get off at the area where you pick up strollers and such. We did that one time and then realized it was really heavy. Haha. We ended up checking at baggage check from there on out.
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@mediagirl: Does it count as one of your pieces of luggage? Do you have to pay extra? Sorry for all of the questions!
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@photojane: nope! You can check 2 pieces of luggage per person PLUS a carseat and/or stroller!
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Gate checking carseats and strollers should be free! It was for us, but we did not fly internationally!
I hated the carseats from the rental company so we bring one, rent one whenever we travel now. We gate check the stroller where Wagon Jr. rides through the airport, and we also gate check the convertible carseat which LMW rides on with a gogobabyz travelmate... we love that thing.
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I'd check it, I've done it internationally and it hasn't been a problem.
Make sure you know how to do a seatbelt install, the rental car may not have LATCH or it could be Isofix, so you might not be able to use your latch belts.Check with your airline, you may only be able to check one suitcase and it varies if lap infants get a baggage allowance.
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@photojane: I think it's generally not recommended to check carseats, because they can become damaged either while being transported under the plane or during the flight, similar to the damage it could receive from a car accident.
That being said, we were in Mexico in Feb and used a carseat provided by our hotel/transportation to the hotel a few times, and it was only able to be installed FF, which I wasn't happy about. So I don't know if I would necessarily trust the rental company (unless you speak to them personally and can guarantee a RF carseat if that's important to you).
I also don't think you need to pay extra to gate check things like strollers and carseats? But I could be wrong.
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@photojane: We bought a $45 cosco scerena just for traveling - its super light weight!
I took DS to Aruba when he was 16 months and I carried him in a Beco and put the car seat in the stroller and my carry on in the stroller - so I had 2 hands to push the stroller.
DS was a lap child but once at the gate I asked if they had empty seats and on 3 of the 4 flights I was able to get him one and use his car seat - He did MUCH better sitting in his car seat than in my lap at that age!
Also we flew AA and for international flights a lap child pays 10% of the reg adult fare and is allowed 2 bags of their own for free - so in essence he needed a ticket - it was about $50 - make sur eyou check with your airline on their policy and obviously - get his passport
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@Mamaof2: Good looking out!! I totally assumed she was free. We have to fly United and apparently they charge 10% for a lap infant. How crazy is it that we have to pay for her when she won't even be taking up a seat?!
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we rented a car seat and it was nice! was convenient and worth it.
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I would buy a seat on the plane, but if you decide not to, I'd gate check the seat before I rented one. My cousin rented one for his then 5 month old, and all they supplied was a booster seat.
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Gate check the car seat. We also got a Go Go Baby-Z for it. It's easily one of the best travel purchases we made.
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@mrs. wagon: @cascademom: The Go Go Baby-Z seems pretty awesome. Did y'all also bring a stroller? I'm thinking we'll need the umbrella stroller for walking around while we're there. My original thought was to stick her in the stroller in the airport, but the Go Go Baby-Z seems like a nice investment.
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@photojane: I used the GoGoBabyz in the airport and then just brought a carrier for while on vacation. It's totally worth it!
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@photojane: yes, we brought an umbrella stroller too. The gogobabyz is pretty small and flat and can probably easily fit into a suitcase if you're worried about carrying it around while not in use.
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@photojane: We didn't bring a stroller because of the nature of where we were. If we need one for future trips to the inlaws, I'll pick up a cheap umbrella one somewhere. It was super easy to wheel LO around the airport in the Go Go Babyz, manage our luggage, etc.
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@rattles: I definitely need the stroller! She likes to get out and walk and explore a lot. If she was younger I'd definitely consider wearing her. She's not into it these days!
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I would not trust the rental car company, especially one in Mexico. I'd bring my own and check it.
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I don't know anything about checking it, but we just rented one from Hertz for our niece. She is 2.5yo, and wasn't very comfortable in the cheapo one they provided us (Cosco brand). At the largest setting it was still too tight, and she is an average sized kid I think. I'm guessing this would be less of an issue with a smaller kid though.
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