Car seat and transportation from ports

[MariahJ]

I will be cruising with my 15 month-old daughter in November. She obviously still needs to be in a car seat. We made plans to go to a dolphin encounter in Cozumel. I was told the best way to get there is a 20-minute taxi ride. I don't think taxis have car seats. How do others traveling with LOs handle this issue?

[Ggdean]

You sit them on your lap as you would a bus shuttle. That's what people in cities do. The first time I rode a cab in NYC I was surprised but I do as the locals do. And in Mexico car seat laws are well, very lax.

[Kerry's Girls]

I will be cruising with my 15 month-old daughter in November.... I don't think taxis have car seats. How do others traveling with LOs handle this issue?

 

If I'll be using any auto transportation (as opposed to walking or bus only) I bring car seats.

 

Best,

Mia

[Mom2B&Z]

I will be cruising with my 15 month-old daughter in November. She obviously still needs to be in a car seat. We made plans to go to a dolphin encounter in Cozumel. I was told the best way to get there is a 20-minute taxi ride. I don't think taxis have car seats. How do others traveling with LOs handle this issue?

We travel with our car and booster seats. I have a bag that fits the seats, which we leave with our other personal items while doing an activity. I don't worry about locking them up, although some people ask to have them put behind a counter etc if that option presents itself. The bag keeps the sand/dirt/sun/water off the seats while you're away, plus helps carry it to and from your transportation.

There are many opinions about whether you should use a car seat, I'm not going into them since your original post was about how to use the car seat, not whether you should or not.

[nothriver]

I travel with an age appropriate child restraint for travel in any taxi/car or van. If I don't want to travel with a child restraint, I'll make sure I can get where I'm going by bus, where you don't need a child restraint.

 

When my child was a toddler, I traveled with a Cosco Scerena. This seat used to come in a clear plastic bag. It is relatively inexpensive, light and easy to carry around, easy to install in almost any vehicle, and the bonus travel bag is a plus too. Drawback is that it is not the most comfortable seat for long distance travel and would not be my first choice for a very long plane ride.

 

I now travel with a Radian by Sunshine Kids. This is one of the heaviest child restraint on the market but folds in half and has back pack straps for easily transporiting. When I first got this car seat, I did not travel with it because of the weight but I've come to love this seat for travel! Because it folds, it is easy to manuver down aisles of planes and also fits inside empty luggage under the bed in the cruise cabin. It is an expensive seat and I wouldn't buy it just for travel but this is our primary car seat we love ours.

 

What type of car seat(s) do you currently have? Maybe someone has specific suggestions for what you have on hand.

 

I'd seriously be tempted to pick up something like the Scenera, you should be able to find them for under $40. My daughter outgrew hers when she was pretty young because she is tall but it was great to have for travel and as a spare seat for the grandparents.

[cruisealot]

The first time we traveled we took our carseat for our DD, but never used it. We were always in vans, shuttles, or taxis and we never installed it.

[eskiemomo]

We typically take the Graco carseat which is easily installed in a taxi/limo, and have used the backpack to transport it through airports. Next trip our toddler will need the Britax carseat which we plan to transport using the GoGo Baby device a photo/description is here

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Go-Babyz-QRKIDZ-Kidz-Travelmate/dp/B000JJK9EY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318219608&sr=8-1

 

All of our ground transport/excursions was offering transportation by bus but upon asking one of them in Caribbean was a "safari bus" so we brought our Ergo carrier just in case. Turned out to be an open air bus instead of a big tour bus, and so we strapped her onto DH using the Ergo. There were at least 8 other kids from infant to toddler to preschool on it and honestly nobody else restrained their kids in anything - just held in laps throughout the trip