First foreign family Holiday

C

carraig king

Registered User
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16
Don't know if there is a similar thread but here goes.
Our first child will be 18 months old in June and we are looking at going abroad for our holidays to somewhere like Portugal.

Have loads of ideas about where to go in Portugal but one thing we can't figure out is in relation to the use of car seats abroad or bringing your own. I don't drink and we would normally hire a car for the week anyway. She is now in a forwarding facing car seat and would be very cumbersome to bring. Does anyone have any experience of this as we unsure what to do.
 
Not sure what your actual question is but you can hire child seats/booster seats from your car hire agent in advance of your trip, rather than bringing one with you.
 
bren1916 said:
Not sure what your actual question is but you can hire child seats/booster seats from your car hire agent in advance of your trip, rather than bringing one with you.
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Thats perfect. If anyone has had any experience about hiring them abroad your comments would be great if you had good or bad experiences with any hire companies etc.
 
I had a similar dilemma in 2008 going to Orlando ... travelling with our 2yr old ... Car Hire company quoted me $8.99 per day + Tax (6.5%) (which was 8.99 X 13days + 6.5% = $125+) ... so we bought one in Walmart for $42 instead and brought it home with us as a piece of luggage (no charge).
 

The problem with this is arriving in the airport and hiring a car - What do you do with the baby when driving around looking for a shop to buy car seat in ?
I'm not being cheeky, I'm interested in knowing, A few people have suggested this. Do they drive around with the baby not strapped in until they find a shop that sells car seats ?

Also, its a bit of a risky strategy unless you know where to find a good value car seat shop on day one of your holiday.
You could end up paying 100 euro and then paying RyanAir another 15 euro to take it home.

Back to the OPs question, I was pricing car hire recently and 30-40 euro per car seat per booking was typical in Europe.

The car seat might not be new or very flashy. I have heard complaints
about dirty car seat, but take a blanket to put in it, and you'll be OK.

I know this is a sweeping generalisation but in my experience the big established companies
are more likely to provide a new quality car seat than a small company working out of a prefab outside the airport.
If it is your first time, and you think it will all be a bit stressful, maybe think about not taking a very cheap quote form a small company.

You will have to install it yourself. Car hire company personnel do not
install car seats. This is a bit stressful in a badly lit airport carpark
with very little space and 2 tired parents and a tired baby and not instructions, but you'll manage it.
 

Sorry , should have stated ... I never book my car for the day of arrival as the last thing I want to do is get off a long plane journey and into a car. So I choose an Airport Transfer, then pick the car up the next morning at a location near the hotel. Having been to Orlando before I know how to get to a Walmart fairly simply from the Hire car office , so I was able to pick the car up , buy a car seat , and be back to my wife and kids in the hotel before they had finished breakfast.
 
carraig king said:
She is now in a forwarding facing car seat and would be very cumbersome to bring. Does anyone have any experience of this as we unsure what to do.
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Just ask for a car seat to be available when you hire the car. Every second person hiring a car on hols in portugal needs car seat/s so they are well used to it. Why would you lug one over with you?
 
Not to get completely off the point...we are same - first foreign holiday this year with an 18 month old & thinking portugal also - where are you heading for? Have not been to portugal before
 

We booked a taxi with farocar & requested a car seat for our 9 month old ( at that time). No problems whatsover with car seat, they arrived on-time and were fine. As another poster has said dont bother lugging one with you.
 
peggybetty said:
Not to get completely off the point...we are same - first foreign holiday this year with an 18 month old & thinking portugal also - where are you heading for? Have not been to portugal before
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We normally stay around Albufeira and stayed in a place called Praia de Falesia which was a bit off the beaten track but as I dont drink and we had a car that didn't matter as we drove somewhere different every night. This year we are looking at Vilamoura as it is lovely and relaxing there in June with some lovely restaurants in the marina

AS this will be our first foreign holiday with our 14 month old we don't know what to expect.
 
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hi we stay in portimao (tivoli apts in praia da rocha) its right beside the beach.
our son was 5mths the first time and the car seat wasnt great, but we didnt do alot of driving(it wasnta s sturdy as a maxi cosi)
we got a taxi a few time and he had to sit on my lap. the 2nd time we went we got a forward facing one and it was grand too. cost 15 euro for the full wk. if your going to be charged 15 per day for a a seat, id bring my own (20 euro each way with ryan air)
enjoy
 
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