Everything You Need to Know About Hiring a Baby Seat or Child Seat

• Learn how to hire a baby or child seat for your rental car
• Discover how much it costs to hire a child seat
• Read the tips on how to choose the right seat

Traveling with children can be challenging at the best of times. That’s without considering smaller things like hiring a child seat for your rental car. This article will provide you with everything you need to know about acquiring child seats while renting a vehicle, as well as some of the pros and cons of bringing your own.

Consider bringing your own car seat from home

If you’re a family hiring a rental car, it’s always a good idea to bring your own child seat from home, if possible. Not only will this be cheaper than the cost of renting one from a rental company, but you’ll already be familiar with the installation process and confident that your child will be comfortable in the back seat, at least for a short period of time.

Hiring a car seat from the rental car company

Sometimes, if you’re traveling overseas, or you don’t have the luggage capacity, bringing a child seat from home is simply not possible. Rather than being forced to check-in your child seat at the luggage desk, why not consider renting one from the rental company for the duration of your rental? It should also be noted that many rental companies may offer child seats as a complimentary add-on if you’ve booked in advance.

Choosing the best rental car for your child seat

Whether you’ve already booked your rental car online or you’re planning on trying your luck at the airport, it’s important that the vehicle you end up with is suitable for children. A lot of this comes down to common sense. There’s no point hiring a Lamborghini or a Ferrari if you’re needing enough room to squeeze at least one child in the back. So, with this in mind, stay clear of ‘luxury’ vehicles and go for a more family-orientated option with plenty of space for the kids.

Different types of child seats available during rental

When renting a child seat from a rental company, it’s a good idea to make them aware of the type of seat you require in good time, to ensure they have the seat in stock. When making this choice, you should also consider the weight and age of your child to ensure the rental company is able to provide a suitable option. Please see below a brief guide to some of the car seats that may be available:

• Baby seats between 0 kg–13 kg: These carry-on seats are suitable for babies up to the age of 15 months and should be placed in a seat facing away from the direction of travel. If the baby seat is situated on the passenger seat, please note that the airbag must be disabled.

• Child seats between 9 kg–18 kg: Child seats are generally suitable for children aged between 9 months and 4 years and can be mounted in any seat as long as they are facing the direction of travel, discounting the driver’s seat of course.

• Booster seats between 15 kg–36 kg: Booster seats are suitable for older children aged between 4 and 12 years and can be fitted in any seat provided they are facing the direction of travel.

Understanding the cost of hiring a child seat

On occasion, some rental companies may include child seats in the total price of your agreement as a courtesy, so it always helps to shop around. However, costs for child car seats may vary depending on location and availability, so some prior organization is recommended. While the price of car seat rental varies from company to company, you should generally expect to pay around $14 per day.

Organizing car seat hire and planning your trip

It’s always worth doing as much vacation planning in advance as possible. This is none more the case when traveling with children . To avoid being caught short without a child seat or stranded without a rental car in an airport, it’s best to sort these things out before you travel. Even if a rental company can provide a car at short notice, this doesn’t mean they’ll have the car seats available.

To arrange car seat hire online, this information will generally be communicated via optional add-ons before the payment screen. If you’re hiring a child seat, you can also request the rental company to install the seat for you to avoid any safety issues or delays. However, this service may not be available if picking up a vehicle outside of standard business hours.