UKC

Hi,

Off to Australia next month and will be going on holiday with a baby for the first time.

We don't want to take a car seat, as there are portions of the trip where we won't need it and it'll be a pain to lug around - the places we've got a car hired, we've booked it with a seat.

However, we will need to do a couple of transfers from airports to hotels, so how do you transport a baby for those? I'm guessing some sort of shuttle bus would get us around for some of it, but I don't expect taxis will have baby seats.

Any advice? We're flying in/out of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Thanks,

In reply to LastBoyScout:

It is usually legal (in Europe at least) to not use a baby seat if you take a taxi.

In reply to drolex:

That's really long flight with a baby. make use you have a good stash of the essentials in your hand luggage, encase your hold bags get lost.

In reply to drolex:

Ok, cool - useful info, thanks.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Have a look at the inflatable carseats from Bubblebum, bit like a Thermarest, comfy & suitably certified, etc. Light and definitely more convenient to pack than a regular car seat.

We have owned a couple for the last few years to save hiring/buying them everytime we go somewhere and take taxis or hire a car. Very happy with them.
http://www.bubblebum.co/ie/

Available from amaz*n and H*lfords I believe

In reply to LastBoyScout:

How are you transporting the baby when you don't have a car? Buggy?

We always used a small car seat that clipped into a buggy frame when they were small. (Maxi-cosi I think).

Be careful with taking car seats and buggies to the gate. It is convienent, but if you are doing a short stop where you don't get to see your hold luggage during transfer (Dubai etc.) then they sometimes don't make it and get lost. Very annoying at the other end. Always ask for the buggy back at the earliest opportunity, as if it was a wheelchair.

Steve

In reply to Kevin Forde:

Or there are BoostAPaks ( http://www.boostapak.com ), which also work well for kids- but I'd assumed a child described as a "baby" was probably too small and still needed to be backwards facing?

In reply to LastBoyScout:

PS - yes, looks like taxis are exempt, so it's down to what you're comfortable with safety wise, as opposed to what's legal.
http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia

In reply to sbc23:


Yes - buggy for this trip.


We have a travel system with a BeSafe car seat. It's fine for at home, but out of the question to take this time, as it is far too big to drag through airports. The seat is now too restrictive for her when she's not in the car, only has one reclined position on the chassis and for use in Australia it'll be far too hot.


Thanks - will bear that in mind in Kuala Lumpur. It'll have luhhage labels on it.

In reply to sbc23:




.. but the wait for the buggy puts you at the back of the queue for immigration, so there can be advantages to not taking a buggy, and using slings instead.

That said, we went to Canada last year, did take the buggy for the first time, and then they sent everyone with a buggy through the Canadian (rather than foreign lane). Which was nice.

In reply to drolex:

Notably in Switzerland it isn't, so the taxi drivers charge a whacking extra fee to obtain one from the office. ISTR it is about 30 quid, and as is usual in those parts it is sold as "a small price to pay for your child's safety".

The result, I guess, is no small children ever take taxis any more.

Neil

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I have no experience with this at all, but a thought might be to request a wheel-chair friendly taxi. Most of those enable passengers to stay in their chairs in a position where they are rear-facing to minimise injury and where there is some kind of head-rest behind them to prevent whiplash. Possibly you could place the buggy in that space.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

one point about adelaide airport depending on age of your baby - we went with a 2 month old so still needed lie flat pram rather than sit up buggy. adelaide airport, despite being brand new and rebuilt, isn't equipped to allow buggies right up to the plane door like most other airports, you have to check it in with other luggage. they do give you a buggy to use for departures area - but not suitable for a baby unless old enough to sit up. so a sling can be a good idea!

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Another great fan for slings at airports - I've never taken a buggy through an airport (though I've always been heading to a ski resort spread up the side of a hill, so a buggy no great bonus at the far end, either!)

In reply to LastBoyScout:

We've booked taxis with baby seats before, not in Australia, but in the UK. A quick google suggests it's possible, at least in Sydeny. So just book in advance. 1) Less stress 2) You get a car seat