Travel car seat recommendations

[CBJ]

We are traveling to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica with our 18 month old. We'll be flying to the port with her in her own seat so we definitely need a carseat of some kind.

 

She may still fit in a bucket still at that time and if so, that will make my life easier! But if she is too tall for it, I need to think of other options. We have a Britax car seat we could bring but it's kind of big and heavy (and expensive!) to be carting through the airport, on a plane and then around in the Caribbean.

 

Can anyone suggest a cheaper, lighter toddler carseat I could buy for traveling? One that attaches easily with a seatbelt?

 

Thanks!

[staceyeileen]

I always see the Cosco Scenera recommended as a travel seat because it is light and cheap ($40 at Wal-mart) and can rear-face to 40lbs.

 

I personally have traveled with a Britax Roundabout 55 with no problems at all. I think it's the smallest Britax seat. This seat gets used on a daily basis in my husband's car as well. We are just more familiar and comfortable with installing Britax seats. The Roundabout 55 is about $150, but the Roundabout "Classic" goes on sale at Target sometimes for $99.

[staceyeileen]

If your child is already forward-facing I would also look at the Evenflo Maestro.

[Mom2B&Z]

Considering your ports I would bring the Britax. Yes the Cosco Scenera and Evenflo Maestro are often recommended as good travel seats, but that's mainly because they are inexpensive and easy to use seats...in North America! I can speak from experience that you will not find UAS/LATCH bars in Mexico, making both of those seats a seat belt install, likely with a locking clip. I'm a Canadian car seat tech, have been for just over 4 years, and I wouldn't do it ;) Britax has the built in lock-offs, so you can install it quickly with a seatbelt regardless of what you find in the taxi. A rf install will be easier, as you won't have to find a tether, but a ff install with a 3 point belt is better than a lap belt alone without a tether.

There are nifty gadgets that will attach your Britax seat to a rolling carry on, effectively turning the carry on into a stroller. Last I looked on Amazon they were about $15. I wouldn't bring the bucket, it will be harder to install properly in the places you will be going.

FWIW we used our Britax Marathon in Mexico, Honduras, Florida (!) and Cuba without any difficulty, but I was glad I had the built in lock offs.

If you install a Britax on an aircraft, ask for a belt extender and make sure you have at least one of the buckles outside the belt path, as it is almost impossible to undo the aircraft buckle inside the Britax belt path if you've pulled it tight.

[CBJ]

Wow thanks B&Zs mom! I'm in Canada and car seats aren't too cheap so it's unlikely I could get a new one for under $100. I didn't realize the marathon was a lot easier to install than others, but that seals the deal. I'll look into the car seat attachment.

 

Appreciate your help!

[Mom2B&Z]

Wow thanks B&Zs mom! I'm in Canada and car seats aren't too cheap so it's unlikely I could get a new one for under $100. I didn't realize the marathon was a lot easier to install than others, but that seals the deal. I'll look into the car seat attachment.

 

Appreciate your help!

 

Yup, we can't get the Scenera for less than $100, whereas people in the US say they can get it for $40-$50 on a regular basis.

Bring the marathon, you'll be happy you did! Just don't let it it of your sight!!!

You can also check out carseat.org or ask to be friends with SEATS for kids Canada on Facebook, the latter is the group with whom I volunteer.

[cello56]

I just need to say that this thread makes my heart HAPPY! So many threads are about people saying they can't be bothered to bring a car seat. Hearing a thread that people are problem solving a solution so that they CAN bring a car seat is just wonderful! My son is 30 years old, and we always had him in an appropriate restraint. He was in a regular car seat until he was 5 and weighted 40 pounds, then a booster until he was 8. Good job! :)

[alw1977]

We are going on our first cruise next month and bringing our 16 month old and 3 year old boys. I've luckily been able to secure private drivers in two of our ports who offer car seats, though the place in Mexico only has one. As such, we'll be lugging one along!

 

Where do you store the car seat while on board? Will the average convertible car seat fit in a cabin closet?

 

Also, for the OP, they make some great car seat bags with wheels and roller frames to make transporting easier. There used to be some travel car seats available (inflatable parts like head restraints) but I can't seem to find them these days.

 

I agree the Seneca is very light - we bought that one for my mom to keep in her car as she routinely takes one of our children out for lunch, etc.

[nothriver]

My daughter is 7 so I can't speak to car seats currently on the market but I've loved traveling with our Radian 80, our was by Sunshine Kids but they've been purchased by another brand. It is super heavy BUT it folds AND has backpack straps. Despite weighing a ton, it is super easy to transport, especially down the plane aisle. It is also is a very low profile seat so the kids can use the tray table on the plane. It is the easiest seat on the planet to install on planes. And for a cruise, it folds flat, so it stores under the bed. We used this seat as our primary seat for over 5 years. My daughter is 7.5 and still technically within the height/weight limits of the seat but she finally decided she was too old for a harnessed seat when she started 2nd grade. Years ago we had a number of Britax seats and a Cosco Scenera, hands down I'd travel with the MUCH heaver Radian any day. The only thing is that you do need to play with the seat so you are familiar with the folding, unfolding process so you can do this smoothly entering/exiting a plane where you don't have much time or space to get the job done. I'm a single mom and just sling my day pack over one shoulder, and my Radian over the other. My kids carry their own backpacks. I love that I can use the seat on the plane and then in a rental car without having to check a high back booster and worry about resulting damage. We were able to use the Radian until my child is big enough to travel with a low back booster that we can easily take with carry-on.

 

With other harnessed seats, over my 19 years of traveling with my children, I've used just about every conceivable method of transport. When my now teenager was a baby, we tethered his seat to a rolling luggage carrier - remember those things we strapped luggage to before luggage had wheels... with my daughters seats, we had a britax roundabout that fit nicely upside down in our stroller. I've also used the Traveling Toddler strap to strap seats to my rolling luggage, and I've used the top tether as a backpack (NEVER use the seat's harness straps to carry the seat!!!), and just carried seats with my bare hands. The only thing that hasn't worked for me was the special car seat bag - mine didn't fit my seat so the bag banged around and was miserable to carry, it was way more trouble that it was worth. I think the main thing is to think about how you'll handle the seat. Pack early, pull your seat our of your car at some point before you are late for the airport to knock out any loose debris and figure out how to best handle the seat, the luggage and a toddler. Just thinking things though is way more important that having the best travel seat on the market - you can make what you have work if you really explore all the options until you find one that works for your family! Good luck!