Car Hire - child seats included?

[Lee]

Hi,
Can anyone in the know tell me if the various car rental companies offer child seats (for 2 year old)? Can't seem to find anything on the web sites.

Also, herself was reading that it's a good idea to get a taxi from the airport to the villa and then have the car company deliver the car to the villa. Is that a good move?

Thanks,
Lee

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

Hi Lee

We've always managed to hire child seats from any of then rental companies we have used in the past - we paid $5 per day per seat which soon mounts up and we do not think the seats are very good quality - I doubt they would pass the safety criteria in the UK.

We now take our own car seats in the hold luggage (put them in a see through bin liner for protection) and have never looked back.

We always pick the car up at the airport as it's a lot less hassle. If you are flying into MCO, use Dollar as they have the car hire on airport which saves an extra bus journey to the car compound.

I'm not sure of the benefit of getting a hire car delivered to the villa?

[blott]

Also worth a mention is the fact that home owners will provide usually very detailed driving directions to either the key pick up or direct to their home for you (usually when you have paid your final balance) so there'll be no problem about getting lost!

Taxi fares, depending on whereabouts you are going in the area, are probably around at least twice as much as the daily car rental cost!

[fester]

Last April we upgraded to a minivan (Chrysler Town & Country- same as the Chrysler Voyager here in the UK) from Dollar and noticed that it had a built-in child seat. I dont know the size of your party but it its maybe something to think about.

Graeme

[Ruth]

I totally agree with John. The car seats in the USA are not as good as ours and the staff won't show you how to fit them for legal reasonsWe now always take our own and save money at the same time

[steph_goodrum]

The other thing is that if you take your own, you will know that they have not been involved in an accident which may have caused unseen structural damage impairing the safety of the seat, and also that they are the appropriate size for the age and size of your own children.

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

Greame

Good point but we drive a Chrysler Voyager in the UK and it does not have in-built child seat.

Also, we always have a Voyager in the US (be it a Chrysler, Dodge etc etc) and they have not had these seats either.

Perhaps it's the Town & Country model that has them?

[imported_n/a]

We too have a voyager in the UK and it has no fitted car seats.

The one we rent in the US does.
If they hadn't shown us we would never have know it was there.
The seat lifts up (the bit you sit on) to reveal an inbuilt child seat.
However - it is not the sturdy type and our daughter found it very uncomfortable. Fortunately we have a proper one in the villa for her to use as soon as we get there.

I would recommend you take your own. The airlines take these no problem and I don't think they are counted as luggage.

[fester]

The Chrysler Town and Country had the child seat. Im not too sure if it was a new model that took over from the Voyager over there. My brother-in-law also upgraded to a minivan and he got a Dodge Grand Caravan (practically identical) and the car seat was also built in. But i do agree with sunnyside, they are pretty flimsy.

Graeme

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

We got a Chrysler Grand Voyager Town & Country model this time and were advised at the desk that there was a built in child seat. As we were staggering with our booster and car seat. As we had transported them all that way we were certainly going to use them! We therefore did not investigate the built-in child seat. (Probably should have with hindsight)

Incidently you can use the car seats on the plane but NOT BOOSTER seats.

Would have prefered the seat configuration that we have here in the UK two separate captains seats for the children otherwise they annoy each other!!!!