Isofix car seat
May 9th 2019, 8:22 pm
#16
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,022
Re: Isofix car seat
My 4 yr old granddaughter has on occasion, when it is unavoidable, been in cabs and UBER vehicles in Toronto without a child seat. She sits in the middle of the back seat, using the seatbelt and an adult either side holding her.
May 9th 2019, 8:32 pm
#17
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Thread Starter
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 41
Re: Isofix car seat
You wouldn't be allowed to ride in a cab with your child on your knee ........ the cabbie and you would be liable to huge fines, and he may lose his license.
You said earlier that your plane does not land until around midnight. It could well be 2 hours of more before you are through Customs and Immigration, and got all your baggage. THEN you have to get into the line for cabs.
As someone who travelled a lot with a 15 month old (around the world for a year), I really would advise you to check out the possibility of getting a room in a hotel AT the airport, so all you have to do is walk your way to it.
You will be blasted, and the kiddie will be tired out its mind ............ and you might well have had a flight that your kiddie had not enjoyed, giving you and your wife a hard time.
Get a good night's rest there, then you can get the hotel desk to call a cab for you WITH a car seat provided.
I can also assure you that landing at that hour in the morning, even with someone else driving, you will be flinching at driving "on the wrong side". We did it in Montreal on our first visit to Canada, and I still remember it with horror ............. not only the wrong way traffic, but the way the cabbie drove!
Just Google hotels at Toronto Airport, and check it out.
from "been there, done that"
You said earlier that your plane does not land until around midnight. It could well be 2 hours of more before you are through Customs and Immigration, and got all your baggage. THEN you have to get into the line for cabs.
As someone who travelled a lot with a 15 month old (around the world for a year), I really would advise you to check out the possibility of getting a room in a hotel AT the airport, so all you have to do is walk your way to it.
You will be blasted, and the kiddie will be tired out its mind ............ and you might well have had a flight that your kiddie had not enjoyed, giving you and your wife a hard time.
Get a good night's rest there, then you can get the hotel desk to call a cab for you WITH a car seat provided.
I can also assure you that landing at that hour in the morning, even with someone else driving, you will be flinching at driving "on the wrong side". We did it in Montreal on our first visit to Canada, and I still remember it with horror ............. not only the wrong way traffic, but the way the cabbie drove!
Just Google hotels at Toronto Airport, and check it out.
from "been there, done that"
We will be shattered!! And I don't even want to start thinking about our little one (who incidentally will be 15 months like yours was!) and what if she doesn't sleep on the plane... It will be way past her bedtime! 
When my husband went to Ottawa last year, his flight left around midday... I wish they hadn't changed that, but never mind...Thank you for that, we will check out hotels at Ottawa airport for the first night, then maybe downtown to sort out some things the second night and then we will be moving into rented anyway. Also, if we are refreshed enough after the first night, we may be able to get a hire car for ourselves anyway... And use our illegal car seat on the way to the nearest car seat shop!
PS: I AM the wife...
Last edited by Caro90; May 9th 2019 at 8:35 pm.
May 9th 2019, 8:48 pm
#18
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Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Isofix car seat
ooops ...... sorry!!!
I should have guessed from your site name!
Then you will be tired out of your tree, and your OH might also be .............. depending on which one of you your little one wants to be with.
Your little one will have had a journey in the UK to the airport, a wait around the airport, a 5-6 hour flight, wait before getting off the plane,and the journey through the airport with Customs and Immigration can be an indeterminate time ..... depending on how planes have landed, how busy Customs and Immigration is, how many officers are on duty, how long it takes your bags to get off the plane and into the airport, etc etc.
So much waiting for her, so little for her to do. Have you got a back pack seat that she can ride in??? We found that ours was much happier sitting in one of those on her father's back watching everything over his shoulder, even falling asleep. Meanwhile he had his hands free.
At least Ottawa is a much smaller airport than Toronto!
I should have guessed from your site name!
Then you will be tired out of your tree, and your OH might also be .............. depending on which one of you your little one wants to be with.
Your little one will have had a journey in the UK to the airport, a wait around the airport, a 5-6 hour flight, wait before getting off the plane,and the journey through the airport with Customs and Immigration can be an indeterminate time ..... depending on how planes have landed, how busy Customs and Immigration is, how many officers are on duty, how long it takes your bags to get off the plane and into the airport, etc etc.
So much waiting for her, so little for her to do. Have you got a back pack seat that she can ride in??? We found that ours was much happier sitting in one of those on her father's back watching everything over his shoulder, even falling asleep. Meanwhile he had his hands free.
At least Ottawa is a much smaller airport than Toronto!
May 9th 2019, 9:02 pm
#19
Magnificently Withering
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Oakville, ON
Posts: 6,891
Re: Isofix car seat
You said earlier that your plane does not land until around midnight. It could well be 2 hours of more before you are through Customs and Immigration, and got all your baggage. THEN you have to get into the line for cabs.
As someone who travelled a lot with a 15 month old (around the world for a year), I really would advise you to check out the possibility of getting a room in a hotel AT the airport, so all you have to do is walk your way to it.
You will be blasted, and the kiddie will be tired out its mind ............ and you might well have had a flight that your kiddie had not enjoyed, giving you and your wife a hard time.
Get a good night's rest there, then you can get the hotel desk to call a cab for you WITH a car seat provided.
You will be blasted, and the kiddie will be tired out its mind ............ and you might well have had a flight that your kiddie had not enjoyed, giving you and your wife a hard time.
Get a good night's rest there, then you can get the hotel desk to call a cab for you WITH a car seat provided.
I can also assure you that landing at that hour in the morning, even with someone else driving, you will be flinching at driving "on the wrong side". We did it in Montreal on our first visit to Canada, and I still remember it with horror ............. not only the wrong way traffic, but the way the cabbie drove!
Just Google hotels at Toronto Airport, and check it out.
from "been there, done that"
from "been there, done that"
May 10th 2019, 2:43 am
#20
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Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Isofix car seat
I remember enough of Brit speak to know that "respectfully disagree" means .... you're a bloomin' idiot!
I was talking from experience, and YES, I did realise later that the OP was going to Ottawa not Toronto, as you might have noticed!
I was talking from experience, and YES, I did realise later that the OP was going to Ottawa not Toronto, as you might have noticed!
May 10th 2019, 6:42 am
#21
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 57
Re: Isofix car seat
Hi
I was just going to offer my two cents with regards to the car seats, as we have made the trip to Vancouver 3 times from Manchester with our little one and have rented cars each time.
I should also say that we are also “those parents” with super expensive extended rear-facing U.K. car seats. Our little one is almost 3 and still rear facing. We also won’t put her in a taxi without a car seat, despite it being legal. Therefore we always travel with a car seat.
Anyway, back to the point. Can I recommend leaving your large ISOFIX car seats in the UK, as the bulk and the weight of them is going to be so incredibly difficult to get through the airports. If you are making the move, I imagine you are going to have a decent amount of luggage and an additional heavy car seat is going to be a massive burden. Plus you won’t be able to use them in Canada as a resident for more then a few days, (it’s perfectly legal as a visitor to use a U.K. car seat).
From our experience, I would recommend a lightweight rear-facing U.K. seat to use in the car to the UK airport that secures with a belt, such as the Joie Steadi. That way you can have all the straps set correctly to your little ones size, and you can practice securing it correctly at home using the seatbelt. A seat like that is pretty much guaranteed to fit into any rental car you have. It should also last a good few years, so you can have it on hand to travel with when visiting back to the U.K.
One of our most challenging traveling experiences was trying to fit a car seat borrowed from a friend into a rental car, and trying to figure out how to secure it/correctly adjust the straps. The frustration was horrible when dealing with a very tired little one and jet lag. The differences might seem subtle, but when you’re already tired and grumpy they can be so hard to decipher cryptic fitting instructions. Now we travel with a Canadian car seat that lives in our loft when in the U.K. Whenever we have a trip coming up, we take it out of the loft ahead of time and re-adjust the harness and review the fitting instructions to avoid the stress.
We are making the move permanently to Canada in July and will sadly be selling our fancy rotating U.K. Isofix car seats. So I understand the heartache haha. Also, I’m not sure if the anchor points are exactly the same, but the LATCH system we have on our Canadian car seat is nothing like the rigid isofix connections on our U.K. seats. The LATCH system is more like a independent seat belt that connects through the base of the car seat. I’m not certain that the rigid Isofix connects to the LATCH anchor points, but I’ve never tried.
So sorry about the essay. Basically I think that your safest bet is to get a simple, lightweight U.K. car seat and become a expert of fitting it with the normal seatbelt. It really is going to be your least stressful and most importantly safest option for your little one.
Good of luck for your move!
I was just going to offer my two cents with regards to the car seats, as we have made the trip to Vancouver 3 times from Manchester with our little one and have rented cars each time.
I should also say that we are also “those parents” with super expensive extended rear-facing U.K. car seats. Our little one is almost 3 and still rear facing. We also won’t put her in a taxi without a car seat, despite it being legal. Therefore we always travel with a car seat.
Anyway, back to the point. Can I recommend leaving your large ISOFIX car seats in the UK, as the bulk and the weight of them is going to be so incredibly difficult to get through the airports. If you are making the move, I imagine you are going to have a decent amount of luggage and an additional heavy car seat is going to be a massive burden. Plus you won’t be able to use them in Canada as a resident for more then a few days, (it’s perfectly legal as a visitor to use a U.K. car seat).
From our experience, I would recommend a lightweight rear-facing U.K. seat to use in the car to the UK airport that secures with a belt, such as the Joie Steadi. That way you can have all the straps set correctly to your little ones size, and you can practice securing it correctly at home using the seatbelt. A seat like that is pretty much guaranteed to fit into any rental car you have. It should also last a good few years, so you can have it on hand to travel with when visiting back to the U.K.
One of our most challenging traveling experiences was trying to fit a car seat borrowed from a friend into a rental car, and trying to figure out how to secure it/correctly adjust the straps. The frustration was horrible when dealing with a very tired little one and jet lag. The differences might seem subtle, but when you’re already tired and grumpy they can be so hard to decipher cryptic fitting instructions. Now we travel with a Canadian car seat that lives in our loft when in the U.K. Whenever we have a trip coming up, we take it out of the loft ahead of time and re-adjust the harness and review the fitting instructions to avoid the stress.
We are making the move permanently to Canada in July and will sadly be selling our fancy rotating U.K. Isofix car seats. So I understand the heartache haha. Also, I’m not sure if the anchor points are exactly the same, but the LATCH system we have on our Canadian car seat is nothing like the rigid isofix connections on our U.K. seats. The LATCH system is more like a independent seat belt that connects through the base of the car seat. I’m not certain that the rigid Isofix connects to the LATCH anchor points, but I’ve never tried.
So sorry about the essay. Basically I think that your safest bet is to get a simple, lightweight U.K. car seat and become a expert of fitting it with the normal seatbelt. It really is going to be your least stressful and most importantly safest option for your little one.
Good of luck for your move!
May 10th 2019, 11:31 am
#22
Slightly Canadian
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland
Posts: 10,129
Re: Isofix car seat
On Ottawa Airport.... The Hilton Garden Inn is the closest hotel (to the best of my recollection). It's close (<5m in cab or hotel shuttle) but outside of the airport itself so not impacted by traffic in the morning. (Although traffic going into Ottawa during rush hour will be a factor but that's the same anywhere). I've stayed there a couple of times, albeit sans family. It's comfortable enough. I'd stay there again. https://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/...GMB-HI-YOWAPGI
May 10th 2019, 4:48 pm
#23
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Joined: Apr 2009
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Isofix car seat
Or you could book a rental vehicle and book a child seat when you book it - much simpler!
https://www.avis.ca/en/products-and-...ildsafetyseats
(AVIS use the Latch system in Canada - see the chart on that page) - you can rent a child seat in the vehicle for $12 a day.
https://www.enterprise.ca/en/reserve.html#extras $11 a day up to a maximum of $65
There's even a rental company in Ottawa that you can obtain everything from, if needed (they deliver to the airport and hotels, as well as residential) https://www.littletravellers.ca/car-seats.html
https://www.avis.ca/en/products-and-...ildsafetyseats
(AVIS use the Latch system in Canada - see the chart on that page) - you can rent a child seat in the vehicle for $12 a day.
https://www.enterprise.ca/en/reserve.html#extras $11 a day up to a maximum of $65
There's even a rental company in Ottawa that you can obtain everything from, if needed (they deliver to the airport and hotels, as well as residential)
https://www.littletravellers.ca/car-seats.html
Last edited by Siouxie; May 10th 2019 at 4:52 pm.
May 10th 2019, 9:56 pm
#24
Still alive
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 28,994
Re: Isofix car seat
Or you could book a rental vehicle and book a child seat when you book it - much simpler!
https://www.avis.ca/en/products-and-...ildsafetyseats
(AVIS use the Latch system in Canada - see the chart on that page) - you can rent a child seat in the vehicle for $12 a day.
https://www.enterprise.ca/en/reserve.html#extras $11 a day up to a maximum of $65
There's even a rental company in Ottawa that you can obtain everything from, if needed (they deliver to the airport and hotels, as well as residential) https://www.littletravellers.ca/car-seats.html
https://www.avis.ca/en/products-and-...ildsafetyseats
(AVIS use the Latch system in Canada - see the chart on that page) - you can rent a child seat in the vehicle for $12 a day.
https://www.enterprise.ca/en/reserve.html#extras $11 a day up to a maximum of $65
There's even a rental company in Ottawa that you can obtain everything from, if needed (they deliver to the airport and hotels, as well as residential)
https://www.littletravellers.ca/car-seats.html
May 11th 2019, 4:55 pm
#25
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 41
Re: Isofix car seat
Thanks so much everyone for your feedback! It really helps us hearing about all your experiences and suggestions so we can figure out what will work best for us.
It really helps us hearing about all your experiences and suggestions so we can figure out what will work best for us.
