tonyghiggins

Hello all,
My wife is traveling back to England with our 3 yr old and 8 month old, the costs seem to be mounting up rapidly!! What with airfares being around $2500 and car rental for a month being $1000, then add in child seats, gas we are looking at 4k before they even start on spending money!!! The 3 primary places she needs to be in are London, Bristol and Cambridge, I am posting some questions from her and wonder if you could all help/give some feedback or any useful information.

Questions/concerns/issues for England trip

1.Rental car from either 3rd – 28th, or 7th to 29th July, 2008 (decent place to use thats not expensive?)

2.Car seats – I need one for age 3+, and one for 12 months plus (both forward facing). Should I take ours?

3.Should we take a plane that has changes or a straight flight?

4.How to fly with a 3 year old and a 10 month old – what will they need? Any good tips/suggestions/buys? Will 3 year old need car seat in the plane? Would it be recommended we take car seat for infant – can this be checked in?

5.Is it true you don’t get charged for baby equipment? If so, is that all airlines, or just specific ones?

6.How can you manage London with an infant and a 3 year old?

chicagojlo

I'll answer what I can:

username 34

yep it is hugely expensive I'm afraid. In terms of your questions heres what I do (I have 2 boys, they were 3 months old and 2 years old when I started flying transatlantic on my own with them)

1) rental car from Expedia.com (NOT expedia.co.uk) - for your timeframe, compact car (Ford Focus, 4 door golf etc) would be $680, midsize (Food Mondeo etc) would be $780. thats pick up and drop off at LHR or LGW.

2) I would always take my own car seats. We have been involved in 2 write off accidents with the kids overseas in rental cars and I beleive that our car seats saved them any injury - I dont have faith in rental companies used seats. Its a pain but take them is my advice. Just check them straight in - they dont count as luggage weight.

3) Direct flight - pay the money, its worth it.

4) no car seats on the plane is my advice. order the kids meals in advance with your booking, and request bulkhead seats. Inform the airline your wife is travelling alone with them and may need assistance when she reaches UK - its a long walk sometimes from the gate when arriving and with a baby, 3 year old and probably 2 hand luggage bags the easiest thing to do is request you go on the little buggy thing with disabled passengers. It'll take you straight down to baggage collection. You can also request from the airline help with a porter to push the luggage trolley etc down to car rental place.

Take a bag of toys/crayons,books. The 3 year old might be straight into watching the inflight entertainment (as my oldest always is) but for my youngest I eek the toys out - dont give all in one go. and maybe bring toys they've not seen before so they are getting something new.

Take your stroller to the gate with you and do gate check in when boarding. You pick it up on exiting the plane on the airwalk.

5) our baby equipment (car seats and strollers) have never been included in our baggage allowance

6) would I do London with 2 at this age .... probably not, but then I dont quite know what you mean by "do London".


hope that helps. So far I've done more than 8 trips with the kids, they're now 5 and 3, and the better prepared you are - the better it goes. Just remember .... its only 12 hours out of your life.

When I look at the amount of crap I travel with ... 2 car seats, 2 suitcases, 2 hand luggage bags, double stroller - you would think its impossible, but if you use porters you never actually have to touch all the stuff bar loading it in the car.

penguinsix

I agree wholeheartedly with the direct flight. Even if it means you drive 90 minutes to a larger airport or something, or pay a bit more, going direct saves time and headaches and with two kids--oh wow...

Car rental places do provide car seats but they are often somewhat 'used' to say the least. Bring some disinfectant wipes with you.

Couple other points.

See if you can get an infant fare for the 10 month old. It's a long long flight with a baby in your lap. If you can't swing that, aim to get the bulkhead row (i.e. the row with no seats in front) as many airlines (like BA) have a infant carrier that fits in there.

If you do get a seat for the infant, then I would not necessarily recommend the bulkhead as there is no place to put your diaper bag and carry-ons. You'll be accessing them frequently during the flight.

My general preference is morning flights, but if your kids are capable then an overnight might work and allow them to sleep. Some parents take the blankets and throw them on the floor under the seat, allowing the 3 year old or so to 'stretch out' and sleep a bit better.

Take extra pacifiers, food, diapers, toys with you, times 2x as you will likely have them fall on the floor, get lost in the seat, etc. Planes aren't exactly the cleanest things.

Babies cry. It can be embarrassing when everyone on the plane is looking back at you but it's a fact. My general advice is that most passengers understand that a baby cries, so long as the parent or caregiver is doing what they can to try and soothe them. Practicing 'cry it out' or something on a plane is not something I recommend. In a general sense, if you are a 'cry it out' or a 'no tv' or a 'no candy' kind of parent, then you might want to consider relaxing some rules while on a plane to help everyone have a good flight.

Good luck.

MsElui

When we did a reccie trip from england in sept 07 to the us we took a booster seat and a car seat - but it was hassle lugging it through the airport etc. when i recently went to england i tried to source these on the local freecycle group in advance (my mum would have picked it up and the last freecycle site i used in surrey always had car seats on there). As there were none to be had at her local freecycle i ended up buying new in Argos. The simple booster for the 3 year old was under a tenner . The car seat (forward facing) for the 15 month old was about 34 quid and it can be converted to a fancy booster with side protection etc for when they are a bit older). ive left them with my parents in case we go back to visit.

i found a split flight broke it up a bit and gave them a chance to stretch their legs in the middle/look in shops/ eat . buts its just a preference or cost thing.

only certain car seats can be used on planes. unless you happen to have one i wouldnt bother taking it on plane - check it in. 3 year old will have a seat to themselves and a normal seatbelt. take a few cheap toys/colouring books/paperback thin books etc they have never seen before so they make good diversions. Take a few small snacks like sliced apple or crackers to keep them going for long flight.
we have taken strollers and car seats for free with american airlines, and strollers for free with delta.

username 34

I echo this for sure ... I have spent an entire night flight to the UK in the loos with my 7 month old screaming! It was tiring, I was nearly ready to kill him (jk - before anyone goes mad!) but it was all over and just 7 hours out of my life. dont let this worry you or your wife too much - almost a third of passengers tend to be under age 16 so airlines and passengers are totally used to kids being kids.

me - I prefer night flights, at least one of the kids will go down from sheer tiredness and with the bulkhead seats you will get sky cots (check with US airlines though if they have) and just lay the babe down - although when the seatbelt sign comes on the babe has to be strapped onto the lap of the parent or in its own car seat strapped in.

and remember .... not too many sweets as sugar will hype them up!

chicagojlo

I've always had brand new car seats from rental places, but we have Hertz Gold so that might be why and they have been for a 4 year old not an infant. I don't recommend getting a used car seat for an infant in particular from Freecycle, a car seat loses it's safety once it has been in a crash and there is no way to know if it's been in one or not.
Is there anyway someone can collect your wife from the airport? Sounds like she will need all the help she can get and it would save a bit on the rental car. We also bought a car seat in the UK and left it with Grandma and Grandad for future visits. If you plan on travelling there on even a semi-regular basis it's worth considering (order online and have it shipped to whoever will pick you up).
But I do think taking a seat for the 10 month old would be better - what would you do with the baby while tending to the toddler if you don't have the bulkhead (we've never had it despite asking)?
And if you do take your stroller airside make sure they give you a 'deliver to the gate' tag at checkin because otherwise it's very likely to get taken to the luggage belt with the rest of them.

MB-Realtor

I got caught out that way using Nationals web site, the UK site price included full insurance, airport taxes and VAT, the USA site didn't include any of these and ended up being more expensive. So its worth double checking to make sure whats included.

username 34

just need to make sure on the quote it states that all fees are inclusive of taxes and fees - which expedia says on their quotes.

we're booked for a full size sedan, 3 weeks in July with Expedia.com for $696 and have been in touch with the car company to ensure all costs are included. For that we get either a Saab 95, Audi A6 or similar.

tonyghiggins

Wifey says thanks for all the info/replies, anymore is appreciated!

basementwaj

https://www.europcar4easyjet.com/index.html?locale=GB

for car... about £300 a month

naomi

I always take my own car seat--I don't trust rental car seats, never know if the seat has expired or been in a crash etc. I think it is worth taking your own car seats on the plane for your kids--my daughter always slept better in her seat and was less prone to escaping.

Lothianlad

Anyone planning a visit to the UK who finds it mega expensive before even starting out on the trip, all I would say is this..........just wait until you get here!

meauxna

I've always had the best car deals for the UK by booking through the US (even from abroad) and I always got the best rates from AutoEurope. I think they broker to the different car companies and get you a better discount.
My email indicates they may have a fly/drive special on now too if you haven't booked yet.

Can't help with the kid stuff, but you have my sympa.. I mean, my best wishes!
Have a great trip!

cybersecretary

re flights - dont assume the food will be anything your 3 year old will eat, mine rarely get any kid friendly food on planes (ie pasta covered in parmesan), I always stock up in departures on sarnies, crisps etc etc to keep them fed on the flight and give them a bloody good feed before you leave. Oh and DONT try the knock out drops (benadryl) on the day of the flight, they might have the reverse effect!

BTW, if people give you grief for not liking a crying baby, tell them to sod off and fly in their own private plane, they should have a bit more compassion.