Traveling internationally with a 7 month old

Sarah&royale

We are going to Cabo San Lucas and have one layover. I can't decide which stroller to bring. I have a bob revolution, city mini, and uppababy vista. Ideally I would like to take the uppababy but I don't want it to get damaged. My dh wants to bring bob so he can jog. The city mini is the cheapest one so if it gets torn or damaged, i probably wont be as upset as with the other strollers Whichever one we bring, would you buy a travel bag for the stroller? I hear that most travel bags require removal of wheels? I don't mind investing in one since we do have plans to fly in October for a cruise. What about a travel bag for the car seat? We will be using our chicco key fit 30 and will check along with our luggage. Ds still fits in keyfit but at home we have already started using our convertible car seat. Was anyone concerned that the bag checkers would throw around the car seat and damage it so it's not effective as a safe car seat? Not just cosmetically damaging it is what I'm concerned about. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I should also add that I'm traveling with my entire family so I have lots of help. In case that makes an impact on any advice you can give me.

amandaleigh1

I don't have much to add, but if you buy the uppababy travel bag, uppababy will replace or fix the stroller for free if the airline damages it. 

cast920

I would not check a carseat with checked luggage. It will get thrown around and would probably be damaged. Ideally, use the seat on the plane, but if you have to check it, bring it through the airport with you and gate check it along with your stroller. I would put it in a bag so it doesn't get dirty. It can still be damaged, but it's better than having it travel through the baggage system with all the 50lb suitcases. 

wifeofaussie

DH was an airline pilot so we used to fly all over the place when DD was little.  We had a bag for our stroller and both held up amazingly well!  At this point we were flying weekly, always with the same stroller.  We always gate checked it and the baggage handlers are MUCH gentler with them than with your suitcases!  Our stroller never got so much as a scratch, even once we stopped using the bag, though it did get a little dirty but it wiped right off and I never saw damage to other strollers or heard complaints from the owners. Our stroller came with a bag so we didn't have to remove the wheels or anything like that, it just zipped right up over the whole thing.  For the carseat, we just checked it with our suitcases in the big plastic bag the airline provided and never had an issue with it either. 

 As far as which stroller to take, honestly I'd say take the smallest one over the cheapest one.  The size matters most when you're lugging it through the airport, throwing it into rental cars/public transport, etc.  Having help with you, it may be easier but I found that traveling (usually alone) with a baby and all the gear required, having a light stroller I could sling around easily helped a lot!

careynj

I would never check a car seat as luggage, a checked seat is considered a crashed seat and should not be used again. As you said, it's not just cosmetic damage you need to worry about, there could be invisible damage s well. 

GirlWithTheMostCake

I'm basically a travel pro with little kids. I've been to Cabo several times with them under a year and a bunch of other places. Is the baby getting own seat on the plane? Here's my advice:

Take the Vista

Get the UPPAbaby Travelsafe Bag

If the baby has own seat then put the car seat either on the chassis and push it through the airport while keeping the stroller seat in the bag. Then when you get to the gate, put the chassis in the bag and get on with your car seat.

 If the baby does not have own seat, then do the same thing, but also get a travel bag for the car seat. While going through the airport you can put that bag inside the stroller bag. When you get to gate check hand them both bags and take the baby on board.

Do not baggage check any of the items, especially not the car seat. A car seat gets thrown and then it's "crashed" and that defeats the whole purpose.

mom2b22013

Gate check your carseat and if there are empty seats on the plane you can use the car seat and buckle in your LO.

As far as the stroller do you think you think you will use the stroller a lot? I would probably take the UppaBaby. We recently gate checked a brand new G-lite without a bag and it was completely fine.