Cozumel taxis and babies/carseat

[Ksmith1]

Myself and DH and two kids 3 and 1 will be cruising from Galveston on the magic stopping in Cozumel. We want to go to paradise beach but from what I've read most of the taxis don't even have seat-belts even If I brought a carseat. So what are your thoughts? How many miles is the trip?

 

[Melissa S]

Although I cannot comment specifically on Cozumel (we are going in March) we did recently travel by van in Bermuda. We were told by our travel agent and by the van company that provided us transportation from the airport to the resort that a carseat was not necessary for our 2 year old. We were told that it was not required by law. However last minute (against my husband's wishes) I brought DD's carseat. I am sooooo grateful I did. It was a pain installing it for the short ride, but the way the driver drove and the roads in Bermuda made me realize how wise that decision was. You will get many different responses on this, but I am always cautious because you never know. If you don't have one already, invest in a car seat transporter. We travel often and find these so helpful in airports, You child can sit in it while you push it rather than you lugging a carseat around. I will post the link to describe these if you are not familiar with them but they sell them everywhere and there are a wide range in prices to fit different budgets. Regarding the lack of seat belts I am sure there is a way to latch the car seat in even if there aren't seat belts. We used the latches in the van in Bermuda.

http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=40102221&RN=7375&

 

[CanuckTraveller]

We were in Cozumel last January and there were definitely taxis with seatbelts. Your TA is right that some taxis cut off the seatbelts so they can fit more people, but some taxis definitely have them
I am a Canadian car seat tech and never travel without proper restraints for my children. I have found seatbelts where others on line told me I'd "never" find them! My point is that it is always easie to use child restraints than to find out what Mexico's trauma centres look like.
You can also look at the ports of call forums on cruisecritic, they have lots of specific information on how to get around Cozumel.

 

[princessmommyx3]

We will be in Cozumel with our kids in February and I have been searching for a while now about what people do regarding car seats. I have found that most people who have shared their experiences just hold on tight and hope for the best, but I a not comfortable doing that with my kids. I found these, which we have bought and will use for our 3 year old and 6 year old (who is very small and still in a 5 point harness):

http://www.amazon.com/RideSafer-Car-Seat-Travel-Vest/dp/B000KCV61U

I purchased one of these for our 8 year old who is tall for her age but still 3 inches away from no longer needing a booster:

http://www.amazon.com/Brica-Seat-Be...=1358779084&sr=8-4&keywords=seatbelt+adjuster

Of course both of these require for the taxi to have seat belts, but I have heard from enough people that were able to find taxis with seat belts in Cozumel that I am confident we can find one, although it may mean waiting a few minutes and passing up some taxis that do not have them.

I know the travel vests are expensive, but I found mine on ebay for much less than retail.

 

[lorenni]

Our son is still a few pounds underweight for the vest and so we will not be doing any excursions that require travel by car, open air taxis etc because we are not brining his car seat. We will use DCL bus transport to and from the airport/port.

If you bring your carseats, or invest in a vest then I think you can find taxis with seat belts if you look for them.