we are travelling from USA to Portugal and want to know if usa baby car seats will fit in a small european rental car. Appreciate
Your car seats will fit fine. I'd bring it instead of renting one, most rental cars charge 8 euro/day and up for renting one. If you're getting your little one a seat on the plane, it's also a good idea to use on the plane, to keep 'em safe and help keep you sane. If you're not getting him/her a seat, you can check it.
Unless you're renting from the largest rental offices. such as airports, being assured you can rent a car seat is risky. Smaller offices may or may not have them on hand, even if you've asked for them and size can be an issue. I know from experience. Best to pack the one your baby is comfortable with you.
renting is expensive. We've traveled with car seats - a bit of a hassle but doable - and we've waited until we arrived and bought one then left it with the rental agency. Buying was far cheaper than renting.
Fletcher, if you've purchased when you got there, what was your strategy for finding them? And Maria, yes they will. We brought them last time, then got so sick of lugging them once we changed from car to train, we left them on the train. I bought new car seats when I got home. Ouch.
Thank you so much for all the advice given about the baby car seats. Most appreciated.