Many travelers are surprised to learn that Costa Rica, though still categorized as a developing nation and famed for its rugged and largely unpaved roads, has car seat laws. What may surprise traveling parents even more, however, is to learn that those car seat and safety booster laws are actually stricter than current child passenger safety laws in California—or elsewhere in the United States.
Fortunately, most major airlines still grant passengers free checked or gate-checked car seats and boosters (call your airline if you’re not sure). But if you have already discarded your booster once used by your 11-year-old and have no immediate plans of travel to the U.K. or anywhere else he might still need one, or you want to travel as light as possible to Costa Rica, you can opt to rent a car seat or booster along with your rental car, with rates ranging from $5 per day per car seat or booster from Thrifty SJO to Avis’s unknown rate TBD at time of rental (no thanks!).
How about you?
Do you have a helpful Costa Rica travel tip or suggestion for families? Comment below or contact me about sharing your recommendations.
Related posts and pages:
5 Best with Children Under 5: Costa Rica, Santa Teresa / Malpais
5 things I wish I’d known before moving my children to Costa Rica
Best car seats for travel
Car seat alternatives for travel
Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli
Author of Travels with Baby and the new Take-Along Travels with Baby
travelswithbaby.com Travels with Baby on Facebook
P.S. I should mention that I found Vamos 4×4 on my own and they did not sponsor this post, nor are they giving me a free set of wheels in Costa Rica.
Copyright notice: All content of this blog (c) 2007 – 2011 Shelly Rivoli
8 comments
My understanding is that the law requires the child to be both the correct age and height before they can travel without a booster seat; not one or the other. I have never seen a car in CR with a tether but very recent models may have them. The only way to be sure is to contact your rental firm directly. Very useful information for parents traveling to Costa Rica, especially as these legal requirements are fairly recent. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the heads up, Sara. I will see if I can get confirmation – 12 seems a bit much for most kids around here. My daughter is not overly tall (below average height for her age), and in one of our back seats she is simply too tall for the shoulder belt if she rides in a booster. I would hope height would be the most important factor since the main purpose of the booster is to keep the shoulder belt off the child’s neck, but I’m not so sure it always is.
[…] Car seat laws in Costa Rica […]
[…] When we’ll be driving at our destinaton, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether we’re flying two hours away or ten time zones. Car seat and safety booster seat laws now reach farther and wider—and for kids older and older—than ever before. Even our great state of California just upped its booster seat requirement from 6 years to 8 year, sending several parents back to the store to replace the booster seat they gave away a year ago. In Europe, many countries now require booster seats for children up to 12 years old. And if you think you’ll have it any easier in Costa Rica, guess again (and be sure to read this). […]
[…] Car seat laws in Costa Rica […]
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We're heading to CR next year with 3 kids – a 9, 6.5 and 3.5. I have a Safe Rider Travel vest and a Go Hybrid and I can bring a backless booster for the 9 year old, BUT do cars/vans in CR have TETHER since the GO won't work without it?
Is the CR law for boosters 12 yrs of age or 45 inches or must they meet both requirements before using solely a belt? Our 9 and 11 year old boys are both 45+ inches. Thx!