Child seats and travelling with little ones

Turkish traffic rules require children to travel with suitable restraints, and the physics are the same on the D400 as on any road at home: an adult seat belt is designed for an adult body. On a child it can sit across the neck or the soft belly instead of the shoulder and hips. On holiday it is tempting to relax the rules for an hour's drive — please don't. A child seat is the single most useful thing you can ask for when you book.

With us, child seats and booster cushions are free. You do not need to bring your own, carry it through two airports or pay a rental fee. Just tell us, when you book, how old each child is — and, if you know it, roughly how much they weigh. The right seats are fitted in the car before it leaves for the airport, so when you reach the arrivals hall there is nothing to assemble in a hot car park.

Seats are grouped by weight and, in newer designs, by height. The ranges below are typical; individual seats vary, and a child's size matters more than the birthday. If your child is between two stages, tell us both age and weight and we will choose.

• Infant carrier — from birth up to about 13 kg, roughly the first year to fifteen months. Rear-facing, with a carry handle; the baby is strapped in with a built-in harness.
• Child seat — roughly 9 to 18 kg, usually from around one year to about four. A full seat with its own five-point harness.
• Booster seat or cushion — roughly 15 to 36 kg, from around four years until the child is tall enough for the adult belt alone (often around 135–150 cm, depending on local rules). It lifts the child so the car's own belt sits correctly across shoulder and hips.

If you are travelling with twins, three children or cousins, list every child separately in your booking message — for example “boy 5 years, girl 2 years, baby 7 months”. It takes ten seconds to write and it is exactly the information the dispatcher needs.

Families usually run out of space before they run out of seats. A child seat takes up a full place, and a pushchair, a travel cot and four large suitcases fill a boot faster than you would think. Our fares are per vehicle, so moving up a size costs little and is often the more comfortable choice.

• Economy van (Mercedes Vito or similar, €50 to Side): up to four people with luggage — a family of two adults and two children with ordinary suitcases fits well.
• Standard van (seven seats, €55): the better choice for two adults, two children plus a pushchair and extra bags, or for grandparents travelling along.
• VIP van (six leather captain’s chairs, €60): more space to move between seats, handy for reaching a baby during the drive.
• Minibus (Sprinter, sixteen seats, €65): two or three families travelling together, with all their luggage.

Pushchairs, travel cots and car seats you bring yourself are carried at no extra charge, as long as they fit the vehicle you choose. When in doubt, describe the luggage in your message and we will suggest the size.

From June to September, the air outside Antalya's arrivals hall can be well over thirty degrees in the afternoon and still warm at midnight. A parked car in that sun becomes an oven within minutes. Our drivers run the air conditioning before you get in, so the seats and buckles are not too hot to touch — worth checking with your hand anyway before strapping a baby in.

1. 1Buy water in the hallA bottle for each person, bought before you go through to the car park, saves asking for a stop later.
2. 2Change and toilet before leavingThere are toilets and baby-changing facilities in the terminal; use them after baggage reclaim, because the next convenient stop is your hotel about an hour away.
3. 3Dress for the car, not the beachAir-conditioned cars feel cool after the heat outside. A light layer for a sleeping child is more useful than you might expect.
4. 4Pack a small car bagSnacks, wipes, a favourite toy and a spare top in one hand bag; the rest can go in the boot.

The good news first: the main road from the airport to Side is wide, largely straight and runs across the flat coastal plain, so the transfer itself is gentle on sensitive stomachs. What usually upsets children is stop-start traffic around Antalya and the junctions, or reading a tablet for an hour. The winding roads come later, on day trips into the hills — to Green Lake, the Köprülü Canyon or along the coast beyond Alanya.

• Let children look out of the window rather than at a screen.
• Keep the cabin cool and ask the driver to turn up the fresh air.
• Give a light snack rather than a big meal just before setting off.
• If you use motion-sickness remedies for children at home, pack them; check with your pharmacist which are suitable for your child's age.
• Tell the driver — he or she can pull over safely, and a few minutes standing still often helps.

Many family charters land late in the evening or in the small hours. That is when a fitted seat earns its keep: you can lift a sleeping toddler straight from your shoulder into a harness without waking them to argue about straps. Choose a seat with a recline position for younger children and mention that they are likely to be asleep.

“The best family transfer is the one the children don’t remember — asleep at the airport, asleep on arrival, awake at breakfast by the pool.

On arrival the driver carries the luggage to reception while you carry the children. The fare is the same at any hour, there is no night supplement, and if the flight is delayed by an hour or three, the driver follows the new landing time without charging for the wait. You pay at the hotel in cash or by card — nothing in advance, nothing to sort out while juggling a sleeping child at the airport.