Car safety for children abroad is one of those topics that is easy to get wrong because enforcement varies so widely between countries. We travelled with two boys across 25+ countries on our round-the-world trip and tested several portable seat solutions. Here is what we actually recommend.
The Products We Tested
- Standard plastic booster seat: our top recommendation. It is light enough to carry, fits on top of a standard duffel bag, and is immediately familiar to any taxi or car rental driver. Widely available and cheap enough to buy locally and leave behind.
- BubbleBum (inflatable booster): clever idea, limited success in practice. The inflation and deflation became a routine chore, and its fit in older car seats was inconsistent. Fine for short-use scenarios, not ideal for a long trip with daily car rides.
- BoostApak (backpack-style seat): works well for children in the 3–5 year age range. The dual bag-and-seat function is genuinely useful on the road, but we would not use it for children larger than the upper limit.
What the Research Period Feels Like
Before our trip we spent a lot of time researching this, spoke to other long-term travelling families, and bought several options to compare. The honest conclusion: the standard booster seat, which seemed too obvious and bulky at first, turned out to be the most reliable choice across the widest range of countries and car types.
Practical Advice
- In many developing countries, car safety enforcement is minimal. That does not mean you should skip the seat — it means bringing your own is even more important because you cannot rely on supplied ones.
- Taxi apps and ride-shares in cities rarely have seats available; always carry your own for airport transfers and city legs.
- For very short taxi rides in busy cities (Saigon, Bangkok, etc.) where traffic moves slowly, consider the risk vs. the logistics. We used judgment here rather than a fixed rule.