Things did not go exactly as planned during our recent stay in London. Granted, we did not end up grounded there between flights for an extra week due to snow as my brother did over Christmas (we missed you!). However, we managed to arrive during a Tube strike. Student demonstrations also choked the city and left us stranded on snowy street corners more than once as buses struggled to get through. As snowflakes fell around us and winds picked up, we watched the minutes of our short vacation in London sadly tick by. With a “large family” of five now—including a toddler and sometimes luggage—taxis are not always our best bet. Yet while we hadn’t planned to use taxis in London beyond a short jaunt from the train station with our luggage in tow, these unlikely heroes came to be for us shiny black beacons of hope that we may make it to our top picks for this visit to London after all. The London taxi, it should be known, is designed to seat 5 passengers in safety belts in the main compartment (three across the back seat, plus two jump seats facing them), and is also equipped to accommodate a passenger sitting in his wheelchair in one of those spaces.
Translation: you can keep your child in his stroller and load him rear-facing in a wheelchair space—and still seat up to four other members of your family. The rest of your luggage? It rides in the space up front beside the driver as there is no trunk (and ours fit!). On a blustery London afternoon, with baby bundled in his pushchair and plastic storm shield battened down, the London taxi made for a swift, weatherproof escape. In we jumped, teeth chattering refrains of gratitude to the driver as our rear-facing stroller and tot rode in a wheelchair-equipped space along side of Daddy, and Mommy and the girls buckled three across the bench and watched London whisk by. Considering the exchange rate and generally high costs of London for travelers, I’d braced myself for outrageous taxi fares. Happily, the journeys to and from our central hotel cost us less than I’d expected—about $15 US for our longest jaunt. While there are cheaper ways to get around London, for five people with a stroller on a short break during adverse weather, it’s hard to beat a London cab.
Before I go, I’d like to give a special shout out to “Ian,” who made our family’s arrival at Paddington Station a warm fuzzy memory, when it could have gone much differently. One very good reason to fly British Airways with your baby or lap-held toddler Tip #21: Car seats and taxis Tip #15: Use car service in New York Review of RideSafer Travel Vest Travel Car Seat Alternatives Tips and advice for flying with a baby, toddler, or preschooler Great products and gear for travel with babies and toddlers Shelly Rivoli, author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks Twitter Facebook Travels with Baby on Facebook PinterestIf you’re kids are getting too old for this, check out Family Travel 411. Curious about this content? See my editorial content disclosure.Plan a journeyStatus updatesMapsFares & payments Pregnant women & buggy usersToilet facilities map Avoiding stairs Tube guide
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Enter your phone number and get a download link sent to you for free. Computer Cab plcDial a CabRadio Taxis London Taxis come with great features to help disabled passengers whilst they travel around London. Useful London Taxi Links Please find below some useful links when looking for London TaxisTransport for London Live traffic reportsWe are traveling to london to see family and see some tourist attractions while we are there. We will be traveling with our 7month old daughter. My wife and I are seasoned travelers and used to travel a lot more for work and vacation. We are new to flying with baby, and have only taken one domestic (United States) trip with baby and are still rookies. Any suggestions on the following would be helpful: How should we get from Airport to West London with baby? (car service, train, etc) What should we take as far as gear? Should we rent stroller/car seats? (any suggestions where to rent?) Should we regularly use a taxi/train/bus to get around london with baby?
Should we use a stroller or some type of "Wear Baby" when moving around london and going to tourist sites? One destination mentioned in this post If you have a stroller then why not bring it with you as the airlines should allow it in addition to your hold luggage. As an alternative or in addition you could use a sling which may be a better option when using public transport. Taking taxis could be quite an expensive option. UK buses are very good for strollers- drop down floors to enter and dedicated places for the buggy (that's British for stroller) with an adjacent seat for Mum or Dad. The tube is less buggy friendly as most stations have stairs and elevators to contend with. You may want to pre-book a car for convenience from the airport. Don't pick up a cab from the rank - too expensive. Taxis etc are expensive as a normal means of transport but if/when you do use one they are exempt from car seat regulations if you are happy to hold the little one. I'd recommend a combination of a buggy (stroller) and a sling ...
I hope you've got the type that can collapse down easily and compactly, such as as marg has said, a stroller is allowed as hold luggage on the aircraft so shouldn't be a problem (you might need to specify this to your airline) however the sling could well be useful when you're visiting more crowded places, especially those with stairs all London buses have a space which is primarily for a wheelchair, however as long as there isn't a wheelchair on board then people with buggies (strollers) can use it ... if a wheelchair does want to board, then you will probably be asked to fold the buggy up ... you could easily use the underground (tube) network but on average I think you'd find it more comfortable to use a sling because there are often stairs to be negotiated taxis in London are expensive and wouldn't be a necessity We have a bugaboo cameleon. Its bulky and expensive. Ive heard some nightmare of bent frames (etc). Trying to travel light. Where in west London are you planning to stay?
As above, the Underground is not pushchair friendly, as very few central London stations are step free, so using buses and the Overground may be better choices. TALFer Leagle has commented on other threads that she found carrying her daughter in a sling very handy, but Miss R might not be amenable to being carried in a sling much of the day, so having a buggy would be a very good option. This is a good shot of what you might expect on many London buses. I've seen plenty of people using buggies like your Bugaboo ... the version with the seat would probably work OK on the bus but it would be difficult with the carry cot version ... I know you say you want to travel light, but carrying a baby round in a sling for hours on end would be quite tiring, and it would be nice where practicable to be able to put baby down We are staying near parsons green. I think I have decided to order a small lightweight stroller instead of renting. The bugaboo is a little bulky and weighs like 50lbs after all accessories and bag.
I think that's a very sensible decision ... I'm not sure you could find anywhere to rent a buggy anyway, but you'll need it for the journey Thank you for all the comments! Here is the plan, for any future readers out there! Bugaboo Stroller is staying home in Texas. We have sling that is 'baby wear' called a Hip Hammock. This is what we have decided to trek through the airport with. As far as a stroller, I went online to the Argos UK Ebay Store Outlet and bought an inexpensive Mamas & Papas Swirl Umbrella Stroller with parasol & foot muffs to be delivered to where we are staying in London. There is a stroller/pram rental place called The Baby Loft that had good customer service, but we just decided to buy. and ordered diapers to be delivered in london. (Beware, diaper sizes and styles are different than the US) We are taking formula in powder form in our luggage, because Similac baby formula is not sold there (not that i could find). We are planning on using Evian (or boil) as the water mixer, because it doesnt look like they sell the special baby water sold in the US (not that i could find).
Hopefully this write up gives some parents out there some help or something to jump off from. well done, you're sounding impressively well organised ... I see Similac is available from Amazon for delivery in the UK if that's of interest to you the only bit that worries me is using mineral water to dilute the powdered formula ... my understanding is that mineral water is not recommended for this, precisely because it contains "minerals" which might not be advisable for a young baby ... boiled tap water is what we normally use here when is it you're coming Edited: 23 October 2013, 00:07 3 month stay / car rental Best route from Heathrow to Liverpool Street Station Hotel within walking distance of Hyde Park Corner. best way to get from Heathrow Airport to Central London One night in London...great place to eat with teens How much time to allow for travel between Gatwick and Luton? 3 week UK Itinerary advice please 2 Suitcases 1 person