Mallorca car hire - Do you know the cost of hiring a child seat?

Mallorca has been a holiday hotspot since the advent of mass tourism in the 1950's, and this trend remains as it's still a popular destination with families looking for sun, sea and sand.

Going on holiday as a family is already hard enough on the wallet though without having to worry about some car hire companies charging almost 500 percent more for a child seats than other providers, but this is going on right now in Palma Mallorca.

At the onset of 2010 summer period travelsupermarket.com conducted research into the weekly cost of hiring a child seats at seven of most popular car hire providers and found the costs varied by a huge amount. The best example found was the cost of a baby or child's seat from Europcar being 496 percent more expensive than the cheapest provider, Expedia.

Whilst people using price comparison websites like travelsupermarket.com can quickly find the cheapest hire cars, they could be in for a nasty shock if they pick the cheapest deal only to then go on and find that the subsequent hiring of a child seat makes it one of the more expensive deals.

Many families can avoid these costs simply by taking their own child seat. Neither British Airways, easyJet, Monarch, Thomson, Thomas Cook or Virgin Atlantic charge parents to put child seats in the hold, whilst popular budget airlines such as Ryanair and bmibaby charge £10 each way. Still, this isn't a huge price to pay and you'll know your child will be comfortable in their own seat.

It's understandable that many parents would opt for the convenience of hiring a child seat, but it is vital to shop around. Mallorca is a good value holiday destination overall, but the research from travelsupermarket.com paints another picture when it comes to child seats with prices varying by up to £60 for just one weeks rental.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert at travelsupermarket.com commented: "As many of our favourite holiday destinations have a legal requirement for children and infants to sit in seat, getting the right deal is more important than ever."

He continues "With prices of hiring a seat varying so significantly between car hire providers it shows that as well as shopping around for the car itself, it's important to consider the various 'add-ons' you might incur when hiring a car abroad. Customers that don't could find they are paying more to hire a child or infant seat than they are for the car hire itself."

Editor's note: Guest article written by Matthew Coughlan at travelsupermarket.com.