You can add a child car seat for an Umrah airport transfer in the Pilgrim Taxi search itself: there are options for an infant seat, a child seat and a booster, and whatever you add is then confirmed for the vehicle. The important thing is to treat the right type of seat for each child as a requirement, stated in the search, and to treat details such as a particular brand, model or seat position as preferences, described in the booking notes and not assumed.
This guide is for parents and organisers arranging a child car seat for an Umrah airport transfer through Jeddah or Madinah, often booking from abroad on behalf of the whole family. It covers which seat suits which child according to Saudi health guidance, how to count children and infants in the search, what makes something a requirement rather than a wish, bringing your own seat, what changes between a short Madinah arrival and a long Jeddah to Makkah journey, and what to check before you pay.
Requirement or preference: the difference that matters
Families often write a request like “family car with seats for the kids please” and assume it covers everything. It does not. A good booking separates what the journey cannot happen without from what would be nice to have.
| Item | Requirement or preference? | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| An infant seat for a baby | Requirement | Added in the search |
| A child seat for a toddler | Requirement | Added in the search |
| A booster for an older child | Requirement | Added in the search |
| The number of children and infants | Requirement | Passenger fields in the search |
| The child’s age, weight and height | Supporting detail | Booking notes |
| A particular brand or model of seat | Preference | Booking notes, if at all |
| Which side of the car the seat is fitted | Preference | Booking notes |
| A seat matching the one used at home | Preference | Not something to rely on |
The logic is simple. The booking team confirms what the search records. A seat added in the search becomes part of the journey that is reviewed and confirmed for the vehicle. A sentence buried in the notes about “Isofix if possible” is useful context, but it is not a confirmed feature of the booking, so do not plan around it.
Which seat for which child: infant, child or booster
The Saudi Ministry of Health’s guidance on in-car child safety describes three main groups of seat. Use it as the starting point for matching each child to the right option in the search.
| Ministry of Health group | Who it suits, according to the guidance | Closest option in the search |
|---|---|---|
| Group 0+ | Rear-facing seats for infants up to 15 months or up to 13 kg | Infant seat |
| Group 1 | Seats for children weighing 9 to 18 kg, or aged about 9 months to 4 years | Child seat |
| Group 2/3 | High-back seats for children weighing 15 to 36 kg, or aged 4 to 11 | Booster |
The same guidance states that all children under 12 who are less than 135 cm tall must use an appropriate car seat, and warns against placing a rear-facing seat in a front seat that has an airbag. It also recommends a forward-facing seat with an inner harness until at least age five once a child outgrows rear-facing.
The age and weight bands overlap. A small three-year-old and a tall three-year-old may need different seats. That is why the child’s age, weight and height belong in the booking notes: they let the booking team check that the seat confirmed for the vehicle actually fits the child. For the legal rules on child restraints in vehicles, check current official traffic guidance in Saudi Arabia; this article describes health guidance and our booking process, not the law.
Counting children and infants correctly in the search
Every journey records adults, children and infants separately, along with large bags and cabin bags. The search then shows only the vehicle classes that pass the capacity check for the whole party and luggage. Get the count right and the rest follows.
- Count every child and every infant, including a baby who flew on a parent’s lap. In a car, a baby travels in an infant seat, not on a lap.
- Add a seat for each child who needs one. Two children who each need a seat means two seats, not “a seat for the kids”.
- Remember that each fitted seat occupies a seating position. A four-seat car with two adults leaves room for two fitted seats at most, and luggage can reduce the choice further.
The vehicle examples the booking system shows give a sense of scale, each “or similar”: an economy car (Toyota Camry class) has 4 seats and space for 2 large bags (3 in a Camry); a Hyundai H1 family van or MPV has 7 seats and 6 large bags; a Toyota Hiace has 11 seats and 10 large bags. A family of two adults and three young children, each in a seat, has five people before a single suitcase is counted.
Our note on why one shared suitcase does not mean one traveller explains why the luggage count deserves the same care as the passenger count, especially when a pushchair and baby bags join the cases.
Infant seat for Madinah airport pickup
Many families begin in Madinah. The city’s airport is Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, operated by Tibah Airports Operation Company, according to the Saudi Press Agency. In our route checks, the road distance from Madinah Airport to the Madinah Hilton was about 20 km.
A shorter journey can tempt parents to skip the seat. It should not. The Ministry of Health guidance does not make an exception for short trips, and arrival days are exactly when families are tired and least careful. When you book an infant seat for Madinah airport pickup, add it in the search, record the baby’s age and weight in the notes, and keep a light blanket or muslin in the cabin bag for the car.
Plan for the time it takes to settle a baby after a long flight. Nappy changes, a feed and the walk from arrivals all happen before the family reaches the car. Base the pickup on the scheduled landing of the final flight into Madinah, not an earlier connection, and enter the flight number at checkout. Our guide to which flight number to enter for an Umrah airport pickup explains which number the pickup needs.
If you are starting in Madinah, the Madinah-first planning page sets out how the rest of the trip’s journeys fit around that first arrival.
Booster seat for a Jeddah Airport taxi
Older children are the ones most often left without the right seat, because parents assume a seven- or eight-year-old can use an adult belt. The Ministry of Health guidance points the other way: a child under 12 and under 135 cm should use an appropriate car seat, and high-back seats are suggested for children of about 4 to 11. A booster raises the child so the vehicle’s belt sits correctly across the shoulder and hip.
This matters most on the long arrival leg from Jeddah. In our route checks, King Abdulaziz International Airport to central Makkah was about 94 to 97 km. Children fall asleep on journeys like that, and a sleeping child slumped under an adult belt is exactly what a booster is designed to prevent. So when you book a booster seat for a Jeddah Airport taxi, add it in the search, and put the child’s height as well as age in the notes, since height is what decides whether the belt fits.
Families arriving in Jeddah can use the Jeddah-first planning page to lay out the arrival and the journeys that follow it.
Bringing your own seat
Some parents prefer to bring the seat their child already uses. That can work, but it changes the booking in two ways, and the airline has a say as well.
The seat is luggage until it is fitted
Count it in the search as a large bag, because it takes up space in the boot until it is fitted, and the capacity check needs to know it is there. A car that fits four suitcases may not fit four suitcases and a car seat.
Who fits it, and what to confirm
Tell the booking team in the notes that you are bringing your own seat, what type it is, and whether you also want a seat added for the vehicle. Do not assume the driver will fit your seat, or that every vehicle will suit every seat’s fitting method. Ask the booking team to confirm what is possible in writing.
Getting the seat to Saudi Arabia
Whether a car seat can travel on the plane, in the hold or in the cabin, is a question for your airline, and rules differ between airlines. Check with the airline before you decide.
Several children in one vehicle
Families with twins, or with three or four young children, need to think about the vehicle as well as the seats. Each fitted seat takes a seating position, and a car’s back row that holds three adults does not necessarily hold three child seats side by side. The more seats you need, the more sense it makes to look at a larger class.
The classes the booking system shows differ in luggage space as well as seats. A Hyundai Staria (VIP van) has 6 seats but room for only 2 large bags. A GMC Yukon XL or a Hyundai H1 family van has 7 seats and 6 large bags. A Toyota Hiace has 11 seats and 10 large bags. A family with three seats, two adults, a pushchair and five suitcases is better served by a class with spare capacity than one that only just passes the check.
Some large families prefer two vehicles, for example when grandparents are also travelling. That is two journeys, each with its own seats and luggage, and it needs the same care over who travels in which vehicle. Each price is for the vehicle, not per person, which our guide to reading an Umrah taxi price per vehicle rather than per person explains when you compare one larger vehicle with two smaller ones.
Waiting and fitting time at the car
Fitting seats and settling children takes a few minutes even when everything goes well. Each vehicle class includes a waiting allowance at pickup, but it is not currently shown on search results, so if you expect a slow exit from the terminal with small children, ask the booking team to confirm the waiting arrangement in writing before you travel.
Agree a meeting point through the booking team and, on the day, send the driver a live location from the terminal if you cannot find each other. We do not promise name boards or particular spots where a car may stop, so a clear message and a phone that works on arrival matter more than any sign.
Every journey needs its own seats
A family trip is usually several journeys: an arrival, perhaps a Makkah to Madinah transfer (about 439 km by road), and a departure. Each journey is booked separately, with its own passengers, luggage and seats. A seat on the arrival journey does not carry over to the others.
When you book each journey, check that:
- Every child who needs a seat has one on that journey.
- The children’s ages still match the seat, especially on a long trip where a baby may have grown.
- The luggage count includes anything bought during the trip.
The departure journey is the one most often booked in a hurry. Our guide to getting the pickup date right on an overnight Umrah flight helps with the timing, and the seats should be added at the same moment as the time.
What to write in the booking notes
The notes are where the supporting detail lives. For each child, one line is enough: “Child 1: 5 months, 7 kg, infant seat. Child 2: 3 years, 15 kg, child seat. Child 3: 8 years, 125 cm, booster.” Say if you are bringing your own seat, and anything practical such as a folding pushchair.
Keep medical detail out unless it genuinely affects the journey. You can describe a practical need without sharing a child’s medical history, as our note on describing practical assistance rather than private history explains.
Before you pay: changes are harder afterwards
Add every seat, count every child and check the luggage before checkout, because a child car seat for an Umrah airport transfer is confirmed as part of the journey you pay for. Payment secures a provisional request, and the booking team then updates the status, usually within 1 to 12 hours, confirming the seats for the vehicle as part of that review. The journey is booked only when the status reads Confirmed.
After payment, only the pickup time can be changed online. The number of passengers and the vehicle cannot, so adding a child after paying, or needing a larger vehicle for an extra seat, means contacting the booking team or making a new booking with a cancellation request on the old one. Bookings are subject to our cancellation terms (free cancellation with a full refund up to 48 hours before pickup; inside 48 hours the deposit element of the price is kept) if the customer cancels, so contact the booking team first. If we or the transport partner cannot supply the journey as booked and no suitable alternative is accepted, you receive a full refund for the affected journey. The full wording is in the cancellation and refund policy.
Online bookings need at least 48 hours’ notice, so settle the children’s seats well before that point.
Worked example: the Akhtar family arrives in Madinah
Mariam and Tariq Akhtar from Glasgow are travelling with three children: Zara, who is eight and about 125 cm tall; Hamza, who is three and weighs about 15 kg; and baby Aisha, five months old. They land at Madinah Airport in the afternoon with four large suitcases, three cabin bags and a folding pushchair.
Mariam searches the arrival journey with two adults, two children and one infant. She adds a booster for Zara, a child seat for Hamza and an infant seat for Aisha. She counts the pushchair as a fifth large bag. With five large items, the smaller cars are not offered, and she chooses a seven-seat family van class, which leaves room for three fitted seats, two adults and the luggage.
In the notes she writes each child’s age and size in one line each, says the pushchair folds flat, and says they are not bringing their own seats. At checkout she enters the flight number. The status reads Confirmed a few hours later.
Two weeks before travel she books the Madinah to Makkah journey and the Jeddah Airport departure in the same way, adding all three seats to each. She notices that Aisha will be nearly six months by the departure date and checks that the infant seat still suits her weight. It does, according to the Ministry of Health bands, so nothing changes.
Checklist: child car seat for an Umrah airport transfer
- Match each child to a seat using the Ministry of Health groups: infant seat, child seat or booster.
- Count adults, children and infants separately in the search, including babies who flew on a lap.
- Add one seat in the search for each child who needs one.
- Count a pushchair, and any seat you bring yourself, in the luggage.
- Choose a vehicle class with room for the seats, the adults and the luggage.
- Write each child’s age, weight and height in the booking notes.
- Treat brands, models and seat positions as preferences, not requirements.
- Check with your airline about taking your own seat on the plane.
- Repeat the seats on every journey of the trip, not only the arrival.
- Book at least 48 hours ahead and add every seat before paying.
- Treat the seats as arranged only when the journey status reads Confirmed.
When you know your flights and how many seats each child needs, open the Pilgrim Taxi ride finder, add the children, infants and seats in the search, and choose a vehicle that fits the whole family and its luggage.