Do Taxis in Greece Have Child Car Seats?
Updated: 7 days ago
If you've landed in Athens with a toddler and flagged down a taxi expecting a car seat, you've probably already discovered the answer: almost never. The more useful question isn't whether Greek taxis carry seats — they generally don't — it's whether they're even required to, and the answer to that is more specific than most travel guides explain.
The Legal Requirement
Greece's child restraint rules sit in two places. The Highway Code, Law 5209/2025 (ΦΕΚ Α' 100/13-06-2025), states the duty in Article 16 §5, and the detail — including the exemptions — is set by joint ministerial decision ΚΥΑ 43917/5066/2006 (ΦΕΚ Β' 1468/4-10-2006), which transposes EU Directive 2003/20/EC, which remains in force. The threshold is height, not age: a child under 150 cm must be restrained by an approved restraint adapted to their weight, and between 135 cm and 150 cm the adult seat belt may be used instead. Law 2696/1999, which most older guides still cite, was repealed in full.
The rule for the youngest children is narrower than it is usually reported. In a vehicle fitted with no safety systems at all, a child under 3 may not travel. Whether the taxi exemption also covers children under 3 is disputed between sources, so bring or pre-book a seat for babies and toddlers.
How It Applies to Taxis
Licensed Greek taxis are exempt from the child restraint requirement. Under ΚΥΑ 43917/5066/2006 (ΦΕΚ Β' 1468/4-10-2006), children covered by the restraint duty may travel in a taxi without a child restraint system — but only in a rear seat, and sources disagree on whether this covers children under 3.
Two rules survive the exemption. The exemption does not apply in the front passenger seat: a child there needs an approved restraint suited to their age, height and weight. And the seat belt requirement still applies to passengers: only the driver of a public-use passenger vehicle is exempt, and only within the perimeter zone of their base. One belt carries one person, so two children cannot share one.
Standard yellow taxis in Athens and Thessaloniki, and the taxis you'll find on Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, or Crete, virtually never carry child seats as routine equipment. Uber and Bolt, which in Greece only dispatch licensed taxis, don't reliably offer car seat options either. Because of the exemption, there's no legal pressure forcing any of these services to change that — which is exactly why pre-booking matters so much here.
A transfer from Athens International Airport into the city, or a longer island transfer on winding coastal roads, carries real physical risk for an unrestrained child regardless of what the exemption legally permits.
How It Applies to Rental Cars
The taxi exemption does not extend to rental cars. Full compliance with the Greek Traffic Code is mandatory from the moment you collect the vehicle, whether at Athens, Heraklion, Chania, or a smaller regional pickup point on the islands. As the driver, you carry legal responsibility for every child under 135 cm being correctly restrained.
Most major rental agencies in Greece offer child seats as an add-on, typically in the range of €5–€10 per day, but availability tightens considerably during July and August when island tourism peaks. Book the seat well in advance, specify your child's age, height, and weight in writing, and inspect the seat's condition before driving away — on islands especially, swapping a faulty seat mid-trip is rarely realistic. For infants, bringing your own seat, or a compact travel option such as a portable booster, removes this uncertainty altogether.
Fines and Penalties
Failing to use a required child restraint in a private or rental vehicle in Greece is an offence under the Traffic Code, enforced by Greek traffic police (Τροχαία). Enforcement is genuinely more visible on Athens's highways and in major cities than in rural areas or on smaller islands, but the legal requirement itself doesn't change based on location — only the likelihood of being stopped does.
Under the revised Highway Code, Law 5209/2025 (ΦΕΚ Α' 100/13-06-2025), reports put the fine at €350 plus 30 days' licence removal, rising for repeat offences. The figure of €83 in older guides comes from the repealed Law 2696/1999. In a licensed taxi, a child in a rear seat without a restraint is not an offence.
Quick Reference
• Under 135 cm → approved child restraint required in private and rental cars (height, not age, is the threshold)
• 135 cm to 150 cm → the adult seat belt may be used instead of a restraint
• Under 3 years old → must always be in an appropriate restraint; no exceptions in a private or rental car
• Front seat, under 12 and under 135 cm → permitted only with a suitable restraint and the airbag deactivated
• Taxis → exempt only for a child in a rear seat (ΚΥΑ 43917/5066/2006); sources disagree on whether this covers children under 3
• Uber and Bolt → in Greece they only dispatch licensed taxis, so the taxi rules apply; car seat options are rarely available
• Rental cars → no exemption; full requirement applies from moment of collection
• Fine (as reported under Law 5209/2025) → €350 plus 30 days' licence removal
What changed in 2025
The Greek Highway Code was revised in 2025, and it tightened the position on child restraints rather than relaxing it. The revision raises fines for failing to use a child seat and for using one incorrectly, and removes the informal latitude previously extended to parents who argued a child had outgrown a seat. The direction of travel is toward stricter enforcement, not looser.
For rental drivers the numbers are real: reporting around the revised code puts the penalty at €350 plus 30 days' licence removal, billed to the driver.
Note where that applies. The penalty falls on private and rental vehicles. Taxis remain outside it under the exemption — which is exactly the gap this page exists to explain. A stricter law with an unchanged taxi carve-out means the difference between a hire car and a rank taxi has widened, not narrowed.
If you are renting rather than transferring, most Greek agencies supply seats at roughly €5 to €10 per day, but stock tightens sharply in July and August. Reserve the seat with the car and state each child's age, height and weight in writing.
FAQ
• Do taxis in Greece have child car seats?
Almost never as standard equipment. Greek law gives taxis an exemption for a child travelling in a rear seat, so there's no legal pressure pushing companies to carry one. This holds true in Athens, Thessaloniki, and across the islands — Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Crete included.
• Is it actually legal for a Greek taxi driver to take my unrestrained child?
Yes. This surprises a lot of parents, but it's correct: the rear-seat taxi exemption under Greek law means a driver accepting an unrestrained child in the back seat isn't breaking the law. It's a legal minimum, not a safety endorsement — for infants and toddlers especially, the physical risk on a motorway or winding coastal road is real regardless of what's permitted.
• Do Uber and Bolt in Greece offer car seats?
Rarely, and not reliably. Both platforms operate under the same taxi framework, which means there's no legal requirement compelling them to provide seats, and in practice, car seat options simply aren't a dependable feature of either app in Athens or other Greek cities.
• Is there an exception for very young children in Greece?
Yes, and it's stricter, not looser: children under 3 years old must always be properly restrained in a private or rental vehicle — there's no fallback to a seatbelt or being held on a lap at that age. Whether the taxi exemption relaxes this for under-3s is disputed between sources, so bring or pre-book a seat.
• How can I make sure there is a car seat for my taxi ride in Greece?
Taxibambino.com lets you specify the seat type — infant, forward-facing, or booster — when booking your transfer in Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes, Crete, or elsewhere in Greece. The seat is confirmed and fitted before pickup, which is the most reliable way to make sure one is there, given that standard taxis aren't required to carry them.
This page is reviewed and updated regularly. For the most current official rules, check the Hellenic Police (astynomia.gr) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) feeds the Attiki Odos toll motorway and Vouliagmenis Avenue toward Plaka, Kolonaki and Glyfada, and the surfaces vary from motorway to narrow coastal road within a single transfer. That is what makes installation quality matter: a seat approved to ECE R44/04 or i-Size (R129) on rigid ISOFIX anchors holds its line where a lap-belt-only fit works loose — particularly on the long high-speed runs on the Attiki Odos.
Space is the other constraint our drivers meet at the airport rank, which is filled largely with compact and mid-sized cars: two bulky seats plus a double stroller and the luggage already fills one, and with children under 135 cm expected in the rear, a third child cannot simply be moved forward. Families of five or more should book a larger vehicle in advance.
What our own booking data shows: across 597 bookings made through TaxiBambino across 14 destinations in Greece in the twelve months to August 2026, the middle half of families paid roughly €58–€112, with a median near €75. Party size is the part most families underestimate: 38% of those bookings were for four or more passengers and 16% for five or more — the point at which a standard sedan stops working once car seats, a stroller and luggage are added.
September was the busiest travel month, and families booked around five days ahead on average. Prices move with demand, season and the specific route, so treat these as historical ranges rather than a quote; vehicles are supplied by TaxiBambino and our partner network.
Last updated: 24 October 2026. Reviewed by Lija Scheiman, CEO, leading the TaxiBambino Content Audit Team.
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As a rule of thumb on seat groups: under about 13 kg a rear-facing infant carrier; roughly 9–18 kg a forward-facing seat with a 5-point harness; 15–25 kg a high-back booster; and above that a booster until the adult belt sits correctly across the shoulder and hips rather than the neck and stomach.