How to Rent Baby Gear for Family Vacation (& Why!)

Rent baby gear to lighten your load on your next family vacation. Read on to learn 10 reasons to rent toddler and baby gear for travel. Then discover how and where to find baby equipment rentals.

This website sometimes receives compensation, hosted travel, or products related to blog posts. This article may include affiliate links at no extra cost to consumers. As an Amazon Associate, we earn money from qualifying purchases.

1. You’ll have less to lug when you rent baby gear.

Flying with a baby or toddler is overwhelming enough without toting around a travel crib, car seat, travel swing, and anything else your little one needs. Lugging less stuff through the airport means less stress and fewer baggage fees for parents.

2. A full-sized crib means better sleep.

Many babies and toddlers sleep better while traveling if they go to bed in a full-sized crib than in a pack-n-play. Young children like routine so try to make your vacation digs as similar to home as possible. A full-sized crib may feel more familiar and comfier. Renting a travel crib especially makes sense when you are staying in a loved one’s home or rental property where you have room to spread out. What’s more, most baby equipment rental providers even offer complimentary setup and takedown of full-sized cribs.

3. Car seats are needed by law and for safety.

Most likely, you will need a car seat at your destination. Even if you don’t plan to rent a car, if you will be using taxis, Ubers, or Lyfts on your vacation, many states require a car seat. Plus, it’s the safe thing to do.

With most airlines, you can gate-check car seats at no extra cost, but you will still need to lug the car seat through the airport. Especially with heavy toddler seats, this can be quite cumbersome.

If traveling with toddlers, then I recommend buckling kids into their airplane seats with a compact one-pound CARES safety restraint. (Read my full review of the CARES safety harness!) Then you can simply rent a car seat to use at your destination. Most baby equipment rental companies are happy to meet you at the airport.

4. Rental car companies sometimes run out of car seats.

If you will be renting a car, then you may be tempted to just rent a car seat from the car rental company. Beware, though, that sometimes car rental agencies run out of car seats, even when you’ve reserved one in advance. I know because this happened to my family once!

5. Baby equipment rental companies thoroughly clean and sanitize their gear.

From my personal experience, car seats rented from baby equipment companies are meticulously cleaned whereas those from rental car companies can be kind of grungy. The same thing is true of travel cribs offered for free at hotels versus cribs rented from a baby equipment specialist. The last thing you want on your family vacation is a sick child, so rent clean gear instead!

6. Make room in the trunk on road trips.

Even if you’re planning a road trip with a baby or toddler, you might want to consider renting at least some of your toddler and baby gear. After cramming all of your suitcases into the trunk, you may not have room for that baby jogger or bouncy seat. Some baby equipment rental companies even offer toys, beach gear, humidifiers and more.

7. Some babies simply can’t part with a bouncy seat or baby swing.

I thought my baby could handle a week away from her bouncy seat. I was wrong! Halfway through our first trip as new parents, I gave in and purchased a bouncy seat at the local Target. It was worth the extra expense so that I could make it through meals and visits with friends without constantly bouncing and appeasing my daughter. The same holds true for some babies who need a baby swing to settle down for naps. So go ahead and rent a bouncy seat or baby swing if needed!

8. Renting a high chair makes meals easier.

If you’ll be eating-in quite a bit at grandma’s house or elsewhere at your destination, then a high chair will make meals easier and more enjoyable for all. This is particularly true on longer trips. When planning to stay with family and friends who don’t have baby gear, you’ll be thankful when you rent a high chair for mealtimes.

9. Save space for other stuff.

Especially when traveling with two or more children, you just might have too much stuff to bring along. Parents traveling with multiples or with young children of various ages may find it difficult or downright impossible to pack multiple travel cribs, a double stroller, and a slew of toys.

10. Try out new baby and toddler gear.

Not sure if you want to purchase that expensive baby carrier, video baby monitor, or fancy stroller? Rent baby gear instead! It costs less and you can test out new products before making a big purchase.

Where and How to Rent Baby Gear

The bottom line is renting baby travel gear makes it easier to care for your brood while away from home. Planning a trip with a little one? BabyQuip is the #1 baby equipment rental service offering thousands of baby gear items in over 600 cities. Take a look at the extensive BabyQuip Baby Equipment Rentals Directory. BabyQuip offers baby gear rentals in all 50 U.S. states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. You can also rent baby and toddler gear from BabyQuip in foreign destinations like Aruba, Canada and Germany.

Simply visit BabyQuip.com. Then enter the city name or zip code to search for baby equipment providers in your destination and choose your provider. Next, select the baby gear you’d like to rent; you can choose individual items or discounted packages. Lastly, confirm your dates and location, and pay online. A BabyQuip provider will contact you to arrange delivery. Easy peasy!

Rent out your own baby gear to earn income.

Do you want to earn extra income while working from home and setting your own hours? Join BabyQuip! Find out how to make money renting your gear out to other traveling families.

Learn more tips for traveling with babies and toddlers.

The right baby equipment is half the battle! Before you take off with your wee one, take a peek at these 10 essential tips for traveling with a baby.

Make sure you have the right toys for your journey, too. Here are the best travel toys for babies and kids.

Disney is especially magical through the eyes of a child. Discover the best Disneyland rides for babies and toddlers.

For all sorts of travel tips including flying with young children, budget tips, cruising with kids, and more — take a look at the Travel Mamas’ Guide, my book on how to vacation with babies and children…and stay sane!

Save these reasons to rent baby gear.

Be sure to save these toddler and baby gear tips. Simply pin the image below to Pinterest. We hope you’ll follow Travel Mamas on Pinterest while you’re at it!

Would you ever rent baby gear for your travels? Do you have any questions about baby equipment rentals? Let us know in the comments below!

Sharing is caring!