Packing up a baby or children takes ample preparation, organization, time and luggage. With current baggage restrictions and fees as high as they are, wouldn’t it be great if you could just take the necessities and forget the rest? 
Well, you can. Baby supply rental companies are available in cities around the world. Their goal is to make life easier when traveling with kids (and to make a buck, obviously). Add to that the ability for families to be able to rent and test toys/products/monitors (and so on) before buying the items for themselves, and you’ve got an incredible service worth every penny. We tried Vacation Baby Rental, which serves southwest Florida as a foray into the pay/borrow baby supply world. Initially, I was skeptical about the whole thing. For one, I am a germaphone and sterilize everything in our own home. I couldn’t wrap my head around renting a pack and play, bassinet, baby swing and so on. What condition would they be in? But, like all things parenting, I took the leap ( and a long swig of red) and went for it. In the end, I couldn’t give the process, service and products anything less than five stars. PROCESS: I contacted the company via their website and Luke Beverly prompted returned my note, eager to please and negotiate (Note: We were also in touch with a few other companies who all replied quickly, with knowledge and eager to assist). Rick and I rented the following items for a two week trip to Naples, Florida:
- Pack and Play
- Infant Play Mat $30/week
- Baby Swing $35/week
- Baby Monitor (Motorola)
- Jogging Stroller
- Beach Cart $30/week
- Age Appropriate Toy Package $25/week (requested toys for 2 month old and they were on point)
- Cozy Baby Bouncer $25/week
The company then delivered the items to our rented home (they’ll deliver to homes or hotels) at a mutually agreeable time. We scheduled drop-off soon after our flight arrived in FL. All items arrived as described, in working order and clean. Luke explained how each item operated and walked us through everything so we were confident. Our two month old loved the tummy time mat and box of toys — so much so that we bought similar ones once we returned. 
A few days into the trip our baby swing wasn’t functioning as well as I thought it should so Luke immediately scheduled a drop-off for a new item to ensure we got what we asked for.
On the beach with our rented beach cart. Note: you need to rent the chairs and other items seen online separately.
Batteries are provided with items that require them. It really is an easy, exceptional service for families. Rick and I highly recommend Luke and his company. We would book with them again in a second and if you aren’t traveling to SW Florida, there are other companies that can meet your needs.
OTHER VACATION BABY SUPPLY RENTAL COMPANIES:
CANADA:
http://www.babygetaway.com/ (Toronto Area)
http://weetravel.ca/ (Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria)
http://www.mininomade.com/ (Quebec City)
http://littlemonkeyrentals.com/ (Vancouver, British Columbia)
http://travelbugbaby.com/ (Toronto and surrounding area)
UNITED STATES:
Travel Babees
ROME:
MEXICO:
