15 Reasons to Rent a Vacation Home with Kids

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Tired of cramped hotel rooms for your family vacation? Renting a vacation home can provide unique benefits that hotels cannot offer. Let’s explore my top 15 Reasons to Rent a Vacation Home with Kids. Here are a few hints… more space and privacy for your family, a wider variety of locations, and the convenience of a home-like setting.

Location, location, location

One of the most critical factors to consider when planning any family vacation is location. Your first step is to figure out where exactly you want to be within your vacation destination.

The wide variety of locations available to rent is, in my opinion, the most important of the 15 reasons to rent a vacation home with kids.

Most vacation home rental apps and websites, like VRBO, offer a map of available homes. Pinpointing your desired locale will simplify the process for you.

For example, Cape Cod is a vacation destination comprised of many smaller towns. Narrowing down your search is huge in identifying your dream destination. On the Cape, do you prefer ocean beaches or bay beaches with smaller waves? This will direct which side of Cape Cod you need to search. Additionally, do you want to be within walking distance of the beach? Directly on the beach? Or is walking to town and restaurants more important for your vacation needs?

The location of your rental house can have a significant impact on your overall vacation experience. For example, staying in a beachfront property allows you to indulge in water sports, sunbathing, and beachcombing, while a rental house in the mountains provides opportunities for hiking, skiing, and snowboarding. In short, the location of your rental house can influence your itinerary and activities, making your vacation more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Vacation Homes in a Neighborhood Setting

Unlike hotels that are typically situated in commercial areas or tourist centers, rental houses are often located in residential neighborhoods or off-the-beaten-path areas. This can translate to large yards to play in, privacy fences, safer areas to bike and walk, and other amenities that hotels don’t have.

Neighborhood vacation homes may have bikes or scooters available, be sure to check the listing carefully, or ask the owners and plan ahead to have helmets available!

Beachfront Vacation Homes

In my experience, many beachfront hotels have pools and restaurants located between the hotel and the beach. This can cause your “beachfront room” to be quite far from the actual beach. However, a beachfront home tends to sit right on the sand.

Many beach vacation rental homes offer beach chairs, umbrellas, and some sand toys for guests. Others go a step further offering beach wagons, beach towels, boogie boards, you name it!

My free downloadable Family Beach Vacation Packing List includes a page for those staying in vacation rental homes, grab yours here.

Mountain/Skiing Vacation Homes

Ski-friendly vacation homes can be walkable to local mountains, or even offer ski-in-ski-out convenience. Many are multi-bedroom condos offering resort convenience with a homey feel. Be sure to check into ski storage rules at the home 9inside versus outside), and who clears the driveways/sidewalks/porches if it snows so everyone is on the same page.

Rental Homes Allow You to Experience Community

A rental house allows you to feel like a part of the local community. It lets you explore the area and its culture without being confined to the hotel, as you interact with the neighbors and discover hidden gems that are off the beaten path.

Stepping away from the touristy, hotel-filled section of some destinations may open a world you never knew existed! Please check into the safety of your vacation destination before you book a rental home. I tend to stick with homes that have lots of informative reviews, for a better idea of what to expect.

Safety and Security

A rental house can provide a safe and secure environment for your family, as you have control over who enters and exits your property. Feel free to ask the owners who will have access/keys to the home while you are staying there.

In a vacation home, you don’t have to worry about noisy neighbors or strangers in the hallway as your kids run through a hotel. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about your noisy kids waking others at 5 am.

You will be giving up the security and 24-hour front desk of a hotel, so be sure you are comfortable with that adjustment. Personally, I have felt safer in vacation homes than in hotels with my kids, but I stick to renting high-rated properties in well-populated areas and everyone is different.

Benefits for Families with Small Kids

Families traveling with small kids have extra challenges on vacation in terms of bedtimes, mealtimes, naptimes, etc. We have found vacation rental homes to help with a lot of those challenges. They are quieter than hotels, offer more space, make it easier to deal with early risers, and allow parents to stay awake after the kids’ bedtimes (if you aren’t too tired that is!)

Vacation Homes Tend to be Quieter than Hotels

No more worrying about how loud the guests in the room next door are or if people will be running down the hallways late at night. Renting a private home ensures your family will be the only ones waking you up at all hours. This goes both ways, no worrying about your crying baby at 5 am because they aren’t waking up strangers.

Early Risers and Vacation Rental Homes

Baby J is an early riser so my husband typically takes him quickly out of hotel rooms to wander the lobby or play outside. In a rental home, he can play in the living room, eat breakfast without having to wait for a restaurant to open, or go outside if we have a yard.

Early Bedtimes and Naptimes at Vacation Rental Homes

Extra space is key for parents traveling with smaller kids who have early bedtimes or nap during the day. Gone are the days of trying to secure a room with a balcony, often for much more money, just to be able to hang out and chat during naptime or stay up past 7 pm and catch up at the end of the day.

Renting a House Offers More Space for Your Family

One of the biggest benefits of renting a house for your family vacation is the added space and privacy it offers.

Unlike a hotel room, rental houses typically have common areas such as living rooms, kitchens, and possible outdoor spaces that are perfect for spending quality time together as a family without feeling cramped or crowded.

My kids love having their own bedroom in a vacation rental home. They can spread out and still take space when they need it. I find myself saying “Don’t touch each other!” less, which is huge!

A rainy or bad weather day on vacation is much easier when you have extra space to spread out, play games, watch movies, and relax together for the day.

Vacation Rental Home Common Areas

When we rent a vacation home, we pack a suitcase or bag with toys, crafts, coloring supplies, etc. On arrival, the kids can set up a playroom/play space where they know to find their activities during the trip. This is also handy if the adults are having a nice meal or cocktail, as the kids can safely play and be occupied.

Vacation Rental Homes with Yards

We love homes with yards for the kids to play outside and run around. Many vacation homes have fenced-in yards too, offering extra security versus chasing kids around a crowded hotel or near busy roads.

This can be especially beneficial if you have younger children who need a safe and secluded area to play. If you simply want to soak up the sun or enjoy a quiet outdoor meal, having a private yard or patio can enhance the overall vacation experience.

Vacation Rental Homes have Kitchens

Hear me out!! I am not suggesting you cook dinner every night on vacation! But if you choose, you can save money by cooking your own meals instead of eating out for every single meal. Not having to get everyone ready and find a restaurant every morning for breakfast with 2 hungry kids is huge for my family on vacation!

I love being able to pack lunches on a beach vacation, instead of packing up and leaving the beach to find food. It allows everyone to eat when they want and not have to scramble to find food at peak times in a busy tourist area.

For those with picky eaters, like me, a kitchen is key. If there is a local restaurant you’d like to try that isn’t the most kid-friendly, simply throw some mac and cheese in your suitcase and order takeout for the adults.

Overall, having a full kitchen while renting a house for your family vacation can offer numerous benefits that go beyond just saving money. Let’s explore another benefit of renting a house: unbeatable privacy.

Vacation Rental Homes Can be Less Expensive than Hotels

When planning a family vacation, budget is an important consideration. While hotels may seem like the obvious choice, renting a house can be a more affordable option. I would advise pricing hotel rooms and vacation rental homes in the same area, with the same proximity to your desired points of interest.

In renting a vacation house, you can avoid the extra fees that hotels charge, like resort fees and parking fees. While there are cleaning fees with vacation rental homes, websites typically include all of the fees in the price, making it easy to compare.

Don’t forget to add in the cost of a balcony, or extra bedroom to the hotel if you would need the extra space to hang out with other adults/your spouse, after the kids’ bedtime. That allows you to compare apples to apples.

Try Out a Unique Vacation Rental Home

While some hotels and resorts do offer unique lodging (I’m looking at you overwater bungalows in the Maldives), those unique spaces are usually quite costly and hard to come by.

There are some amazing and unique vacation rental homes out there if you do your research. From charming cottages and log cabins to sprawling villas and even treehouses, you can choose from a variety of one-of-a-kind properties.

We once rented a houseboat in Boston and it was truly an incredible experience! It allowed us to see the city from an entirely different perspective, despite my having lived there for 3 years pre-marriage and kids.

Click the links below to check out some Unique Vacation Rental categories on VRBO:

• Treehouses
• Glamping
• Dude Ranches and Cattle Farms
• Houseboats I personally would not recommend this with little kids!
• Cabins and Lodges

Book Your Trip

Now that you know 15 Reasons to Rent a Vacation Home with Kids, how do you go about booking one? VRBO, or Vacation Rentals By Owner, is my favorite vacation home resource. You can also use Google to see if your destination has other vacation home rental websites, as some popular tourist locations do.

We have rented vacation homes in Maui, Kauai, St Thomas, Cape Cod, South Carolina, and North Carolina through VRBO and have had positive experiences at all of them.

That being said, I cannot guarantee that all homes, destinations, and areas are safe or your family’s cup of tea. We always do a lot of research on the location and rental home. Be sure to read all of the reviews before booking to minimize surprises and always trust your gut if a home doesn’t seem right for your family.

15 Reasons to Rent a Vacation Home with Kids

Renting a house for your family vacation allows for a more customizable experience. You can choose the size and style of the property that best suits your needs and preferences. Whether you’re looking for a cozy cottage or a grand estate, there’s a rental property out there that can help make your vacation exactly what you want it to be.

I’ve given you my top 15 Reasons to Rent a Vacation Home with Kids, now tell me yours!! Comment below with your reasons for renting a vacation home with kids.