Ten Important Items to Make Any Vacation Rental Feel Like Home

by | Apr 28, 2020 | Family Travel, Travel Guide

Getting away to the beach or mountains for some time in a vacation rental can certainly be enjoyable and relaxing. It’s one thing to spend a few days in a hotel, but you can feel like you’ve got a home away from home in a cabin, home rental, or Airbnb.

Most vacation rentals try to accommodate you and give you everything you need. But we all have our little preferences that make our home feel like home. And if you want to experience some of those same comforts of home, here are ten things you’ll want to take with you on your next vacation. (Just don’t forget to take them back with you when you leave!)

A vacation rental home in Prescott, Arizona

  • Your favorite pillow: Nothing is worse than finding out you have terrible pillows on a one-week trip, so try bringing your best pillow from home. If it’s small enough, you can bring it in your carry-on and rest your head during the flight. If not, then check it in a suitcase and you’ll be happy that you have it with you.
  • Your coffee: If you love coffee, than you love your coffee. Whether it’s decaf, black, cappuccino, or some other style, the coffee brand that you make at home is the one you like most. Not every place will have the coffee that you like, so bringing your own pack of ground or beans is highly recommended to bring on your trips.
  • Cast iron pan: A lot of travelers like to cook their own food, especially if they are lodging at a cabin. To cook great food, you need the right tools. Unfortunately, many vacation places provide aluminum pans rather than the cast iron pans, and food cooks unevenly and tends to burn. If you’re flying, considering packing it in a checked bag.
  • Streaming sticks: Most vacation rentals come equipped with smart TVs and wifi these days. This means you could have access to services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video with a streaming stick. If you want the ultimate viewing experience, call your vacation rental before you travel to make sure their TVs are compatible with your sticks before your pack them.
  • Tongs: Tongs are versatile tools, but they’re often forgotten in vacation rentals. You can use them to flip burgers and hot dogs, grab cheeses, and take vegetables out of boiling water or hot pots. They are light weight, so carrying them in your bag will be a cinch.
  • Towels: Vacation rentals typically clean their sets of towels after a guest leaves, but how well? Bringing your own set of towels can give you a peace of mind when it comes to cleanliness, and you can always wash yours to your satisfaction before you leave.
  • Soap: Vacation rentals also typically replace bars of soap and liquid soap with fresh, unused soaps, but you may need a special kind of soap. You can bring the soap that you use at home or buy a new bottle or bar from a place near your destination to help you feel more at home.

(Note: All the items above can be taken onto a plane. These next three items cannot.)

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  • Knives: If you plan to cook during your trip, take a chef’s knife and paring knife with you. While kitchen knife sets are ideal to have for any cooking situation, you want to pack as lightly as you can, bringing only the essentials. The chef’s knife can cut through the thicker foods like meats and the paring knife is great for dicing and mincing smaller items.
  • Cork Screws: Planning a romantic night with a significant other? You’d want the right cork screw if you pick up a bottle of wine. Vacation spots may supply one for you but they are typically the cheaper kinds that broke six months ago, and no one knew to replace. If you’re driving, grab the one from home. But if you’re flying, you can get one at your destination, or just have Amazon ship it to your destination and time it to arrive after you do.
  • First aid kit: You never know when you or someone you’re with will have an immediate medical need. Those needs can be unique to different families, so first aid kits can vary. Most common medical items are allowed on a plane, but you may have some special items that they may have questions about. If that’s the case, you’ll be better off buying those medical supplies at a local drug store near your destination.

    • What do you typically pack for your vacation rentals? What are your “must take” items to make your rental feel like home? Tell us about it on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter stream. You can also find us on our Instagram page at @TravelproIntl.

    Photo credit: Marine 69-71 (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 4.0)