Whenever we fly from San Francisco to Chicago to visit my parents, we don’t pack any diapers, wipes, food pouches, diaper cream or other such baby and toddler necessities. Yet the exact brands of all the gear we like are there at my parents’ house when we arrive, and my mom didn’t buy them for us. Rather, I bought the gear ahead of time from Diapers.com and had it shipped directly to our destination.
With airlines charging for luggage, flying with suitcases full of all the necessary baby accoutrements can be costly, and luggage plus baby can also be a logistical hassle. That’s why today’s hint is to buy the gear online and have it shipped to your destination so it’s there when you arrive, a strategy also endorsed by the Parent Hacks, Delicious Baby and Trekaroo sites, among others.
By shopping and shipping ahead of time, you don’t waste precious time on your vacation stocking up on baby care gear, and you may even get cheaper prices than you’d find at your destination, as The Vacation Gals point out.
Sites like Diapers.com offer free shipping if you buy a certain amount, meaning you only have to pay for the necessities you’d have to buy anyway (and any leftovers can be brought home or left for future trips). As Blogger Trips With Tykes notes, there also are ways to get free shipping through sites like Target.com and Amazon.com.
But what if your travel home base is a hotel rather than Grammy and Grandpa’s? Hotels often will store the gear for you until you arrive – just make sure you specify on an address line that the package should be held for you. And I’m sure you could ask rental home agencies to do the same.
You also could order from companies that specialize in making these kinds of deliveries, and generally guarantee the gear will be waiting for you at your hotel (or other destination) when you arrive. Babies Travel Lite, Jet Set Babies and Hotel Babies are three such services.
What are your tips for traveling with little ones?
That is a great idea. We love diapers.com and use them a lot!
Love the idea to ship ahead! Sure makes it so much easier! Great to travel lighter with the cost of checking bags these days. My sister shared her tips on traveling with babies and toddlers on our parenting blog at http://gooseling.com/2013/08/06/traveltips/.