A holiday rental with a baby comes together in three steps: the right questions before you book, a sleeping set-up that follows safe sleep rules, and an hour-long safety walk-through when you arrive. A rented cottage or flat was not designed with an eight-month-old in mind. Sockets, the staircase, cleaning products under the sink and, above all, the pool deserve the same attention as at home, only sharper, because nothing is familiar. French law in fact sets precise rules for the pool at a holiday let.
What should you ask the owner before booking?
Listings often say “cot provided” without saying which one. Five questions will spare you nasty surprises.
- Which cot, exactly? A cot with bars and a firm, well-fitting mattress, or a travel cot, and from what year? An old cot with bars set too far apart or a sagging mattress is not a baby cot. The thinking is the same as for a hotel stay with a baby.
- Is there a pool, and what safety device does it have? Fence, alarm, cover or enclosure: the answer needs to be precise. “Yes, it’s safe” is not enough.
- Do the stairs have a gate? A house with an upstairs and no gate means bringing one or buying one locally.
- Is there a high chair, a baby bath, a bottle warmer? Every item provided is one less thing in the boot.
- Is smoking allowed, and are there pets? The question matters for allergies and for smells lingering in soft furnishings.
Keep the answers in writing. If the promised cot isn’t there when you arrive, that exchange gives you a basis for asking for a replacement or a goodwill gesture.
Sleep: don’t change any of the rules
Safe sleep advice doesn’t go on holiday. The Assurance Maladie (France’s national health insurance service) recommends that a baby sleeps on their back, in their own cot, on a firm, flat mattress, with no blanket, no pillow and no soft objects. In a rental, you will face one of three situations.
The cot provided by the owner
Check the spacing of the bars, how firm the mattress is, that there is no gap between the mattress and the frame, and the condition of the fittings. Remove the cot bumper, cushion and soft toys often placed there “to look nice”. If the bed is a children’s sofa bed or a convertible bed with no side rail, a baby under 18 months should not sleep in it.
Your own travel cot
This is the most reliable option, because you know it. The mattress supplied with the travel cot is thin, but it is the one the manufacturer intended; don’t add a second one. Our guide to the travel cot covers the criteria and the age limit. Santé Canada (Health Canada, the Canadian health authority) accepts a playpen as a temporary solution when travelling, provided every soft object and cord within the child’s reach is removed.
The makeshift bed
A mattress on the floor in an empty room can work for a child over 18 months who is walking, if the room is fully childproofed. It is not suitable for a young baby. The parents’ bed, a sofa or an air mattress are never an option, not even for one night.
Pools at holiday lets: what the law says
In France, every private, in-ground, uncovered pool must have at least one of the four safety devices set out in law. A fence meeting standard NF P90-306, an alarm NF P90-307, a safety cover NF P90-308 or an enclosure NF P90-309. Service-Public (the official French government information website) states that, “in the case of a holiday let”, covers, enclosures and fences “must be installed and working before the tenant arrives”. For an alarm, the owner “must make sure it is switched on and working”. The tenant, for their part, “must then take care not to switch off or disable these devices during their stay”. An owner who fails to meet this obligation faces a fine of €45,000.
These devices reduce the risk; they don’t remove it. The NOYADES 2021 survey by Santé publique France (the French public health agency) recorded 1,480 accidental drownings between 1 June and 30 September 2021. Children under 6 accounted for 22% of them, and “drownings in pools affected children under 6 more often”. The agency’s advice fits in one sentence: “Every child must be watched constantly and closely by a single adult.” One designated adult, not “everyone”, which really means no one. Above-ground pools, often with no safety device at all, call for the same vigilance. We go through the figures in our article on drowning in children under 6.
If you’d like to take your baby in the water, the conditions for temperature and time are the same as anywhere else. Our article on babies at the swimming pool sums them up, including for a private pool in summer.
Holiday rental with a baby: the safety walk-through on arrival
Allow an hour, with your baby in your arms or in the carrier, before you unpack. The pointers come from the factsheet “Éviter les accidents domestiques des enfants” (Preventing household accidents in children) on the 1000 premiers jours website, published by Santé publique France.
- Stairs: a gate at the top and the bottom. With no gate, close the door to the room with the stairs, or shut off the upstairs.
- Windows and balconies: move chairs and coffee tables away from windows and check the railings. A temporary window lock fits in your pocket.
- Kitchen: cleaning products up high or in a closed bag on a high shelf, never under the sink. Pan handles turned towards the wall, tablecloth removed, oven and hob out of reach or locked.
- Electrics: socket covers on any sockets within reach, extension leads unplugged, bedside lamps with short cords.
- Bathroom: the factsheet reminds us that “a baby can drown in less than 5 cm of water”. Empty buckets, basins and the bath straight away. Bath water stays below 37 °C; the water heater in a rental may be set very hot.
- Small objects: batteries, coins, jewellery, coffee capsules, decorative pebbles. A tour on all fours reveals what an adult standing up can’t see.
- Plants, fireplace, stove, barbecue: block them off or move them out of reach.
The method is the same as for your own home; our guide to babyproofing your home works as a full checklist.
Cooking and meals in a rental
A fitted kitchen changes everything compared with a hotel. You can make purées, sterilise if needed and keep food in the fridge. Two points need attention. The tap water in a holiday home, especially after it has stood empty for a long time, should be left to run for a few minutes. If you have any doubt about its quality, bottled water suitable for babies remains the answer for feeds. Storage times for a prepared bottle don’t change on holiday: our article on bottles on the go sets them out for journeys and days out.
At mealtimes, check a high chair provided just as you would a cot: full harness, stability, cleanliness. With no high chair, a clip-on table seat or a portable booster seat fits in a suitcase. If the rental has nothing at all, you eat with your baby on your lap, which mostly just limits how long meals last.
Bath time without a baby bath
Rentals rarely have a bath for young babies. A walk-in shower or a large adult bath isn’t very practical for a baby who can’t sit up yet. Makeshift solutions exist, a clean sink or a basin, and our article on washing a baby without a baby bath runs through them. For a stay of more than a week, a foldable baby bath that fits in the boot makes the evening bath as easy as at home. It saves you putting a young baby in a slippery adult bath.
What you really need to pack
The temptation is to take everything. Three categories are enough: what the rental doesn’t have, what you’d rather not borrow, and what keeps your baby safe.
- Safety: a stair gate if the house has stairs, socket covers, door stoppers, a bath thermometer, a first aid kit and your baby’s health record.
- Sleep: a travel cot if the cot provided is uncertain, a sleeping bag, a fitted sheet for the cot, a night light, a comforter.
- Meals: bottles, a formula dispenser, bibs, spoons, one or two jars for the journey.
- Washing: nappies for two days, the rest you can buy locally; your usual baby wash, a hooded towel.
- Play: a small bag of familiar toys. A foldable play mat sets up a clean play corner in two minutes on cold tiles or an unfamiliar wooden floor.
Key takeaways
- Before booking, ask in writing about the type of cot, the pool safety device and whether there is a stair gate.
- Sleep follows the same rules as at home: on their back, in their own cot, with no soft objects; your familiar travel cot remains the safe bet.
- The pool at a holiday let must be fitted with its safety device before you arrive; you must never disable it, and one single adult does the watching.
- An hour’s safety walk-through on arrival, at child height, covers the essentials.
Sources
- Service-Public.gouv.fr, “Dispositif de sécurité des piscines privées familiales et collectives”, page checked on 13 February 2026.
- Santé publique France, “Résultats de l'enquête NOYADES 2021 : la prévention reste primordiale”, press release of 21 June 2022.
- Santé.fr / 1000 premiers jours (Santé publique France), “Éviter les accidents domestiques des enfants”, published on 11 July 2025.
- Santé Canada, “Créer un environnement de sommeil sécuritaire pour bébé”, updated on 21 November 2025.
- Assurance Maladie (ameli.fr), “Comment bien coucher un bébé ?”, 10 October 2024.
