You’re gearing up for a vacation next month, and you’ve probably started hunting for the perfect companion – maybe even a stranger. Yes, you read that right: there are 10 bizarre things you can rent to make your trip unforgettable.
Why 10 Bizarre Things Make Travel Better
When you throw the conventional travel playbook out the window and embrace the oddball services sprouting from the sharing economy, you unlock extra time, fresh experiences, and stories that will make your friends jealous. From line‑standing experts to pilgrim‑hiring pros, each of these 10 bizarre things adds a quirky twist to the usual itinerary.
10 Rent A Person To Stand In Line For You
Timex’s research reveals that Americans collectively spend about 37 billion hours each year waiting in queues of one sort or another. That translates to roughly six months of a person’s lifetime, or a solid three days per calendar year spent merely standing in line. Early‑20th‑century Danish engineer A.K. Erlang even modeled queue dynamics, discovering that fairness perceptions, poorly set expectations, and personal definitions of time dominate our impatience more than the raw minutes themselves.
In an age where every second of vacation feels priceless, ceding those minutes to a four‑block‑long ramen line is a hard sell. Enter services like New York’s Same Ole Line Dudes, which let you hire a professional line‑sitter to guard your spot. Imagine strolling the city while someone else endures the wait, freeing you up for spontaneous explorations.
9 Rent A Photographer
In the age of Instagram‑fuelled wanderlust, a vacation isn’t truly complete unless you’ve captured it in scroll‑worthy snaps. Academic studies confirm that social media now shapes travel motivations, steering both where people go and how they experience destinations. The “digital nomad” wave has turned the camera into a passport‑stamp of personal branding.
If you’re a solo adventurer craving glossy, envy‑inducing images, hiring a professional photographer might be your ticket. Companies like Flytographer dispatch vetted photographers across 150 countries; a 60‑minute session costs around $350, yet you also gain insider tips on hidden gems only locals know.
8 Rent A Friend
Solo travel has surged by an eye‑popping 42 percent in the past two years, but not everyone thrives on going it alone. Finding a real‑life companion—someone with the time, cash, and enthusiasm to drop everything for a globe‑trotting escapade—can be a logistical nightmare. Thankfully, 2019 introduced a solution that feels straight out of a sci‑fi novel.
Rent A Friend connects wanderers with local companions worldwide. For as little as $10 an hour, you can hire a friendly guide to show you around, share a meal, or simply keep you company on your adventures. With over half a million hosts on the platform, the service turns the concept of “making friends” into a click‑and‑hire experience.
7 Rent Driveways And Parking Spaces
The sharing economy has rewired everything from lodging to rides, and parking is no exception. In bustling tourist districts, hunting for a legal spot can feel like a scavenger hunt that drains both time and nerves. London‑based Just Park tackled this pain point by pairing idle driveways with drivers in need.
Through a simple app, you can reserve a private driveway or garage, sidestepping fines, tow‑away threats, and endless circling. The platform taps into tens of thousands of UK property owners, turning unused curbside real estate into a guaranteed, stress‑free parking solution for travelers.
6 Rent A Bicycle Anywhere In The World
Pedaling through a new city offers a healthy, eco‑friendly alternative to traffic‑jammed taxis, and the numbers back it up. Spinlister reports that daily bike trips in New York alone have swelled to an average of 450 000, reflecting a global appetite for two‑wheeled travel.
Spinlister functions as a peer‑to‑peer marketplace where bike owners list their rides and renters browse by location, typically for about $40 per day. With millions of active users and listings spanning continents, you can hop on a mountain bike in the Alps or a cruiser in Bali with just a few clicks.
5 Rent A Pilgrim To Do A Religious Pilgrimage For You
Traditionally, a pilgrimage means trekking on foot to a sacred destination, guided solely by faith and personal reflection. In medieval Europe, wealthy patrons who were ill or otherwise unable to travel would employ stand‑ins to complete the journey on their behalf. Portuguese adventurer Carlos Gil has revived this centuries‑old practice for modern seekers.
For a fee of €2 500, Gil will walk a pilgrimage route in your name, complete with official certificates stamped at each holy site. Whether you crave the Camino de Santiago or the Way of Fatima, you now have a professional pilgrim to earn the spiritual merit on your behalf.
4 Rent Someone Else’s Unused Luggage Space
Exorbitant baggage fees and ever‑tightening airline weight limits have turned empty suitcase space into a missed revenue stream. San Francisco startup Grabr seized the opportunity, allowing travelers to post any surplus allowance and match with individuals willing to pay for that extra room.
The model turns idle cargo capacity into a micro‑logistics service: you carry a third‑party’s parcel across borders, saving them export costs while you monetize otherwise wasted space. It’s a win‑win that transforms a simple luggage slot into a small‑scale delivery operation.
3 Rent A Suitcase Full Of Clothing
Travel blogs overflow with packing hacks, yet many still wrestle with the perfect wardrobe formula. UnPack flips the script by letting you borrow a curated suitcase of apparel tailored to your style, brand preferences, and climate needs.
After completing a style questionnaire, the service assembles a personalized bag and ships it directly to your accommodation. No more suitcase‑sieving or last‑minute laundry; you simply arrive, unpack, and step out looking runway‑ready. Their mission: make packing obsolete.
2 Rent Camping Gear
Most of us stash perfectly good tents, sleeping bags, and kayaks in dusty garage corners, only to wonder when the next adventure will call. Peer‑to‑peer platforms like Outdoors Geek and Mountain Side Gear Rental let you borrow exactly what you need, right where you need it.
Browse local listings, contact owners, and negotiate rates for everything from lightweight hammocks to full‑size expedition tents. By tapping into a community of outdoor enthusiasts, you can gear up for a weekend trek without the overhead of ownership.
1 A Designer Bag With A Nintendo DS
Yes, you read that correctly: high‑fashion meets retro gaming. From the boutique platform From Bags To Riches, you can rent a luxe designer handbag that comes pre‑installed with a Nintendo DS, merging runway chic with handheld nostalgia.
Launched in 2008 through a collaboration with Nintendo, the bundle lets style‑savvy travelers flaunt a premium purse while keeping the classic DS at hand for in‑flight entertainment. It’s the ultimate blend of couture convenience and pixel‑perfect fun.