Ultimate List of Vacations with Childcare (2025)

Looking for options for vacations with childcare? You’re in the right place.

Having a bit of extra help can make things easier for any family – especially those travelling with toddlers, or single parents – I know, because I used to be a single mom.

And I am so thankful for child care options that I had while travelling.

Now, as a mom of 2, I still use childcare options while travelling. My children have been cared for in many countries where we’ve travelled as a family- Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Costa Rica, among others.

These opportunities provided a bit of a break for me, but also enriching experiences for my kids.

Not everyone is a fan of the idea of leaving your children with “strangers” in a place that isn’t home.

However, I always felt comfortable with the childcare options I selected while we were abroad. My children had a great time, while us parents had a bit of a breather and some time to explore as an adults.

Vacations with childcare can include:

• kids clubs
• babysitting offered through a hotel or resort
• classes in art, cooking, dance and local culture
• babysitting services (small business) that cater to visitors and ex-pats
• bringing a caregiver along with you for the extra help

All of the above options have enhanced our trips by allowing:

So, let’s jump in – ideas for vacations with childcare!

Ideas for Vacations with Childcare

1. Resorts with Kids Clubs

There are many resorts all over the world that have kids’ clubs.

The standard age range for kids clubs worldwide is 4-12, but there are many accomodations that offer programming for children outside of that age bracket – babies, toddlers and teenagers.

Hotel Chains that offer Childcare at several locations worldwide:

• Club Med is a family-friendly resort chain that offers childcare for babies from 4 months up to 13 years old
• Dreams Resorts (offered in 13 different countries, including Mexico and Costa Rica) offer fully supervised Explorer’s Club for ages 4-12, and Core Club aimed at 13-17 year olds
• Riu Resorts, is an upscale chain in several countries worldwide. Many resorts are adult-only, but some of them are family-friendly and offer a kids club called RiuLand for 4-12 year olds
• There are countless other resort chains offer childcare at their locations worldwide – Beaches (Jamaica and Turks & Caicos), Palace (Mexico and Jamaica) and the Four Seasons to name a few

In addition to these chains mentioned above, there are hundreds of hotels around the world with kids clubs, such as:

• Atlantis in the Bahamas offers kids club programming for different age groups: the youngest is for ages 3-6, and the older group is for 7-12 year-olds. Both groups do different age-appropriate, fun and educational activities
• The Familotels in Germany and Austria offer kids’ clubs and babysitting as a part of the cost of your stay.
• The Valamar Hotel chain in Croatia has both resorts and campsites around the country with Maro World, which is a fully supervised kid club for ages 3- 12(divided into two groups. 3-7, and 7-12.)

Pro Tip: Want a complete list of 75+ hotels around the world with kids clubs? Sign up here to be sent your free copy by email

2. Lessons in art, music, culture and cooking

If you venture to some place known for its art and music, like Italy – then you may find that there are lessons and classes offered for children.

These are classes that are offered in different languages (English is almost always one of them) that kids can be dropped off at.

Suggestions for kids’ lessons abroad

• In Costa Rica, there are different themed camps and classes offered by Sunshine Babysitting, located in the Tamarindo area. They offer classes in art, Spanish, cooking and music
• A small business called Arte al Sole in Italy offers art lessons, tours and even day camps for kids in Florence, Umbria, Venice and the Amalfi Coast

3. Local babysitting services that cater to visitors

There are babysitting businesses set up that cater to tourists in a particular place. Think of it as like a Babysitter’s Club, but aimed at visitors to a particular place.

These services generally have babysitters that speak English (if in a non-English speaking country) as well as other languages. They work with visitors and ex-pats often and the babysitters can often come to your hotel or Airbnb, or take your children on local outings.

Suggestions for Babysitting Services Abroad

• Sunshine Babysitting in Costa Rica (located in Tamarindo) offers babysitting and daytime nannies. They can come to your hotel to spend time with your kids
• Book A Nanny in Mexico City offers travel nannies, babysitters, a kids club and even chaperoning for older kids. They’re all CPR certified, and multilingual. They can also tell your kids stories about growing up in Mexico
• Elisa Babysitting provides childcare in Dublin at private homes, AirBnbs or hotels.

Pro Tip: A Google search of the place you’re visiting with “babysitting service” may reveal a similar business like the ones above in your location

4. Hotel babysitting services

Many hotels have designated babysitters on staff that are available to watch children in your hotel room or take them around to different places within the hotel or resort.

We visited Parador Resort in Costa Rica while visiting with our kids, and used their babysitting service. The babysitter seemed to be a regular staff member but was available on-call for babysitting when tourists booked the service.

Hiring the babysitter at Parador was a great experience for my 9-year-old. The babysitter taught her some interesting things about Costa Rica; about how children wear uniforms to school. She also taught her how to say and write her name in Spanish.

We were glad that we’d hired the nanny and given my daughter that unique cross-cultural experience (as well as a bit of a break for us.)

Hotels and Resorts that offer babysitting

• Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya Mexico offers supervised lessons and activities during the day (some at a surcharge, others included) as well as babysitting that can be pre-arranged for the evenings
• St. Regius Resorts located in 10 different countries offer babysitting and nannying services at a surcharge

Pro Tip: While kid’s clubs are often included in the price of your stay, babysitting is often at a surcharge. (I’ve never seen it included in the hotel rate.) I recommend setting aside anywhere from $20-$40 per hour if you’re interested in hiring a babysitter through a hotel. The price will depend on the hotel, and if they’re charging per number of children. (Parador charged per child, so we paid $40 per hour.)

5. Castle Hotels in Europe

Medieval castles in countries like France, Ireland and Scotland have been turned into luxury accommodations with spas, swimming pools, restaurants and other amenities.

In researching them, I found that there a few castle hotel resorts in Europe that have either a kids’ club or a babysitting service at a surcharge.

I stayed at a castle hotel in Ireland that offered a kids club (included with the price) for kids 4+.

Suggestions for European Castle Hotels with Kids Clubs

• Breaffy House Resort (where we stayed) in west Ireland offers a kids club for kids 4+.
• Ashford Castle near Galway in Ireland, offers babysitting at a surcharge so that parents can get a chance to relax
• Beau-Rivage Palace in Switzerland offers a kids’ club with fun and educational programming that alternates every week. The kids do things like nature painting, pottery and gardening as a part of their program

6. Open Air Villages in Italy

If you’re looking for childcare Italy, there are a number of resorts. but another very popular option is the ‘holiday villages.’

You can rent a cabin, or trailer, or stay in a tent. There are usually restaurants, small grocery stores and large swimming pools on site.

We stayed at I Pini resort, located about an hour outside of Rome and my daughter attended the “mini club” while we were there.

It was a smaller club, but the staff was great. She was only 4 years old and enjoyed her time there.

Suggestions for Holiday Parks with Kids Clubs

• I Pini Village, which is where we stayed. Located 1 hour outside of Rome, has an extensive outdoor swimming pool with a water slide, and lots of kids’ entertainment. My daughter enjoyed their Mini Club!
• Club del Sole resorts – there are dozens of them around Italy. They have several family-friendly activities, as well as their Mini Club which is offered to kids aged 4-10 years old

7. Disney Cruises

Most cruise lines offer childcare, but there are a few things that are unique about Disney Cruise childcare options.

Unlike other cruise companies, Disney Cruise Line has childcare for babies as young as 6 months old, as well as pre-teen clubs for children who are over 10.

Part of what makes the childcare option on DCL unique is that you can leave the ship while your children are in the childcare. (Other cruise lines don’t allow you to do this. You must be on the ship at all times.)

In addition, Disney Cruises brings the childcare to the beach when the ship stops at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island.

Whether you’re cruising with a baby or a teenager, they have some supervised options to keep your kids busy so that parents can get some time to themselves.

Pro Tip: Disney Cruise Line, while providing a very special family experience, is known for being pricier than other cruise lines. Read my post on estimations on how much you can expect to pay for a Disney Cruise based on where you’re sailing and the number of people in your family

8. Other cruise lines with childcare

While Disney Cruise Line goes ‘above and beyond’ with their childcare options, other cruise lines have great kids club options too.

• Princess Cruises offers ‘The Treehouse’ for 3-7 year olds, ‘The Lodge’ for 8-12 year olds, and The Beach House for 13-17 year olds
• Carnival has its Camp Ocean, which provides care for children between the ages of 2 and 11. Kids are separated into age groups with other kids no more than a few years older than them.
• Similar to DCL, some of the Royal Caribbean Cruise ships have a nursery for babies from 6 months old up to 3 years (36 months) old. There are also clubs for 4-17 year olds under supervised care. They offer a special ‘parents night out’ feature in select clubs where they’re open late
• MSC Cruises offer childcare for 3-11 year olds (separated into a mini club, and a junior club.) They mainly sail in Europe, but have some Caribbean routes too

9. Bringing a travel nanny

If there aren’t any viable childcare options in the place you’re visiting, then bringing a set of helping hands with you is an option too.

Generally, if you bring a nanny or babysitter from home, you need to financially cover:

• All their airfare, food and accommodation costs (and they should have their own room during the trip)
• Full pay during the trip + overtime pay if they’ll be working more than 40 hours per week

Travel nannies are entitled to some days off. Keep in mind that while exploring a new place is a bit of a perk for being a travel nanny, the trip is still ‘work’ for them.

As you can imagine, bringing a travel nanny is one of the priciest childcare options while travelling, because of the expense of bringing an extra person with you on vacation.

Suggestions for Travel Nannies

• Adventure Nannies is a service that helps families find travel or temp nannies that meet their families’ needs. They’ve been in business for over 10 years, and were founded in Denver. (But, the travel or temporary nannies can travel with your family anywhere.)

Childcare While Travelling FAQ

Here are the most commonly asked questions about finding childcare while travelling

Can you take a baby to an all-inclusive resort?

Yes, you can take a baby to an all-inclusive resort. There are several all-inclusive resorts that offer services and amenities to families with kids; including babies. Some examples are Finest in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic,

How to find a babysitter in another country?

There are many babysitting services offered in other countries that cater to tourists, and temporary residents. Some examples are Sunshine Babysitting in Costa Rica, or Book A Nanny in Mexico City.

Who can watch your kids when you go on vacation?

If leaving children with a trusted family member while you go on vacation isn’t an option, you can also hire a nanny to watch them while you travel. Another option is bringing a nanny on vacation with you, or take advantage of nannying, babysitting and kids clubs options while travelling

Are travel nannies a thing?

Yes, travel nannies are a thing. You can bring a nanny with you during a family trip to watch your children for a pre-agreed-upon amount of time. There are services offered to match families with temporary nannies that can go on family trips

Do Dreams Resorts have kids’ club?

Yes, Dreams Resorts have Kids’ clubs – the Explorer’s Club is for ages 4-12, and Core Club for 13-17-year-olds

Final Thoughts on Vacations with Childcare

I hope that this article has inspired you with all the different vacation options where there is childcare available.

Leaving kids at home with someone trusted isn’t an option for everyone, and I’m glad that there are so many hotels with childcare and babysitting services offered around the world. It takes a village, and I believe that both parents and children benefit from a little time away from each other while on vacation, if there is a trusted adult to watch over them.