From Thailand to Mexico to Greece, I’ve found reliable child care around the world. Here’s how.
Last year, my one-year-old picked up passport stamps seven times across three continents. As a travel journalist who’s spent a decade roaming the globe, I always knew I’d keep exploring even after having kids. But—like every parent soon realizes—I quickly discovered that traveling with little ones is a whole different kind of adventure.
With remote work becoming more common, families are increasingly taking extended vacations—sometimes weeks or even months long. They’re swapping snowy winters for sunny Florida beaches or spending summers wandering through Europe. Thanks to home rental platforms, it’s easier than ever to settle into a cozy “home away from home,” where families can stick to their usual routines even on longer trips.
But without grandparents tagging along or a kids’ club to lean on, how do parents manage to squeeze in work time or enjoy a little child-free exploring?
Nicole Cunningham, a lawyer and mom of two boys, says travel is her passion. She’s taken her kids everywhere, spending weeks in places like Hawaii and Japan. Early on, she realized that finding childcare abroad “is essential if parents want to actually have a vacation too.”
“Traveling with kids is incredible in so many ways,” Cunningham said. “But it can also be way more stressful than just staying home.”
As a nervous first-time mom, I worried I wouldn’t find good childcare in countries where we didn’t know anyone or speak the language. But we’ve managed to find wonderful babysitters for our toddler everywhere from Mexico to Malaysia—and Cunningham, along with many other traveling families, has done the same. Here’s how we make it work.
Find a Facebook group.
I’m not usually big on social media, but Facebook is a goldmine for travel tips. The day we decided to spend the summer in Mexico City, I joined a “Mexico City Moms” group. Scrolling through posts, I saved screenshots of kid-friendly restaurants and details about playground meetups in Roma Norte’s leafy parks. When I asked for babysitter recommendations, I was flooded with suggestions—from expats, local moms, and trusted nanny agencies.
Finding the right groups takes some experimenting. I search for combinations like “city name + expat + moms” and join the most active ones. For example, “Girls in Puerto Vallarta” was the best resource when we lived there, while “Expats in Athens” was a lifesaver in Greece. Avoid babysitter-specific groups—they’re often just caregivers advertising their services, without the firsthand endorsements you’d get from expat or mom groups.
Hana LaRock, another traveling mom who took her baby daughter to Portugal, also found childcare help through Facebook groups.
“If a few people recommended the same person, we’d call them and do our own vetting,” LaRock explained.
When our highly recommended babysitter arrived at our Mexico City apartment, my toddler burst into tears, and I almost canceled the whole thing. But the sitter noticed his distress, calmly pulled out painter’s tape, and started creating “roads” on the floor. Soon, my little car enthusiast was zooming his toys around the “streets,” and we finally enjoyed a peaceful dinner out, knowing he was happy and in good hands.
Tap into local parent networks.
On another trip, when my son was just 18 months old, I got seriously sick in Thailand. My partner had work he couldn’t skip, so we needed childcare fast. We were staying in a rental that was part of a private condo community. I messaged the manager on WhatsApp, explaining my situation (okay, more like begging) for babysitter recommendations.
Thanks to her local connections, a doctor was soon at my bedside while her friend’s daughter—a sweet Swedish university student interning there—played with my toddler in the next room. For the next few days, I rested while my son and his new friend explored the tropical grounds, hunting for monkeys and playing in the sandbox.
Ask hotel staff, Airbnb hosts, other parents at the playground, or even a friendly café server—locals are often the best resource for finding great babysitters.
Use websites and apps.
Not everyone can wait until they arrive to sort out childcare. For U.S. travel, sites like Care.com or Sittercity help find vetted babysitters and nannies.
As a single mom, Cunningham took her boys on work trips and often used these platforms. “They have tons of reviews, which is really helpful,” she said. Background checks also give parents peace of mind when hiring short-term sitters.
Other countries have similar services, like Europe’s Marypop app, which connects families with bilingual babysitters.
Befriend other families.
The more Cunningham traveled solo with her kids, the more she saw the value in having backup. That inspired her to start a company organizing group trips for single parents. Copilots for Coparents was designed to “make solo-parent travel less daunting—so it actually feels like a vacation,” she said. Traveling with other families guarantees extra support.
LaRock and her husband also learned how helpful it is to connect with other parents while vacationing in Spain. In Alicante, they met another couple with young kids and ended up spending most of their trip together.
“Having other parents who just get it—and can step in even for a few minutes—is priceless,” she said.
Whether it’s ducking into the bathroom without a baby on your hip or taking a work call, an extra pair of eyes makes all the difference in enjoying the trip.