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Original poster

Hiring local nannies on holiday???

34 replies

stickystick · 01/06/2015 11:57

(Apologies for cross-post - have put this in the Travel section too because not sure where it best belongs!)

I know that if we take our 2 year old on holiday to a normal self catering villa then I will spend my entire week working my butt off cooking and cleaning and trying to stop him falling in the pool and drowning.

So I had this plan to go to a holiday place in southern France (highly recommended by MNers of course): a smalll farm where they have a few self catering units, but, crucially, a creche and an evening babysitting service staffed by English speaking nannies.

However, my partner has vetoed the plan on the grounds he thinks this place is too child oriented and he hates "forced socialising" with other families (hence he would never countenance things like Mark Warner!). He would rather rent a villa in Greece or the Caribbean (needs to be somewhere still hot at the end of September/early October) and hire a local nanny to take care of him during the day and evening.

Does anyone know how easy it is to find a good local nanny to do this? Has anyone tried it? Is it a realistic option? Are there UK based agencies which specialise in this? Is there anything one should bear in mind?

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Karoleann · 01/06/2015 22:27

Martinhaal resort also has villas which, like Pine Cliffs are attached to a family friendly hotel with a creche that is very suitable for little ones. Borgo in Puglia also has a similar set up.

I've also forgotten Sani Beach ----amazing creche and semi-selfcatering unit and out of school holidays not expensive at all.

Carlisle bay in Antigua is amazing and so child friendly, but not great until early December.

Blondeshavemorefun · 01/06/2015 17:16

ditto tenerife and tenerife childcare, but that was my friends agency Grin shes lovely isnt she jendot

loving holidays and tenerife myself, go in 'looks at watch' 36hrs :) but i can understand why parents want some time out on holiday, tho maybe better to have a family holiday, then go away with dh for a few days and leave child at home with a nanny (this is what i have done a few times, as been the nanny for families)

maybe dh needs to help out with the cooking/cleaning, or get an appartment like we do that has a maid/cleaner service and eat out all the time, plsu spend time with his son

rookiemere · 01/06/2015 16:27

If you went to Tenerife this would be a good option, perhaps there may be similar options in different countries :
www.tenerifechildcare.com/index.php?menu=home
With the hotel option, most places only offer kids clubs from age3-4 anyway, but you usually have the option of hiring the kids club helpers ( usually teenagers) in the evening.

Here's the holiday nanny option : www.holidaynanny.co.uk/packages, but personally I'd hate to have someone I didn't know come on holiday with us.

If your DH wants to go down this route, then task him with coming up with the options. Unfortunately when you have DCs, things change and having an idyllic villa in the middle of nowhere, ceases to be a practical option.

TheBuffyBot · 01/06/2015 16:04

Would hiring a nanny at the resort be difficult in terms of checking refrences. Would your DC be ok spending time with someone they've never met before?

Maybe a hotel is a better compromise with your DH? You can eat out and go on excursions so he's not forced into socialising too much as you said with the added bonus of a kids club?
We hire a villa and eat out and as for cleaning we split the bare minimum of it between DH and I.

PotteringAlong · 01/06/2015 15:48

You want a nanny for the day and the evening? In that case do you have relatives you can leave your child at home with and go on holiday by yourself?

Karoleann · 01/06/2015 15:47

We've stayed in the place in France you were initially thinking about. I thought it was great DH hated it (too sociable).

I don't see anything wrong in having a break on holiday, having cooking facilities with a young child is do much easier than having to eat hotel food every evening and having some childcare too is lovely. There are a couple of villa companies that offer nannies and/or chefs. James villas does (there's another that I can't think of the name I'll post later), also Scott Dunn.

The other option is going to somewhere like pine cliffs in the algarve that has villas in the grounds of a hotel where you can use their kids club.

jendot2 · 01/06/2015 12:55

I think if you were going to do this you may be better to take a nanny with you. There is a agency called holiday nannies I think? It would probably be quite tricky to find someone at the destination who speaks English and you can check refs etc

I do personally know and can recommend a nanny who lives in Tenerife and works as a nanny for English families visiting the Island ... I don't think she is a cheap option though!!

The other option is of course a hotel so the cooking and cleaning up is taken care of.

electionfatigue · 01/06/2015 12:22

to a normal self catering villa

that's your problem. To my mind, it ain't a holiday if I'm doing the cooking and cleaning! Go to a hotel and let someone else do that stuff so you can enjoy the time with your child.

Smartiepants79 · 01/06/2015 12:07

Why don't you choose somewhere that does the catering and cleaning for you then you can enjoy your holiday with your son. Maybe your DP could be more helpful so you're not so worn out.
I'm afraid I don't understand why anyone would go on holiday with their children and then hand them over to someone else to look after. I know lots of people do it but it's a bit alien to me.