Travel nanny in Thailand: Phuket, Samui and Hua Hin with children

A travel nanny in Thailand turns a beach week with a toddler from shift work into an actual break. Bangkok families do it all the time: a long weekend in Hua Hin, a week on Koh Samui, Songkran in Phuket, a cool-season escape to Khao Yai or Chiang Mai. The nanny keeps the routine going so the parents can swim, sleep and finish a meal while it is still warm.

It works when the terms are clear before you pack. Who pays for her flight and room, how many hours she works when everyone is "on holiday", when her day off falls, and what happens on the evening you want to go out for dinner. Those questions cause more holiday friction than any delayed flight.

This guide covers both ways of having a nanny on a Thai holiday, the money and the hours, and the health side: pools and beaches, sun and heat, mosquitoes away from the city, and food and water on the road.

Two ways to have a nanny on a Thai holiday

Bring your own nanny from Bangkok

The child already knows and trusts her, she knows the routine, and you know how she handles a tired toddler at 18:00. For under-threes and for children who find change hard, this is usually the better choice. The cost is everything she needs to be away: transport, room, meals, and the hours you ask of her.

If your regular nanny is a CareRova placement, tell us about the trip early. We will talk through dates, hours and arrangements with you and with her, and quote anything beyond the normal placement on request.

Book a holiday nanny or sitter at the destination

This suits families without a regular nanny, families visiting Thailand from abroad, and older children who settle easily with someone new. CareRova's StayCare service places holiday nannies and evening sitters for villa, hotel and Airbnb guests. Our core service area is Bangkok, so for Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin or elsewhere, ask us what we can arrange for your dates rather than assuming. Our guide to holiday nannies for visiting families covers the Bangkok side of this in detail.

Settling a new nanny in on day one

A holiday nanny who has never met your children needs a proper handover, not a name at the door. Book her first session while you are still there, so the children meet her with a parent in the room. Walk her round the villa or suite: the pool gate, the balcony, where the medicines and first-aid kit are, how the air conditioning and the cot work. Give her a one-page note with routines, foods, allergies, medicines with written consent, your numbers and the nearest hospital, and stay for the first hour before going out.

Hotel babysitting services vary a lot. If you use one, ask what background checks, first-aid training and references the sitter has, and do not assume a resort uniform means any of those things. Every CareRova carer has a police background check, ID and work-eligibility check, at least two references phoned and first aid and CPR.

Who pays what: travel, room, meals and working hours

The principle is simple: when the nanny travels for your family's benefit, she should not be out of pocket for any of it. Families who get this right tend to keep their nannies for years.

Her room

A shared family villa with a separate nanny room is ideal. In a hotel, a connecting room works well: she has privacy and a door to close, and she is next door if a baby wakes. Asking a nanny to sleep on a sofa bed in the family's room for a week is a common mistake; she will be tired, and tired carers miss things.

Working hours on the trip

Holidays tend to stretch a nanny's day: an early flight, a late dinner, a baby who will not settle in a new cot. Before you go, agree a daily pattern in writing. A common one is the normal working day with a long break in the middle while the children nap or swim with a parent, and a clear finish time.

Days off and overtime on a trip

Thai rules give domestic workers at least one day off a week, paid public holidays and sick leave. None of that pauses because the family is at the beach, and the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare is the body responsible for labour protection if you want to read further. Our guide to nanny contracts in Thailand covers how to write travel terms into the employment agreement.

Planning the day off

On a trip of six days or more, put her day off into the itinerary on a day the family can manage alone, such as a quiet pool day. Agree whether she stays at the resort, explores, or travels home early. A day "off" spent in the family's villa watching the children because there is nowhere else to go is not a day off.

Overtime and evenings

There is no single holiday overtime rate, so agree one before you leave. Common practice is either a flat extra payment per trip day, or an hourly rate for any time beyond the agreed finish. Put the figure in writing and pay it at the end of the trip, not "later".

If the nanny falls ill on the trip

Sick leave applies away from home as it does in Bangkok. A nanny with a fever, vomiting or diarrhoea stops caring for the children and preparing food, and rests in her own room. The family pays for her to see a doctor if needed, as agreed before the trip, and decides whether she recovers at the resort or travels home. Build a little slack into the plan: a parent who can take over for a day, or a local sitter booked for the gap.

If you want regular evenings out, consider booking a separate evening sitter rather than stretching your nanny to a 14-hour day. In Bangkok, CareRova's babysitter service covers evenings from four hours. For travel, ask us about your destination.

Pools, beaches and water safety for small children

This is the part of the trip where we would ask you to be strict. Children drown quickly and silently, often in shallow water and often when several adults are nearby but nobody is actually watching. The American Academy of Pediatrics' home safety pages and Safe Kids Worldwide make the same point in every water-safety guide: active, close, undistracted supervision.

The water rules we suggest

• One named watcher per young child. At the pool, say out loud who is watching whom. "Nanny has Mia, I have Leo" beats "we're all here".
• Touch distance for non-swimmers and toddlers. In the water, close enough to reach without stretching.
• Phones away while watching. If the watcher needs her phone, she hands over the child first.
• No child alone near water, ever. Including villa pools at breakfast, ornamental ponds and bathtubs.
• Armbands are not supervision. Inflatables give a false sense of safety.
• Check the villa pool on arrival. Is there a fence, a gate that latches, or a pool alarm? If not, the pool doors stay locked and the key goes high.

Beaches

Sea conditions change by coast and season. On Phuket's west-coast beaches, the south-west monsoon months bring strong currents, and red flags mean nobody swims. Follow the flags and lifeguards wherever you are, and ask the hotel about local hazards such as jellyfish before the children go in.

Boats and island trips

Island-hopping and snorkelling trips are a highlight of Samui and Phuket, and the riskiest part of a beach holiday for small children. Before you book, ask the operator whether they carry life jackets in your children's sizes, not just adult ones; if in doubt, bring your own. Every child under about eight wears one on the boat and on the pier, not just in the water. The nanny sits with the youngest, away from the edge, and the family agrees who is responsible for each child at every transfer between boat, beach and van.

First aid by the water

Your nanny should hold a current first aid and CPR certificate, which CareRova requires for every child carer. The Red Cross child and baby CPR guide is worth reading together before the trip, and our guide to nanny first aid and child safety covers the training and kit in more depth. Save the local emergency number 1669 and the nearest hospital in both your phones on day one.

Sun, heat, mosquitoes and dengue away from Bangkok

Sun and heat

Resort sun is stronger than condo sun because children are outside all day, near water and sand that reflect it. Plan outdoor play before about 10:00 and after 16:00, with shade, hats and water in between. Babies under six months are kept out of direct sun; older children need a broad-spectrum sunscreen reapplied after swimming, plus a sun shirt. The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes sun-safety advice for parents that your nanny can follow.

Fluids matter more than parents expect. Offer water every 20 to 30 minutes when children are playing outside, more after swimming, because children rarely ask until they are already thirsty. Pale urine is the simplest check the nanny can make. Breastfed babies may want more frequent feeds in the heat rather than water.

Watch for heat exhaustion: a flushed or unusually pale child, headache, vomiting, unusual tiredness or a child who stops sweating. Move them to shade or air conditioning, cool them with water, give sips of fluid and call a doctor if they do not improve quickly.

Mosquitoes and dengue

Dengue is not just a Bangkok problem. It is common across Thailand, and island and beach resorts have mosquitoes too. The WHO's dengue fact sheet explains that the mosquitoes that spread it bite mainly in the daytime, so dusk-only repellent is not enough. The CDC's dengue pages list the warning signs, and Thailand's Department of Disease Control publishes local advice.

Practical rules for the nanny:

1. Repellent on exposed skin after sunscreen, reapplied as the label says, using the product the parents have chosen for the child's age.
2. Light long sleeves and trousers at dawn and dusk.
3. Check the room for screens or keep doors closed with the air conditioning on; use a cot net if the room is open.
4. Empty any water standing in buckets, sand toys or saucers on the villa terrace.
5. A child with a sudden high fever during the trip, or in the two weeks after, sees a doctor. Paracetamol only, at the label dose, unless a doctor advises otherwise; avoid ibuprofen when dengue is possible.

Air quality up north

If you travel to Chiang Mai or the north in the dry months, smoke from seasonal burning can make the air worse than Bangkok's. Check readings on the Pollution Control Department site and plan more indoor time on bad days.

Food and water hygiene on the road

Stomach bugs ruin more family holidays than anything else, and small children dehydrate faster than adults. The nanny's job is to keep the basics going even when the kitchen is a hotel room.

Hands first

Handwashing with soap for at least 20 seconds before eating, after the toilet or nappies, after the beach and after touching animals, as the CDC's handwashing guidance sets out. Keep sanitiser in the beach bag for when there is no tap, then wash properly at the next sink.

Eating out with children

The WHO's food safety fact sheet sums up the principles: keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures and use safe water. On a trip that means:

• Choose busy places where food is cooked to order and served hot.
• Be careful with buffet food that has sat out for hours in the heat, especially rice, seafood and anything creamy.
• Peel fruit yourself, or choose fruit that is peeled in front of you.
• Give children sealed bottled water; use it for brushing teeth too if you are unsure of the tap water.
• Shellfish and raw dishes are best avoided for young children.

Food in the room

If the nanny is preparing baby food or snacks in the room, check the minibar fridge is actually cold, at 5 °C or below; many are not. Anything perishable that has been out of the fridge for two hours is thrown away, and less in the afternoon heat. Bottles are washed and sterilised as at home, using a travel steriliser or cold-water sterilising tablets.

Hepatitis A spreads through contaminated food and water; the WHO's hepatitis A fact sheet explains why vaccination is worth discussing with your doctor before travel, for the family and for a nanny who prepares food.

When a stomach bug hits

Small, frequent sips of oral rehydration solution are the main treatment, as the NHS food poisoning guidance explains. Go to a doctor for a baby who is feeding poorly, any child with signs of dehydration (few wet nappies, dry mouth, no tears, unusual sleepiness), blood in the stool, or vomiting that does not stop. A nanny with vomiting or diarrhoea stops preparing food and stays away from the children until 48 hours after the last episode.

The Bangkok Hospital group has hospitals in several resort areas, including Phuket, Samui and Hua Hin; find the nearest one before you need it.

The packing list for travelling with a nanny

Before you leave

1. Agree the written trip terms and give her a copy.
2. Book her transport and room at the same time as yours.
3. Share the itinerary with her day by day, including her day off.
4. Check her insurance position with your insurer.
5. Brief her on each pool and beach rule, out loud.

Rates and how to arrange it

CareRova rates that apply to trips

Travel, room and meals for a nanny who travels with you are paid by the family on top of these rates. Arrangements outside Bangkok are quoted on request, so ask us before you book flights. The full rate table is on our pricing page, and hosts who want to offer childcare to villa or hotel guests can read our page for hosts.

What to send us

• Destination, dates and where you are staying.
• Children's ages, routines and any allergies or medical needs.
• Whether you want your current nanny to travel, or a nanny at the destination.
• The daily hours you need, and any evenings out.
• Pool, beach or boat plans, so we brief the nanny on water safety.

We shortlist within 48 hours, and every carer is vetted and first-aid trained. Read more about our nanny service, then WhatsApp or call +66 97 120 3054, email support@carerova.com, or use the contact form.