Family holidays can be tiring and some parents opt for a trip where child care facilities are available which allows them to enjoy time out to swim, relax and get pampered. More and more hotels and resorts are offering high quality, safe and certified child care facilities. This is due to an awareness that parents will not compromise on their child’s safety when abroad.
Greece
The Sani Beach Club on Greece’s Helkadiki peninsula features an Ofsted-standard crèche (from age four months), run by British childcare specialists. The resort also offers a spa for parents and ‘Babewatch’, a facility on the beach where a nanny can watch your little one(s) while you take a dip in the sea. The Porto Elounda in Crete offer the Children’s Ark kids club for little ones aged between 6 months and 4 years. The Skiathos Princess Hotel on Skiathos Island has a creche run to Ofsted standards and evening babysitting services can also be arranged on request. The Westin Resort Costa Navarino in Greece has extensive facilities for families and a creche that takes kids from the age of four months up to three years.
Portugal
Another top pick is the Martinhal Beach Resort & Hotel, Sagres in the Algarve, Portugal, which boasts a kids club and creche for children from 6 months. The EPIC SANA in the Algarve is another great option with a creche and kids club.
Germany & Austria
Germany and Austria also have an abundance of ‘kinder hotels’ which are specifically aimed at parents who are travelling with babies and toddlers. These hotels are kitted out with everything you need to enjoy your vacation including sterilizing equipment, baby food, high chairs, cots, strollers and more. The Babymio Hotel, Kirchdorf, Austria has some excellent facilities. There are even midwife services and baby massage. The Ulrichshof Baby & Kinder Bio Resort located in a Bavarian forest also has some fantastic offerings, including child care 7 days a week, a crawling room, a kids buffet, playgrounds, evening babysitting services and more. There is also a luxury spa onsite for parents to enjoy.
Package Holiday Providers Offering Deals with Childcare
Package holiday providers such as Falcon Holidays and Thomson also offer package holidays with kids clubs and child care facilities. Talk to your local package holiday provider for more information. There are also a number of websites specializing in booking holidays for families with babies and toddlers such as Tots Too and Baby Friendly Boltholes.
Esprit is a fantastic company which offers excellent childcare facilities. The family specialist offers several ski resorts, as well as summer activity holidays at beach resorts in France, Croatia and Italy’s Lake Garda. Each property has an Esprit Nursery for babies and toddlers aged 4-40 months, run by professional, English-speaking nursery nurses.
Club Med offers a superb range of family properties, including ski resorts in the Alps, beach resorts in the Med, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Morocco. Baby Club Med welcomes babies from 4 to 23 months. They also offer the Pyjamas Club, enabling parents to enjoy carefree evenings.
Scott Dunn offers a weekly kids programme at ‘Globe Trotters’ for babies and toddlers aged between 4 months to 2 years. Activities include baking, a bendy bus ride and sledging. Scott Dunn also offers a private nanny service in a number of ski resorts along with a range of hotels with kids’ clubs – with destinations ranging from Antigua to Zanzibar.
P&O Cruises has great facilities on some of its ships, including an in-cabin baby listening service plus a night nursery for children aged six months to five years, open every day from 6pm – 2am. The ships for families with babies and toddlers include Aurora and Ventura, which has one of the best kids clubs afloat and a play area for under-twos.
See also…
Best European Beaches with Babies and Toddlers
Kirsten says:
we’re in royal son bou in Menorca now. Perfect for small kids: childcare from 0 years old, included in the prices. At the beach. Animation every day, it’s brilliant.