A travel nanny, sometimes called a traveling nanny is a nanny that travels with your family for any trip, vacations, or relocations. Their main duty is to provide the same steady care for your children in every destination, be it at home or abroad.
For globetrotting families, that consistency is the whole point. Your children stick to their routines they’re used to at home, from meals to bedtime. A familiar face allows your children to feel safe and settled in any environment.
Having a single person whom both you and your children trust means no more having to hire a new sitter in every city. And that’s where Morgan Richez, our co-founder, notes the rising demand seen in our travel nanny agency comes from.
“Clients travel a lot, and they own more and more properties overseas. They don’t want to employ people everywhere in the world, so they prefer to travel with their own staff.”
Morgan & Mallet places travel nannies worldwide from our eight international offices so that when your family moves, the right nanny moves with you.
Contact us today to hire a travel nanny.
From your first call with us to your travel nanny's first day
The hiring process begins from your first call to prepare your travel brief. The whole search is built around how your family moves. We need to know where you travel to, for how long, and how often.
An in-depth brief allows our recruiters to know exactly what you’re looking for and where to start looking. It helps your recruiter narrow down the applicant pool, so all you see is the top three candidates and not a hundred resumes. That’s why families use a travel nanny agency like ours.
A thorough brief means you can avoid legal troubles later. Spending more time in countries like France or the UK means you need the right contract and visa applied for the candidate.
Morgan Richez says you should tell your recruiter the entire travel plan from the very start so you don’t run into any issue with the law on your trip.
After shortlisting, you can see if the match is right through interviews and trial periods. Eric Rios, our recruiter in New York, suggests asking candidates to walk you through how they would handle a situation step by step. This shows if the candidate is capable of thinking ahead, solving issues before they become full-fledged problems.
Getting the travel fit right is a big part of why 96% of our first time placements succeed.
To learn more about our hiring process, from the shortlist to after placement support, see our page about how to hire a nanny.
What every travel nanny passes before you meet them
When you hire a travel nanny, you’re not just allowing someone to enter your home, but you’re trusting them with your children. The travel factor adds another layer of checks that a home-based nanny never needs.
Starting with the basics, we look for candidates with a valid passport and visa flexibility. We also prioritize candidates with strong language skills in French, Italian, Spanish, or Arabic along with English. Having a nanny who can speak to a doctor or driver in the local language makes your trip easier from the moment you land.
A nanny could be the perfect caretaker at home but might falter on a trip. That’s why we only present candidates with prior experience in traveling roles.
“For example, for a private island role, we look for someone who’s worked on one before,” says Morgan Richez. “Someone who knows how it really goes. It can look like a dream job on paper, but doing it is something different.”
The same goes for constant travel. We look for people who’ve already done it, with strong references that back up their experience.
An exhaustive 90 minute interview with each candidate gives our recruiters everything they need to know about the candidate’s skills. Our co-founder Laurine Mallet worked as a nanny herself, so she knows how to interview candidates to get real-life examples instead of rehearsed answers.
Instead of asking “are you flexible”, we ask candidates to share a time when plans were changed and they had to travel with the employer on short notice.
There is no right answer to the question. The point is to see how flexible the candidates can be with an unpredictable schedule.
This scenario based questioning also tests the soft skills of the candidate, especially in a childcare role. Long trips mean you share the same space for days. So we look for a calm, level-headed professional who can provide steady childcare during flight delays or exhausting travel days.
A more detailed overview of our strict screening and vetting process can be found on the main nanny hiring page.
What is a travel nanny, and what do they do?
The core duties are the same as any nanny role. The travel nanny takes care of the children and maintains their daily routine. The only difference is that this childcare is done on the move.
Schedules can get thrown off balance on travel days. It’s the travel nanny’s duty to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“If you travel in a plane, you need to make sure everything is well organized for the children. You prepare the luggage, depending on the children’s age and keep meals, naps, and bedtime on track,” says Laurine Mallet.
Flights and long drives can make the children feel restless and irritated. By giving them a familiar routine to hold on to, the nanny keeps the children calm and pacified.
They handle packing the children’s luggage with their comfort toys, clothes according to the weather, and medications if necessary. A good travel nanny takes note of where the safe spaces are, removes anything dangerous, and finds the nearest doctor before you need one during travel.
What type of travel nanny do you need?
Permanent travel nanny
A permanent travel nanny works full-time for a single family, traveling with them throughout the year. It’s the basic travel nanny role, where the nanny maintains a consistent daily routine for the children at home or on the road.
Vacation or holiday nanny
If you need a nanny for a ski trip, a tropical getaway, or a destination wedding, a vacation nanny is the right pick. The vacation nanny provides steady childcare while you get to relax.
For US placements, the role should run for at least four weeks. Reaching out to our hiring team two months before your travel is strongly recommended so we can find the right fit and sort the paperwork in time.
Summer or seasonal nanny
A summer or winter holiday means school’s out and the need for childcare cover for the kids during the day. A seasonal nanny works best here, staying for a defined period as you travel to your second home or go for trips abroad. A vacation nanny handles one trip while the seasonal nanny stays for the entire season.
We successfully placed a bilingual travel nanny for a New York family heading to Europe for the summer. After six weeks, the job wrapped up well, leaving the child happy and the client pleased with the candidate’s performance.
Temporary travel nanny
A temporary nanny is useful for when you need short-term cover for a trip when your regular nanny can’t come, or for a one-off need. We find that temporary roles are harder to fill as strong candidates look for more long-term, steady roles.
From our vast candidate pool, hardly 5% of nannies travel regularly. Morgan Richez’s advice is to offer a higher salary for the position to attract the right candidates.
International travel nanny
If you’re relocating for a year or splitting the calendar between two continents, this is the arrangement that keeps the children grounded while everything else moves.
An international nanny has visa flexibility, strong language skills, and prior experience in shifting household routines across countries.
Some families opt for rota patterns, with two nannies rotating so there’s always cover and everyone gets time off. For the full range of nanny types, including rota nannies, night nannies, and nanny-housekeepers, our main nanny page will help.
Why Morgan & Mallet?
Laurine Mallet worked as a travel nanny herself across five different countries. She worked with a London family, accompanying them as they traveled to Greece, France, and Spain.
It’s this real-life experience that grounds the Morgan & Mallet approach to travel nanny placements. Since 2015, we have placed travel nannies for families all over the world, with our eight offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Dubai, Monaco, and Geneva.
Our global candidate pool of 56,300+ professionals means you can get the right candidate for your family usually within six weeks.
“The families we work with often have properties in different countries and need to move quickly. Because we’re a global agency, we can find the right candidate faster, and they get one point of contact for everything,” says Morgan Richez.
The last thing you need is running into legal trouble during your trip. Things can go south if not caught early on. Maybe your nanny is not authorized to work abroad or your insurance refuses to cover any damage.
That’s why, when you reach out to us we connect you with advisors for drafting documents like the employment contract, tax, and insurance.
You can read more about how we started and how we work on our about page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a travel nanny?
A travel nanny is a nanny who travels with your family and cares for your children throughout the trip, keeping their routine steady in each new place.
How much does a traveling nanny earn in the US?
According to Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 salary data, the salary range for a traveling nanny is $70,000 to $150,000+ in the US. For more information on the salary data for various nanny roles, visit our main nanny hiring page.
Do travel nannies need a passport and visas?
Yes. A travel nanny needs a current passport, and for international trips they may need the right visas for your destinations. We check passport and visa readiness before we shortlist anyone. Requirements vary by country, so it’s worth reviewing official US State Department travel guidance for the places you visit most.
Who pays for the nanny's travel and expenses?
The family does. Flights, accommodation, meals, and travel costs while the nanny is working are covered by the employer, on top of salary. We’ll help you set clear terms before the placement starts.
What's the difference between a permanent travel nanny and a vacation nanny?
A permanent travel nanny works with your family ongoing and travels whenever you do. A vacation nanny is hired for a single trip and finishes when the trip ends.
Do you place travel nannies for international trips?
Yes. International travel and relocations are a core part of what we do, and our offices across the US, Europe, and the Middle East let us support placements worldwide.
How quickly can you place a travel nanny?
It depends on how specific your needs are, but our global candidate network means we can usually move fast. Once we know about your travel brief on the first call, we can tell you a realistic timeline.
New York
office address
260 Madison Avenue, 8th floor, 10016, New York, NY - United States
phone
+1 (646)965-2308
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Miami
office address
1221 Brickell Ave Bricknell, Miami, FL 33131, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
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Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Los Angeles
office address
895 Dove St, Newport Beach, CA 92660, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed