How to find a babysitter in Sunny Beach on holiday

Books and toys arranged for a babysitting visit at home

A holiday with a small child is a strange thing: the day goes by on the beach, and the evening ends at half past eight because somebody has to go to sleep. A babysitter for a few hours gives you back dinner for two, and sometimes a quiet afternoon as well. What makes it different from hiring a nanny at home is that here everything is arranged in two days, in someone else's apartment, with a person you are meeting for the first time. Which is exactly why it is worth setting up properly.

When parents in Sunny Beach look for a babysitter

One evening. Dinner without a high chair, an anniversary, a concert. The most common request is three or four hours.
A few hours in the afternoon. The parents want to sleep, go to the gym, or take a trip that is no fun for a child.
A full day for an event. A wedding or a birthday party that a child will never last through to the end of.
Regularly, for the whole holiday. The same person for a few hours a day — an option for families staying two weeks or more.
Someone to come along. A trip to the water park or time by the pool while you are nearby, but not on your own with three children.

What to check before you choose

The profile tells you more than a chat thread does. Look at the rating, the number of completed jobs and the reviews — above all the reviews left by other parents of children the same age. A babysitter who is used to teenagers is not the same thing as a babysitter for a two-year-old.

Ask three questions before the first meeting:

Experience with this age. What do they do with a child who does not want to fall asleep? How do they handle a tantrum on the beach?
Language. Which language will they speak with your child. Plenty of providers on the coast speak Russian and English, but that should be written down, not assumed.
What the care includes. Supervision only, or feeding, bath time and bedtime as well. If you are counting on dinner, say so in advance.

Arrange a short introduction before the first session — fifteen minutes in the apartment while you are still there. Your child meets the new person calmly, and you get to see how the two of them get on.

What to prepare in the apartment

A rented apartment is not your home, and the babysitter has no idea where anything is. Five minutes of preparation saves an hour of phone calls:

Leave your phone numbers written down, along with the address of the apartment and the entrance number.
Show where the first aid kit, the food and the spare clothes are.
Say who to call in an emergency: the reception desk of the complex, the neighbours, your own phone.
Leave your child with a familiar toy and explain the bedtime routine.
Check the balcony and the doors — in someone else's apartment that is the first thing to think about.

What the price depends on

On Helply, babysitters set their own rates, and the figure arrives with the offer. It is affected by:

The age and number of children. One seven-year-old and two under three are not the same service.
The hours. Evenings, anything after ten at night and public holidays cost more than an afternoon.
The language. A Russian-speaking or English-speaking babysitter is in higher demand during peak week.
The length of the booking. For several days in a row, a better hourly rate is usually agreed.
Extra tasks. Feeding, bath time, coming along to the beach or the water park.

Safety points to agree in advance

A holiday apartment holds things you sorted out at home long ago. Half an hour of conversation before the first session covers almost all of it:

The balcony and the railings. In many complexes the railings have wide gaps, and the terrace furniture is easy to climb. Agree that the balcony door stays locked.
The pool. Even with a lifeguard on duty, your child does not go into the water without an adult. If you expect the babysitter to take them to the pool, say so explicitly and check that she can swim.
The beach and the sun. The hours between midday and four outdoors are hard on a small child. Leave a hat, water and sun cream somewhere visible, and say when they should head back.
Food and allergies. Write down what is allowed and what is not, including the ice cream on the promenade.
Medication. If your child takes anything, leave it separately with the dose and the time written down — never "as they see fit".

When to book

In July and August the free evenings go days ahead — it is the busiest time on the coast. If you already know the date of the dinner or the wedding, put your request in while you are still planning the holiday. Out of season it is calm, and a babysitter can be found for the same day.

What to put in your request

A good request contains the child's age, the hours, the address of the complex, the language and the particulars — allergies, medication, fears, favourite things to do. The more specific it is, the more accurate the offers, and the fewer questions are left to the last minute.

Book a babysitter

Describe the job and get offers from experienced babysitters — usually within 5–15 minutes:

If you are here as a family, have a look at all services in Sunny Beach too — from apartment cleaning to a hairdresser at your address before the very evening you are hiring the babysitter for.