It’s one thing to take the family on vacation, but believe me, no one will judge you for needing a break from the kids. That’s when babysitting services can really save the day, so here’s how you go about it.

The good news is there are some online resources to help traveling parents find a local sitter.

SitterCity.com is a members-only site where you type in a zip code to pull up a list of approved sitters in the area.

For $9.99 a month, you can do you due diligence, including asking for references, and finding out whether the sitter knows CPR or has a driver’s license.

A similar site is SeekingSitters.com, which costs about $40 to join and is available in 22 cities around the country.

All sitters have to go through a background check and one-on-one interview to be approved.

If your hotel offers babysitting services, make sure you ask the right questions ahead of time so you don’t get stuck at the last minute.

Some hotels only offer babysitting services at certain hours, or for two or three hours at a time.

And don’t assume that a hotel service is perfectly vetted.

Find out if the sitter is qualified to take your kids swimming or hiking, and be sure to ask about the ratio of kids to adult–anything more than four kids to one adult is a no-no.

Learn more in our Family Travel section here.

Looking for more advice? Click here for more Daily Travel Tips.