Instagram isn't just for selfies and cute puppy pics – it's also a treasure trove of travel inspiration! Whenever we’re planning a new adventure, Instagram is one of our go-to sources for inspiration.
From the most popular tourist attractions to the lesser-known hidden gems, you can find it all on Instagram.
I love exploring different hashtags and geotags to discover new places to visit and unique experiences to have.
And the best part? You can save all your favourite posts and create a personalised itinerary for your trip. So if you're looking for some travel inspiration, here are some tips and tricks to leverage Instagram for research.
1. Follow Travel Hashtags
Looking for hidden gems and popular attractions for your next family holiday? Hashtags are your new best friend!
By using relevant hashtags for the destination you're interested in, you can uncover amazing spots that you may not have found otherwise.
Plus, you can see what other travellers have found and loved in the area. Here are a few family travel hashtags for Instagram that you can follow:
This list on the Wandermust Family blog also has some great suggestions.
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Image: Mobile phone showing a popular family travel hashtag
2. Embrace Geotagging For Exploration
Exploring new destinations for your next family holiday can sometimes be overwhelming and often exhausting. But with Instagram geotagged locations, you can immerse yourself in way that’s both fun and practical.
You can discover popular spots or hidden gems, by scrolling through photos, stories and videos at the location.
There is also a useful page that will display the current weather in the area and separate images based on popular activities (follow the steps below), It’s a neat feature.
Finally, don’t forget to click on images and read comments from other users to understand more about the location.
Step by step:
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Image: Mobile phone showing geotagging on Instagram
3. Be Social To Get Insider Tips
Social media is about being social, right? When your scrolling through Instagram don’t be afraid to jump in and ask other travellers for their tips and recommendations for family travel. We’ve definitely made use of this.
Whether you get a response or not depends on a few factors, such as the responsiveness of the account or influencer, if you’re one of the first comments (if you’re comment 427, you’re unlikely to get a response), and how you fram your question.
Keep questions simple and throw in some flattery. A few likes of their other posts will also likely improve your changes of getting a response.
Remember to also give if you can, but don’t give too much. You don’t want to let the world know when your house will be empty.
When your scrolling through Instagram don’t be afraid to jump in and ask other travellers for their tips and recommendations for family travel
See: Top 15 Family Travel Blogs on Instagram: Must-Follow List
4. Save Favourites To Collections
Have you ever come across a great recommendation for a family holiday destination or activity, only to forget it later? Or the page refreshes and the post gets lost in the Instagram black hole. No!
Don't let that happen again. Whether it's a beautiful photo of a must-see family attraction or a list of insider awesome travel tips for travelling with toddlers, save it to a collection.
So start saving your favourite posts now and get ready to make your future family holidays even more amazing!
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Image: Save a post to an Instagram Collection
5. Get Tips From Tourism Boards
When it comes to planning a family holiday, tourism boards can be a great resource for inspiration and information. Tourism boards often share beautiful photos, insider tips, and useful information about their destination on their Instagram accounts.
By following them, you can get a sense of what a destination has to offer and find out about family-friendly activities and events.
You can also reach out to them with any questions you have or to get personalised recommendations.
To find tourism boards for any country you’re interested in, just search Google for the official page, then check for their social accounts when you visit the website.
So next time you're planning a family holiday, don't forget to check out the Instagram account of the local tourism board for some great ideas and inspiration.
Image: Visit Brazil Tourism Board website
6. Use Instagram Guides
Huh, what is an Instagram Guide? Instagram Guides are a relatively new content format that were introduced by the platform in 2020.
They combine visuals and text and each guide is a curated collection of existing Instagram posts accompanied by descriptions, commentary, recipes, etc.
Guides are similar to blog posts and give accounts more space than traditional posts in order to share a cohesive set of recommendations, stories, experiences, and so on, and usually around a particular topic (e.g. Best Cafes in Barcelona).
It is not a heavily used feature yet, but they are very useful, so make sure you are proactively looking out for Guides, as they can be easily missed!
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Image: Instagram Guides profile icon
— travel with children made easy —