Frankie Collinson and Becky Pennison-Bates

Both of us have always loved to travel. But after having our kids, Google searches for ‘family hotels’ left us feeling more than a little frustrated. The internet seemed determined to send us on child-centric package holidays, with plastic-fantastic waterslides and beige buffets. Our pre-baby love for stylish travel wasn’t something we were willing to compromise, but our usual failsafe sites weren’t telling us what we needed to know. Reentering the real world, we found speaking to other parents we knew by far the most valuable resource for non-naff recommendations – plus the ability to ask the questions we really wanted answered was both time-saving and game-changing. We started our Instagram to connect like-minded parents, letting them talk about family holidays in a way no one else was doing. @tinytravelship pulls on the collective knowledge of a well-travelled global community, sharing their top tips and destination recommendations. Fast-forward 12 months and 21.5k Instagram followers, and tinytravelship.com was born. Along the way, and after speaking with thousands of parents, we’ve picked up some very valuable lessons on how to make family travel actually feel like a holiday. Here are our five most essential tips for planning a trip with kids in tow. Frankie Collinson and Becky Pennison-Bates are the founders of Tiny Travelship.