London Break - Any advice would be great!

pugsley_h

It is a big birthday at the end of January, so we plan on going to London for the weekend. There are two adults and two kids aged 5 & 7. We are on a very tight budget! We have Merlin passes, so plan on going to the London Eye & madame Tussauds. My daughter really wants to look at Buckingham Palace, and we plan on maybe watching Lion King on the Saturday afternoon. Has anyone got any advice on hotels, or areas to stay? We are not fussy (normally use Travelodges - but their £10 sales seem to be non-existent at the moment!), so as long as it is clean and functional that would be fine.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

VSynth

Have stayed at easyhotels before in London, basic but clean and cheap.

Berni888

My Sister recommends the Premier Inn, London County Hall, for a family room, she said she couldn't beat the location for ease of getting around and it was clean and reasonably priced. If you book now for January perhaps it will be within your budget and cut back on travel costs as central to your choice of entertainment?

Be prepared to queue (although moves along OK) for Buckingham Palace as it's very popular and I reckon you must be in line for 15 - 20 minutes getting your tickets. I'd not purchase them online as you pay more with the booking fee and there's no benefit in doing so as you still queue.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration and come home with lots of cherished memories of a lovely time in London with the family.

googler

What's your arrival point into the city?

Mainline station? Airport? Bus terminus?

I always recommend booking into a hotel close to this, that way you don't have to schlep luggage across town on arrival and departure days. It's easy to get from any arrival point to attractions on the tube, or via tour buses, or regular buses....

susancs

You could look at the GLT sale which opens on 10 December for cheaper theatre tickets in January.
http://www.getintolondontheatre.co.uk/

AS the above poster says the Premier Inn at County Hall is a handy location as you are beside the London Eye and the Aquarium which you can get into using your Merlin passes. It is also nice to be by the Eye when you have passes as you can do a daytime and nightime ride as the two are different experiences. For sight seeing you have the Houses of Parlimament, Big Big just by there. It is a reasonable walk from there to Covent Garden. Great transport links via waterloo or Westminster train/tube station and buses. Only 3 stops on the tube direct from Westminster to Baker street for Madam Ts. 1 stop to Green Park for Buckingham Palace. 4 stops from there to South Kensington for the Science and Natural History Museums (both free and beside each other) which IMO is well worth a visit with your children. There are lots of places to eat and drink at nearby. There is a Sainsburys store opposite Waterloo station you can use to get some sandwich meal deal options to take a packed lunch with you and snack items. The science Museum has a nice basement children's area with place to eat a picnic lunch. Premier Inn is good for breakfast as kids eat breakfast free with each paying adult and it is an all you can eat buffet type one.

Your children will travel free on all tubes and buses. At the station go to the lugguage/pushchair barrier and they follow you through. If staying a few days Oyster card may be the best option as it is a £5 refundable deposit and you top up at the station machines or ticket office as required. It charges less for single journey than cash and caps at a bit less than the daily Travelcard rate. You can get your deposit and any small remianing amount refunded at the tube ticket office prior to retuirning home or keep for future visits (larger amounts you have to write off for). You could get a daily travelcard for unlimited travel but depending on journeys this may work out more for e.g. Off peak zone1-2 Travel off peak travel card (purchase aft 9.30am weekdays for off peak rates) is £7.30 but if just doing a day at the South Kensington museums currently a return journey from Westminster would be £4.20. Fares will probably change as they usually go up in the new year.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx

When visiting Buckingham Palace I would sugguest doing so on a day the changing of the Guard is on which is ually alternative days in the off peak season.
http://changing-guard.com/dates-times/buckingham-palace.html