London Holiday with kids - advice?

kathrynha

When we did London the other year as a family we opted to stay outside of London.


The price for train or coach down to London plus London accommodation was ridiculous.
Instead we drove from Leeds to Hemel Hempstead and stayed in the Travelodge there.


Only 3 in our family, but room was £120ish for 4 nights. Train in to London each day was £30ish, and a taxi from the Travelodge to the station was £5 per journey.


Once in London We bought daily passes where we could use any tube or bus all day, that weren't badly priced.


Added bonus of staying outside of London was we didn't need expensive evening entertainment.


Our daughter was 8 when we went, and we did the London Eye and the boat trip. Booked them together and it wasn't too badly priced, and the boat trip was brilliant, they pointed out all the interesting sites
Also recommend:
Natural History museum
M&M shop (not cheap but cool)
Hamleys
Covent garden
Rainforest caf!


We weren't overly impressed with:
Tower of London, might be okay if it's quiet, but when it's busy they can't manage the crowds
Science museum, think we might be spoilt by having a children's science museum close to home.


Also added advantage of staying out of London, we were only a short drive from the Harry Potter studios, which I highly recommend.

Imlay

Great thread! We are also a rural Scottish family planning on heading to London for a first visit for our younger 2 children's first visit having previously taken our older 2 many years ago!


We have discovered the London Pass whilst researching what to do which might be worth considering. We are going to make a definitive list of what we want to do and take it from there. This thread has been very helpful with that.

DRamsay7S

Thank you all so much - I had seen a few of the replies but then got caught up with life once I made a hotel booking and didn't get around to planning anything else! Now have come to making daily plans and this is SO useful! Thank you all so much; going to fine tooth comb every post now to make our plans! :-)

knightstyle

I would add have a meal in the Crypt under St Martins in the Field just off Trafalgar Square.

artichoke

i would second family rooms in youth hostels - you get sets of bunk beds so ideal for older children. PLus most have a games room with pool table, connect 4 etc etc.

They are often in fantastic locations. We are staying in St Paul's Cathedral YHA in feb half term - the old choir boys school.

EconomicsGirl

Natural History Museum, Science Museum, ours love Bank of England Museum which is small but maybe as I'm an Economist! Numerous art galleries.

Our love boat down the river and London Duck Tours, a vehicle which tours on water and land. London Eye is good but expensive. Greenwich is lovely. Kew Gardens really nice but quite far out, if you are organised and can get up early a boat runs to there. Legoland and Windsor are good. Can visit Houses of Parliament. Worth looking into offers as otherwise can get pricey. Cote is a lovely French restaurant on the riverside and not too pricey. Fan Museum in Greenwich does lovely afternoon tea for £8 but need to pre book and only Tuesday's and Sunday's. My experience on cable car was horrible, very windy and just me alone with one other guy on. Some areas of London aren't that safe after dark and watch out for pick pockets in busy areas, central London is generally fine apart from pick pockets. Have a lovely time. Tube is good way to travel except in rush hours, tube strike but boat / bus more fun but slower.

zagubov

I'd recommend buses, upstairs for the view.
When you're in central London you can find most attractions near tube stations using this tube map. But better still use the buses (sit on the top deck and enjoy the view)- your kids will love the view!. These are some of the ones that show you the touristy bits (they're just ordinary buses so you use your Oyster card), and maybe use this website to find stuff to do. For cheap dining in the evening try 5pm.co.uk (you already know it as it's a Scottish site but it does cover London) The Stockpot restaurant chain runs cosy restaurants in Chelsea and the West End, and do good cheap basic meals at normal prices, unlike almost everywhere else in the centre (or even outskirts) of London - their addresses are on the internet. I'll second the Duck Tour!
Hope you have a great time!

nmlc

Evening everyone

Just reading the previous posts - we had our family holiday in London last summer. I saved my MrT vouchers and then exchanged them for the tourist open top bus tour - it's a really good way to see all the sites, and they're hop on hop off, they also include a boat trip and a walk - if you get time. The guides are brilliant and very knowledgeable. They are expensive though, hence why I saved my MrT vouchers. Also you don't need to buy the visitors Oyster cards - you can just buy the normal ones - the cashier at the train station was very helpful when we bought our oyster cards as we didn't know whether to buy those or just use contactless bank cards, his advice was to buy the oyster cards as you just purchase them (you don't give any personal details) and then load them with credit - if you lose them you've just lost whatever credit is on it, if you lose your bank card, it's a nightmare!

HTH

Keep safe and well x

nmlc x

Dark_Star

The Sky Garden is FREE (book in advance) - it's like the Shard - a very tall building so incredible views over London but without the entrance fee. It also has a cafe & a restaurant. Cafe not too badly priced for London, but avoid the restaurant.


It's walkable from London Bridge & you can also walk past/visit the Monument (fee payable to up it), see Pudding Lane etc.


https://skygarden.london/


I think you can only book 3 weeks in advance but it is worth a trip.