Traveling to London with Young Kids Help with Itinerary

I was a bit exhausted reading your day 2. After a transatlantic flight a day before you're planning Harry Potter PLUS Regents St and a walk past the Houses of Parliament? Honestly, especially with kids, I'd say make Harry Potter a full day activity, and have an early dinner back in London. Regent St on a Saturday night will be packed, and I doubt you'll have the energy. Not sure of the attraction of Westminster Bridge, unless it's to take photos from.

Day 3 (Sunday) - morning looks good (Borough Market will be busy, but as long as you're flexible it should work). But afternoon, you're not going to be able to get from there to South Kensington for the Science Musuem and then to the Langham for a 3.30pm afternoon tea. You're dashing all over the place. The Science Museum is big, and really is a half day. If you really want afternoon tea, pick somewhere closer and make it later. Incidentally, if you are at the Langham and want a walk after, Regents Park is closer.

Hope that helps - nothing wrong with a busy itinerary though as long as you're flexible.

I think it’s pretty impossible to do the Tower, Borough Market and the Science Museum before making it to the Langham for 3.30. I’d drop Borough Market. After the Tower you’ll be having a late lunch so have it as quick as you can somewhere very nearby, otherwise you’ll have no room for the tea and will be paying a lot for something you can’t eat!

Even just those 2 stops will be very difficult to accomplish before 2.30 which is when you’d have realistically have to leave the museum to get to the Langham on time.

Just remember that Londoners work by the rule of thumb that it takes an hour to get anywhere!

I agree with Simon about your second day. I went to the HP Warner Bros. Studio last summer and spent most of the day there. There is so much to see you definitely want to have plenty of time to explore. Your boys will love it!

The only downside was the food. It was expensive and average at best. Enjoy the butterbeer and a snack. Plan to have your main meal back in London.

Happy travels!

Your kids may be different than mine, but mine would not be happy with that itinerary. Too much walking; too many things in a single day; no interest in pretty little villages with nothing for kids to do.

I suggest that you add more for them:

• The Lady Diana Playground in Hyde Park is awesome and my kids loved it. Lots to do and other kids to play with. Good up to age 10 to 12. Take a book because sitting on a bench for 90 minutes (was closing after that) twice was not entertaining for me.
• Science Museum has a childrens hands on area which is fun and is air conditioned
• Natural History Museum has a great area on dinosaurs
• Tower of London is a castle so great for kids
• Bourgh Market is very crowded and just food stalls so only useful for kids as a place to eat with little seating
• Millennial Bridge was seen being destroyed by Death Eaters if you kids like Harry Potter movies
• consider York as an alternative to the Cotswolds. My kids loved it with the walls to walk, the Story of Chocolate, the Jorvik Museum, smaller area to walk around; we didn't get to the Train Museum but it should be kid friendly. My kids also loved Dover Castle (the castle thing again).
• My kids knew Big Ben, but could care less for Westminster Bridge.

Kids need time to explore any place and not be rushed. My kids loved the parks and multiple playground in them (this applies all over the UK and Ireland). There is one in Kilkenny Ireland they still talk about.

Thank you everyone! This is very, very helpful! I had a hunch there was just too much, especially without knowing the area well. Will definitely going to rethink this and slow down a bit + focus on things the kids will really want to do! Appreciate the insight on the countryside - the plan there was to find various castles and other activities to do but will definitely check out some of your other recommendations. My kids love Harry Potter so some of the recos look perfect. Thank you again!!

We took boys to London at the ages of yours. Now, adults, but that trip is as vivid as yesterday in my mind. I'm meeting one of them in London next month - not the first time we've done that. I hope your trip is as memorable and sets the family up for a lifetime of return visits!

I agree with the above comments. Specifically:
Afternoon "tea" was not appreciated by mine
Skip Borough Market
Have you factored in travel time for Harry Potter as well as time spent there - day two is ambitious (as noted)
Are you sure the Cotswolds will be a hit?? Mine would not have appreciated "charm". (If you stick with the Cotswolds - Warwick Castle was quite kid friendly. It has been decades since I was there, but current reviews reflect my recollections. )

The suggestion of York instead of Cotswolds is a good one in my opinion. Train - no need for car. Family friendly walkable city with attractions noted above that are kid attractors.

Three days in London, especially with jet lag, is not much. My kids enjoyed Hampton Court, no time for that in your plans. I would give London more time (but that is me).

Have you considered the Cutty Sark in Greenwich or the HMS Belfast on Thames?

You know your kids - I thought I knew mine, but I misjudged what would resonate. I thought the iconic Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, etc would yield "Oooh and Aaahs", but got a big "ho hum" instead. I had even prepared them with photos and stories and discussion before we left the States.

Mine were already city kids; the whole London vibe was not as exciting as I had thought it would be for them. Walks through the parks didn't elicit much enthusiasm, but the London Zoo was a hit. The Science and Natural History Museums were enjoyed, The Imperial War Museum has become a stop for life when ever one travels to London as an adult, Hamleys was another favorite stop and life-long habit (do they ever grow up???) I know I learned a lot about pre-planning and shifting course mid-stream on our trip -

RE Brighton Beach Boardwalk - a bit seedy last time I was there (late 2019 - check current reviews, but I doubt it has been revitalized). I found it depressing. The beach itself is pebbly - it wouldn't have been appealing to mine who were used to sandy beaches.

I just remembered - the Beefeater's Tour at the Tower with the off-with-the-head and lost princes stories was too much for one of mine. I have mentioned that before on this board and been ostracized. Maybe the tour presentation has changed, I haven't been in a number of years, but I wanted to mention it.

Hampton Court with the maze and castle explorations was more to the liking of my kids than the Tower. They seemed to relate better to it.

You've received some very good advice.

I would avoid Borough Market on a weekend midday at all costs, especially if the weather is nice. I was there on a Saturday afternoon in March and it was beyond crowded. It was the low point of an otherwise wonderful day.

I assume you plan on renting a car for the Cotswold area?

London Walks also offers a Harry Potter tour taking you to locations from the movies (the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron...both of them). This might be another fun Harry Potter activity you might want to consider. The walks are inexpensive and they have other fun themes you might enjoy.

https://walks.com/

Hi, Jackie,

I recently returned from 10 nights in London with two of my grandkids (boy, age 15 and girl, age 11). I realize they're older than yours, but here are some ideas and tips that helped me.

First, hotel: We stayed at The Resident Victoria and found it to be the PERFECT location! They loved it there. You can read more about it in my trip report if you like as there were many details, but it was super easy to get everyplace from there, and the hotel was really wonderful. It's very walkable, it was a 7-8 minute walk to Victoria Station and/or Victoria Coach Station, a 5 minute walk to the newer Victoria Underground Station (Cardinal Place), which serves 3 lines (District, Circle and Victoria), and close to many sights (Buckingham Palace was only a few blocks away).

More importantly, there were loads of restaurants, cafes, take-away places and groceries within a 5 minute walk, yet the hotel itself sits on a quiet side street with barely any noise. The kids LOVED going to Pret a Manager to choose food to takeaway, or heading to Gail's Bakery in the morning for a Pain au Chocolat. The hotel has a small kitchenette in it, with dishes, small fridge and microwave. It really was the perfect place. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/london-and-paris-and-grandkids-oh-my-march-and-april-2025-trip-report

Second, sights. I agree that the Harry Potter tour will take a LOT out of you! We were there from around 10 am until afternoon and by the time we got back to London, we were exhausted. All we could manage to do was go to Wagamama for dinner, which was close by, and then relax in the hotel. And they loved Hamleys Toys, but that is also a little exhausting so coming on top of the HP tour, it really might be better to move that to a different day.

They will love the Science Museum and be prepared to spend some time in the gift shop as they enjoyed that as well. :-) However, I would omit Borough Market. It will be SO crowded and stressful and to buy any food, you will have to wait in line forever. One thing your kids would really enjoy, I'll bet, is one of the museums of optical illusions. My grandkids went to both—the Twist Museum (near Soho) and Paradox Museum (across from Harrods) and had such a good time at those. They were a lot of fun, and I even enjoyed them. Just something to think about if they get bored with the typical museums.

I won't speak about the Cotswolds as it's been decades since I've been there, but I do agree that you are shortchanging London, and I have a feeling the kids might get bored with small villages. York would be a better option, as noted above, but really, with such short time, I would just stay in London. There is so much to see and do there, and it's such a wonderful city.

I just remembered - the Beefeater's Tour at the Tower with the off-with-the-head and lost princes stories was too much for one of mine. I have mentioned that before on this board and been ostracized. Maybe the tour presentation has changed, I haven't been in a number of years, but I wanted to mention it. Hampton Court with the maze and castle explorations was more to the liking of my kids than the Tower. They seemed to relate better to it.

I agree about the Beefeater's Tour. I wasn't crazy about it. For one thing, there are so many people crowded around that your kids may not be able to see or hear much. My 15 year old grandson enjoyed it (he's 5'10") but my granddaughter got bored quickly so the two of us sat out most of it. And like what ORDtraveler said above, they seemed to enjoyed Hampton Court Palace more than than the Tower. There's a lot more to see, and it's not nearly as crowded as the Tower will be. The gardens and maze were fun, and there's a nice cafe where you can have lunch or a snack.

I will also echo ORDtraveler's statement that my grandkids did not particularly enjoy the iconic sights of London. We walked to Buckingham Palace and they thought it was just okay. They had no interest in touring Westminster Abbey, although I did take them there for Evensong one evening and they liked that. Surprisingly, they did like the V&A museum, although I'm not sure a 6 or 8 year old would appreciate that. The British Museum was very overwhelming to them, and they didn't get as much out of it as I thought they would.

Most of the things they liked were those that were geared to their interests and ages. For example, we toured the Tottenham Spurs Stadium, and that was a huge hit. They both loved it and I really enjoyed it, too. But really overall, I think that just being there was what they most enjoyed—the atmosphere and vibe of London and being in a foreign country. They loved eating out at fun places like Wagamama, grabbing takeaway breakfast at Gail's, shopping at Hamleys and the M&M store, taking the train, and of course, visiting the optical illusion museums. :-)

Oh, I forgot to mention that they loved riding the double-decker buses! They wanted to go everyplace by bus so that they could see all the city. And I'm not talking about the HOHO buses; just the normal ones.