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Trip Report / Family Friendly London Recommendations

I Just returned from a lovely Easter in London and wanted to share a few recommendations for families traveling together. Our party was 2 adults, 2 seniors and 2 children ages 5 & 6.

  • I booked a fantastic Blue Badge guide for a day and it was an excellent decision. His name is Gavin and you can find him here: https://www.gavinwithag.com/ He put together a bespoke walking tour for us which started at the Tower or London then on to Borough Market and concluded at St. Pauls. He is extraordinarily knowledgeable, funny and so engaging with kids. I cannot recommend him more highly.

    • Look into membership vs. one day tickets at both Historic Royal Palaces and Royal Museums Greenwich, we saved a good deal of money this way. For Historic Royal Palaces we visited Kensington, Hampton Ct. and the Tower and at Greenwich we visited the Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory and were able to see the new Pirate exhibit at the Maritime museum with the membership. In addition to ticket savings you also save a percentage at the cafes and shops at these locations- well worth the few minutes to sign up and the huge bonus on not needing to book a specific entry time, you just turn up which is so great flexibility when traveling with kids.
    • London Playgrounds are the best! We loved the Diana Playground, The Magic Garden (at Hampton Ct.) The Cove (at the Maritime museum) or Indoor play options in poor weather the Maritime Museum is also great for their hands- on area and the London Transport museum.
    • Every attraction and museum has a children's guide or trail or activity backpack. Have a look at the website for each location under family programing. Every single place we went had free or included activities to engage young visitors and my kids really enjoyed them.
    • Don't miss taking kids to the theater, we saw Matilda and the National Ballets' Swan Lake (the my first ballet series for young audiences) and I'm so glad that we made it to both shows!
Posted by
1653 posts

I’m glad you had a good trip. The school holidays are a good time to visit London with young children because, as you found out, almost all the museums run activity sessions and other events. These wouldn’t be available during term times.

Posted by
9080 posts

Thanks for the trip report, Amanda—it sounds like you all had a great time!

I agree about getting an HRP membership—I bought one for myself and my two grandkids, and even though we only used it at Hampton Court Palace and the Tower, I saved over £30 (plus the discounts in the cafes and gift shops). It really is a good deal and I highly recommend it.

Posted by
128 posts

Thank you, Amanda! Glad you had a good trip and apparently the 5 and 6 year old did OK on the flights and tube etc? I'm in the beginning stages of planning a family trip but youngest will be 9 almost 10 when we go next year (if all works out).

Posted by
5 posts

@pbscd Absolutely! My girls were excellent on the flights, it was their first time flying so it was all new and exciting and I let them watch inflight movies to their hearts content. I didn't want to deal with bringing carseats/ boosters so we stuck to tube, bus and train the whole time. I always had a book, sketch book or coloring book in my bag from them on longer transit time but mostly they wanted to look out the window or people watch. I was so proud of my little travelers and their ability to keep up with a busy sight seeing schedule AND be interested in what we were learning about.

Posted by
5 posts

@Helen Actually the resources i'm referring to isn't limed to holiday times, they are available year round. Things like the V&A's children's study backpacks and the Maritime museums printed children's guides are all free you just need to ask staff where to find them!

Posted by
1653 posts

Oh yes the backpacks etc are always available. I thought you had engaged in some of the holiday activities that they run. These are usually free and happen in a designated space. Good to look out for.