Next weekend we are visiting London for three days as a family of five…am I mad?! Yes I am but I’ve wanted to take the children to our capital for a long time now, and I now feel the time is right. Going away with children can be a daunting and a stressful process – from getting the packing done, making sure everyone is happy and entertained, and not forgetting the lack of relaxation (sorry kids!) But with some helpful preparation, I am hoping our family trip to London will be a smooth one, and there will be no tears!! Wish me luck!
London isn’t just about restaurants and shopping (although that sounds lovely!) It’s a melting pot of activities. There is so much to see and do that is suitable for all ages – theatre productions, museums, tours – it can be pretty overwhelming and difficult to know where to start.
Below are some tips I’ve drawn up for our own trip which I hope find use to someone else.
Image source: Billboardeo
– We’ve decided to drive as we have a 13 month old (as well as B who’s 7 and W who is 4) so travelling via train would not have been fun! This way we can pack what we want without worrying about carrying it to and from stations too.
– As we are driving, we need to consider congestion charges – this is free Saturday and Sunday but we will need to pay for the Monday. The daily charge is £11.50 if driving between the hours of 7am – 6pm.
– If travelling by train, the central stations are Marylebone and Euston. If travelling off-peak, you can get train tickets super cheap!
– Research central hotels to help ease the stress of getting from one destination to the next. Although it can be a little pricer, it will mean you are more central to where you want to go. Having somewhere more central will mean you can pop back to your hotel in-between visiting attractions if needs be.
– Think about what hotels are offering discounts. Some London Hotels have huge savings when booking with the likes of Groupon.
– Consider premier/travel inns. We’ve decided on a central Premier Inn located near Tower Bridge.
– When thinking about your family trip to London, think about what areas of London you know already and where you feel comfortable staying area wise. London is huge and can be overwhelming so when travelling with children, try to make it a little less so by visiting an area you know.
– Book in advance! We booked several months in advance and sometimes, hotels offer a cheaper deal if you book and pay immediately rather than wait until your arrival.
– Consider getting an oyster card if you wish to travel by tube. Or whats even easier is you can pay by contactless.
– With three children, I know it’s not going to be the simplest. However, with two children in a push chair, we’ve decided to only take one pushchair (we don’t have a double) and hire a baby carrier for Baby K. This will mean we are not lugging around two pushchairs and have a set of free hands.
– London attractions can get extremely busy. So plan ahead for your family trip to London and think about where you’d like to visit, especially if this is over a weekend or a bank holiday.
– Check out the local discount apps such as Groupon and Wowcher to see what attractions are on offer
– You can save if you pre-book. London Zoo offer a discounted rate if you pre-book. This goes for many attractions such as the London Eye, Shrek Adventure and Madame Tussaud’s.
– If you have a child toddler age or under 6, check out this article where free places to visit in London with a child under the age of 6is discussed.
I hope these tips on our forthcoming family trip to London have been of some use – watch this space for our upcoming trip!
Thanks for reading xxx
Hi and welcome to The Willow Tree. I’m Michelle, also known as Shel and I am a mama to three beautiful crazy kids – I have two handsome boys and a wild and wonderful girl.
I really wanted a concrete place to share my love for travel, in particular Disney and offer my readers a chance to gain some knowledge around what we love to do as a family of 5.
I share our family adventures which include days out, travel advice and tips, holiday reviews, restaurant visits and of course, our love for Disney, including Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World.
Life is about creating memories, and here we are sharing them with you
xoxo
I really want to take my girls to London but as there’s so much walking or tube involved I’ll old iff til we can manage without a pushchair! Hope you have a fab time x
Thank you!
We’re heading to London in October and I can’t wait to show the girls as much as we can fit in. Have fun!
How exciting have fun too!
Ooo I totally take living close to London for granted – especially when it comes to the preparation needed for a weekend trip. I hope you have a fab weekend!
Ah thank you!!
Bookmarking this as we are looking to travel to London this summer and some of the tips looks great! I never peg London as family friendly so I’m glad you’ve said that it can be!
Its a little daunting but we’ve been lots of times prior to kids so I am hoping we can do this stress free!
We had a wonderful weekend in London last month, it was fantastic. I had thought we needed to wait until my daughter was older but we had a great time at the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.
Fantastic – we will definitely be making a trip to the Natural History Museum. Glad you had a fab time!
We take the kids to London loads, it’s always good fun if a little hectic – at least they’re normally tired for the journey home! Hope it all goes well, great tips!
Fab – yes I am expecting exhaustion form this trip!
I really want to take my boys to London but ive been holding off. Great post. thanks for sharing! #familyfun
I say go for it!
I used to live in London so love it! There’s a real buzz about it!!hope you have a great time!!
Thank you we are super excited!
We are going away to Manchester this weekend and the kids are so excited to be staying in a hotel for the first time (it’s a Premier Inn!) I hope you have a fantastic time away! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
Ah enjoy Manchester! Have fun!
We were in London yesterday and had a great time. Kind of wish I’d read your tips in this post before we visited though #FamilyFunLinky.
We took the kids to London for the first time last month we went on the train with two and loved this over driving. We’ve got used to packing light and thankfully we can stay with my brother in central as he has a spare room! You have to expect to not achieve as much as we thought! Contactless on the tube is the best thing they could’ve done so much easier than cuing for a ticket! Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky
I used to love travelling to London and did it on many occasions when I was younger, we haven’t ventured with the little one. I’d like to when he’s a bit older though. Thanks so much for sharing with #TriumphantTales, hope to see you again on Tuesday.
London is always fun to explore, especially when with family. Exceptional tips which I will try to bear in mind, Michelle. What time of the day would be best to explore the London attractions?
Thank you! We had lots of fun exploring! Id say get up and out early to beat the crowds!
Have a wonderful time in London! I’d love to go to London with my daughter, but she’s only 3 at the minute, so I may wait a couple of years to make the most of it. Thanks for linking up to #fortheloveofBLOG x
Thank you we had a super time!
I haven’t visited London since I was a child and as I’m really old that was a long time ago! #,triamphanttales@_,karendennis
Ahhhh you’ll need to go back!
I hope to get to London soon! I think it would be a great trip with my family. #triumphanttales
If you go have a fab time!
Ooh I love a trip to London. Some good tips here. We’re due another trip in soon. #triumphanttales
Have a great time!
My children love London. We don’t go very often but have always gone by train as mine are older and can sit in one place for longer! However I don’t like having to lug everything around! I didn’t realise you could hire out slings. What a great idea. Thank you for linking up with #GetMooreFromLife
Yes its a fab concept to hire one! I can’t wait to take the train with them one day!