Planning a family trip to London? Let me go ahead and say this:
We had an amazing trip. We were thoroughly surprised by London and are already talking about when we can go back. (How soon is too soon?)
But like most family travel experiences, there are a handful of things I would absolutely tweak if I were planning it again.
This isn’t a “we did it wrong” post.
It’s a “now that we’ve done it, here’s what I know” post.
mom to mom – sister to sister – friend to friend
If you’re in the planning phase for traveling to London with kids, think of this as me sitting across from you, saying:
“Okay… here’s what I’d do differently next time.”
And, because I couldn’t find this information when I was planning, I took a minute on the plane home to jot down some notes to share right here.
If you missed it and want the full breakdown of what we did, you can read:
👉 Our 4-Day London Itinerary with Kids
👉 Best Things to Do in London with Kids
👉 Tips for Traveling to London with Kids
(This post will make even more sense once you’ve seen those!)
If I Could Plan This Trip Again…
There’s nothing I would completely undo, but there are definitely things I would adjust to make the trip feel less rushed and even more meaningful. Also, I’ve been there now, so I get the hype and understand the town, and I’d adjust my itinerary to reflect that.
- I Would Spend More Time in London Itself
This is probably my main takeaway.
London has so much to offer, and I don’t think I fully appreciated it when I was planning.
We scheduled multiple-day trips, which were great—but they also:
- took a lot of time to get to
- limited how long we could stay in each extra town on our outings
- made parts of the trip feel rushed
- kept us from seeing more of London
👉 If I could redo it, I would:
- spend more time exploring London neighborhoods
- build in more park time to just chill, people watch, and let my kid be a kid
- leave room for wandering
- explore something we discovered once we arrived
If you’re working on your schedule, I break this down further in our 4-Day London Itinerary with Kids. All the priority destinations are listed there. But hear me out – I’d keep it simple!
- I Would Prioritize the British Museum Earlier
We went to the Natural History Museum, which was great—but in hindsight, I would choose the British Museum first.
It’s one of those places where:
- kids recognize things they’ve learned in school
- there’s a deeper sense of history
- you could easily spend half a day (or more)
- the Bible comes to life
- its part art, science, and history in one place – so everyone’s attention span is covered
If you’re deciding between museums, I talk through that more in Best Things to Do in London with Kids – but I’d say if you are deciding between the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, the Interactive Science Museum, and the V&A – look at how much time you have – if you have to choose just one, pick the place your people will be least bored.
All the kid articles say Natural History is a must, and I’m telling you to research the Interactive Science and British Museums more!
- I Would Rethink How We Did Day Trips
Day trips from London sound amazing (and they are), but there’s something important to understand… You’re going to spend about 2 hours each way getting there.
That means your time in places like the Cotswolds, Windsor, Cambridge, even Bath… can feel shorter than you expect. Or it can feel rushed, and you just feel like you missed something, rushing to see all the places and potentially seeing nothing at all – thank goodness you have the pictures!
I think you need three good days in London, so if you only have 4 to explore, use only one of them for an outing. And if you have 5 or 6, break them up so you have time for outings. Just consider moving closer to destinations you can stay near so you don’t have a long commute to get there.
Our Honest Take on Outings:
- Bath was absolutely worth it, and I wish we had more time there. It would make a great place to move to, outside the city, and serve as an anchor for nearby towns.
- Windsor felt like we just scratched the surface. We cannot wait to visit again. I wish we had known to arrive by train and spend a day here – we loved being there early as the town woke up – that was a nice advantage of the bus tour.
- The Cotswolds were beautiful but felt rushed. It is dreamy, like the movies show it, but we didn’t know which one to pick, and the visit to the pub in Lacock was enough to see it without an outing on its own.
- Oxford was beautiful, and we were glad to have a guide so we knew all the history. I bet this is a great spot to try the “With locals” tour options. And now that I’ve seen pictures of Cambridge, I wonder if it would be similar.
- Canterbury is an excursion we didn’t go on, but everyone I’ve talked to since I got home who has been here said it was dreamy and worth considering as an outing. Avoid Sunday so you can go into the big church.
- Stonehenge was part of our outing. I’m glad we got to go, and it was a place where it was fine to be rushed. It gave us a framework to see and not stay. It’s a cool visit if you are in the area, but not a must.I personally enjoyed the gift shop and café. The hand pies were a fun traditional meal! But you could easily take a picnic or snacks and have the perfect view.
If I could do it again:
- I would choose one day trip (probably the Bath tour with a Lacock dinner)
- If time is limited, skip them entirely and stay in London – this leaves you more to see when you come back!
This was one of the biggest things that shaped how our trip felt. On our second full day in London, we wanted to soak in as much as we could because we knew we were short on time.
- I Would Plan a Show Ahead of Time
We ended up getting last-minute tickets to Back to the Future, and it was one of the best nights of our trip. It was our biggest surprise of the trip and a really great parenting moment.
But looking back, I would absolutely plan this in advance.
Why?
- It breaks up the trip in the best way
- It gives you a built-in evening plan, especially on an early night when you are pushing through that early evening fatigue
- It’s something your kids will remember
I talk more about why this was such a highlight in Best Things to Do in London with Kids. But I’m completely torn between encouraging you to plan a show and walking up to the counter to get last-minute tickets. There was something fun about the adrenaline rush of in-the-moment decision-making and our son seeing spontaneous parenting fun!
- I Would Leave More Margin in Our Days
This is something I’m still learning about family travel. Not every hour needs to be planned. When I’m in a new place with limited time, I want to soak up every moment.
But some of our favorite moments came from walking between places, stopping when something caught our eye, discovering a new destination I didn’t find in my trip research, having a guide open our eyes to something we didn’t know about, or just sitting in a park, drinking afternoon or late-morning coffee and taking a break.
If I could do it again, I would plan fewer “must-dos” and leave more room for the in-between moments.
On this note, in other countries we visited later, I started something new – I just kept a list of things to find if we were wandering around. I kept it in a note on my phone so it was easy to find. But it was just something we did if we finished somewhere early or had time before dinner. We could explore something new.
- I Would Add a Few Key Experiences to our Itinerary
There were a few things we didn’t cover that I would definitely prioritize next time:
- Tower of London
- Kensington Palace
- More time in Hyde Park
- Churchill War Rooms (especially for my husband)
- Apsley House
Not because we missed out, but because now I know what would better fit our pace. I talk about this in my trip planning for international travel – but one of my key things when planning an itinerary is to have a morning anchor destination and an afternoon anchor destination, and to let those dictate your path and any extra destinations. This is also something I do to self-manage and avoid overplanning.
Being in the moment is important to me, and I’m more nimble when there’s less time structure and more “if we have time” items on the agenda.
What I Wouldn’t Change
This part matters too.
There are several things I would do the same way:
- Guided tours: Having context from a knowledgeable guide made everything more meaningful. It also helped me, as the main researcher. I was not left to give everyone the backstory and explain why this was important; an educated guide did that for us.
- Our first-day approach: Drop bags, eat and drink coffee, get outside, explore. We pushed through an early dinner, then made it to our room for an early bedtime. Our goal was to stay awake until 8:00 pm the first night.
- Afternoon tea experience. Such a fun and unique memory. We did this on a bus tour, and it was the best option for kids. I think it would be the best way to do it. But having tea just feels like London!
- Saying yes to something spontaneous → That show night became one of our favorite nights, a core family memory forever!
- Keep it casual – we are not fancy people, and we did not plan any fancy dinners for this trip. There are plenty of opportunities if that’s your thing, and I can see it, especially for a theater night, as a fun family moment to go back and dress up and go out to dinner. But that is just one of those things my boys grumble about, so I kept that off the agenda. Travel has plenty of stress; no need for undue pressure.
Final Thoughts on Planning a Family Trip to London
If you’re planning a family trip to London, here’s what I’d leave you with:
- You don’t have to do everything
- You don’t have to get it perfect
- You just need a plan that works for your family
- You may or may not get ot come back, but make this session memorable
London is one of those cities where:
- Everyone speaks English (international and English are helpful for first itme experiences)
- history meets everyday life
- iconic sights are around every corner
- old and new co-exist
- the world is around you
- the in-between moments feel special
And if you’re anything like us…
You’ll already be thinking about what you’d do differently next time before you even get home.
Ready to Keep Planning?
Here are the posts that will help you map it all out:
👉 Tips for Traveling to London with Kids
👉 4-Day London Itinerary with Kids
👉 Best Things to Do in London with Kids
👉 London: What I’d do differently
