Planning a family trip to London and wondering where to begin? Whether you’re visiting London with kids for the first time or trying to create a realistic itinerary, this guide walks you through exactly what worked for our family—and what we would do differently next time.
In this post, I’m sharing real-life tips for family travel to London, including a simple 4-day itinerary, practical planning advice, and the places that were truly worth our time (especially with a kid in tow).
And just to set expectations, I’m not a travel expert. I’m a mom who planned a last-minute trip to London, figured things out along the way, and am now sitting across from you (figuratively!) saying:
“Okay, here’s what I’d tell you before you go.”
What You’ll Find in This Guide:
- Tips for planning a family trip to London
- A simple breakdown of how to think through your itinerary
- Places we loved (and a few we’d skip next time)
- Real-life insights from traveling to London with kids
How This Trip Came Together
Spring break gave us the chance to cross the pond, and London ended up being a bit of a travel pivot for us. We already booked this destination as a flight transfer point, so when we needed to adjust our plans, it seemed like the easiest option. Plus, it was a big city we’d never visited, they speak English, and I have a friend who loves taking her family there. So, it just felt like a win!
London wasn’t really a top priority on my travel list. Of course, I knew the main attractions—the royal family, the landmarks, exploring the River Thames, but it wasn’t something I had spent much time thinking about or a destination we had been dreaming of or considering.
When our plans changed and we already had a connection through London, we decided to embrace it and make that our destination.
To plan quickly (without overthinking it), I did four simple things:
- Checked out a few travel guides from the library
- Read blog posts from trusted family travel sources
- Started a Pinterest Board to hoard all the ideas so I could find them again!
- Once I knew what we were planning to see, I checked out some books for my son to read about the region. Just to help him better understand the context of our trip.
Then I made a list:
- Must-do destinations
- Maybe-do destinations
That one step simplified everything. We figured out what truly mattered, and anything extra felt like a bonus. I basically repeated this same process for all the towns we visited across Europe.
So, what are my tips for exploring London with your family?
- First Tip: Arrive and Get Out Into the City
If you take one thing from this post for your family trip to London, let it be this: Drop your bags and head out into the city. It’s the #1 tip from Mix and Match Mama Travel Agency, and we gained so much from adopting this mindset!
We pushed through jet lag by:
- grabbing food
- walking around
- exploring nearby spots
- seeing some of the things on our “must list”
And it worked.
- If I could give this advice for any city, not just London: Use your first day to get acquainted.
That might look like a hop-on hop-off bus tour, a simple walking route past major landmarks, or just wandering your neighborhood. There’s something about being there in person that helps everything else click.
- Don’t schedule anything specific for the first day
I enjoy planning my itinerary and booking tours or museum admissions. However, doing this can create too much pressure on the travel day. Whether it’s dealing with an unexpected travel mishap or a bad mood, it’s better to plan to just ‘wander” or ride around and get familiar with your new city. After a meal, you usually have a couple of hours to explore, and not having to be somewhere at a specific time is very helpful. I like to have a few destinations in mind but not set any expectations for this arrival day.
- Plan an itinerary that makes sense for your family
You can read a million blogs, like this one, that tell you all the things you “MUST” do. And I will do the same in this post and the other trip posts that follow, but take the tips as suggestions. What we love might be different from what you love. I’m often the nerdy friend in my group, and I’m okay with that. So, I know we like to go to museums and see historic sites. I want to paint, draw, and write in beautiful places because they inspire me, and sitting at a sports arena is not always my favorite way to spend time (unless my kid is up to bat). So, what we love to do and how we love to do it might not be your way—use this as a research spot, gather ideas, and move on!
- See the big stuff on a driving tour and only get out to explore what you want to
It’s easy to get lost walking to all the “major” spots just to check them off a list and say you saw them. I think this is best tackled by a bus tour and let someone else do the driving and narrating. This is especially helpful for mom. At least in my family, I’m the one who does the research and the informing, so this is something that takes a lot of pressure off me getting all the facts straight and telling everyone why a monument or concrete arch is important.
How to Think About Your London Itinerary
Before I share specific tips, here’s something that really helped us:
Don’t try to do everything. (Do you want me to repeat it louder for the kids in back???)
London is full of iconic places, but when you’re traveling with kids, the goal isn’t to check off every spot, it’s to truly enjoy the experience and create new memories.
What worked well for us:
- Prioritize a few key experiences each day – one anchor event in the morning and one in the afternoon helps with planning.
- Leaving margin for rest and flexibility
- Letting “extra” things feel like a win, not a requirement
- Knowing what “might” be around us when we stop incase other travelers start asking questions – I wanted to be informed but not rigid
If you want to see exactly how we planned our days, I’ll share our full itinerary in a separate post along with all my specific tips!
Practical Tips for Traveling to London with Kids
These are the things that made the biggest difference for us:
- Push Through Jet Lag – Get outside. Walk. Stay moving. It helps everyone adjust faster.
- Balance Busy and Slow – London has so much to offer, but you don’t have to do it all. Build in slower mornings with later wake-up times, longer coffee breaks, park time, or places for kids to run and be wild, flexible afternoons.
- Consider the London Pass – If you’re not booking guided tours, it can help you save money on attractions and transportation.
- Plan a Stop at Harrods (Even Just for a Treat) – I had heard the food halls were fun, but I didn’t realize how much we’d enjoy just walking through. We grabbed pastries and wandered through chocolate rooms, coffee counters, and dessert displays that had us all drooling. It felt like an experience, not just a stop.
- Understand Day Trip Time Commitments – If you plan to leave London for a day trip, know this: You’ll likely spend about 2 hours each way traveling. That means your time in places like Bath or the Cotswolds can feel short. It’s not a deal breaker—but it’s something to plan for. It also means you will probably arrive back around 7pm or later after a 10-hour day.
- Find a place for them to run and play—Hyde Park is a great option. However, much of London feels ‘proper,” making it seem like kids have to be like robots or statues too often, especially in castles and historic churches. So, give them downtime to play…they’re on vacation after all!
- Take guided tours when you can – this way, someone else does the driving, the navigating, and knows all the stories. So, you can listen, learn, and enjoy the experience.
- Choose museums wisely – the Natural History Museum is excellent. However, if you’ve already explored similar museums in the U.S., I recommend prioritizing the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). This is a great place to pursue your specific family’s interests.
- Make dinner reservations – London gets busy, especially on weekends. Having reservations saved us time, reduced decision fatigue, guaranteed we had a plan, and secured a table for a good meal.
- Don’t Skip a Show – This was one of the most unexpected highlights of our trip. We grabbed last-minute tickets to Back to the Future, and it ended up being one of our favorite nights. Even if theater isn’t something you usually plan around, I’d highly recommend giving it a try. Or check out concerts. But, they had several family-friendly shows going while we were there.
- Allergy-Friendly Dining – This caught our attention immediately. Most restaurants inquired about allergies before taking our order and were very accommodating. It was easy to navigate menus, even if there weren’t a lot of options to begin with.
- Get a travel planner – One of the best decisions we made was letting someone else handle the logistics. We loved working with the team at the Mix and Match Travel Agency – they took care of every detail and helped us achieve all the destinations we wanted to see!
Places We Loved (Quick Highlights)
We’ll explore these further in a different post, but here’s a quick overview of what caught our attention:
- British Museum (plan more time than you think)
- Westminster Abbey (with a guide is worth it)
- Buckingham Palace (quick visit worked for us)
- Changing of the Guard (you don’t have to be front row)
- Harrods (perfect for a dessert stop)
- Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus (fun and kid-friendly)
- Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath (great outing day)
A Personal Tip: Make It Meaningful
If you can, weave in:
- family history
- books your kids have read
- shows or stories they recognize
Even simple connections make the trip feel more personal. My husband loved looking for Harry Potter movie spots and I wanted to chase places I’d seen on TV for royal weddings or funerals. Having something bigger to look for helps with the connection.
We both have lots of family history that traces back to the England area. While we couldn’t get to our original hometowns, we were able to visit a city with a college that my 15th great-grandfather helped found. And seeing fields of sheep helped him better understand why the Cotswolds were such a big deal. (he never why “they are the cutest dream town” was important to me, but he’s just a boy!)
Final Thoughts on Family Travel to London
London surprised me.
It’s historic, yes, but also incredibly approachable for families. And, an easy gateway destination for starting overseas and international travel with children.
If you’re planning a family trip to London, here’s what I’d leave you with:
- Don’t overpack your itinerary
- Give yourself time to explore
- Mix big landmarks with simple moments
- Leave space for something unexpected
Because sometimes the best parts of the trip are the ones you didn’t plan.
And if you’re anything like us…
You’ll already be talking about your next trip to London before you even get home.
