Trip to London with the DC's very anxious, tips please!

[MumbleCrumbs]

I will be taking my two DC's (13 and 10) to London early next month to meet a long standing pen pal of DD's and her family but will be arriving a day earlier. However, I am so so stressed about it now the date has drawn closer. I'm a bit agoraphobic after lockdown and the idea of managing the tubes with both DC's is making me feel really panicky. I don't want my anxiety to ruin this for DD as she has been looking forward to it for such a long time.

So if and London mumsnetters could give me any tips to make a weekend in London manageable and provide any ideas on things to do with DCs that will be fun and not too busy/overwhelming I would really appreciate it. Also any help on what sort of tube tickets we'd need for the weekend? Thanks!

As in, the only thing you'll need a tube for is the sky garden - and the museums (if you decide to do those).

Also, Piccadilly has Grom - amazing ice cream!!!! And the huge Waterstones. Plus lots of buses that go past the HoP.

There's no such thing as a family tube pass.

Your 10 year old will be free and with you. You and your 13 year old will just need a contact less card Each to tap the pad when getting on a bus, or entering and exiting the tube network. As long as you each use a dedicated card and don't forget to tap, then the price is capped daily.

Honestly, it's so easy on London transport.

Suggest you buy a mini London a-z. Mine's covered in circles from where the kids planned routes and destinations.

My only warning would be watch for Pick pockets. Take the relevant precautions and enjoy your trip😁

You can easily entertain yourself without going on the tube if you're staying in Piccadilly. If it's nice weather you can walk through Green Park past Buck Palace and loop up through St James park to Horseguards parade and also enjoy the park itself.

You could have a good mooch in Fortnum and Mason food halls. So much chocolate! Go to the ice cream parlour maybe.

Walk through Burlington Arcade for some posh window shopping.

I would go to the Summer Exhibition at the RA (pre-book). It's huge, colourful and the architect room has some really cool model buildings. Get the little catalogue so you can play choose your favourite artwork and guess how much it is.

You an also walk to Covent Garden from there (past the huge Waterstones and the tacky sweet shops in Leicester Sq, plus the Lego store). Take a detour into Chinatown for food maybe.

You are well placed there for having quite a chilled time and can vary it with town and park.

Camden can be a bit crazy at weekends, if you want to avoid crowds. M&M World, Sugar Sin, Hardys and the (dreadful overpriced) Kingdom of Sweets are all walking distance from your hotel. You also have the Japanese sweet shop and F&M on Piccadilly, plus Selfridges on nearby Oxford St, if your DD wants sweet shops. You also have lots of bubble tea places, ice cream places, and all the Asian supermarkets around Chinatown have sweets and snacks from Japan, China, Malaysia and Korea.

If you do go to Camden, you could take the canal boat from Paddington for a more relaxed journey. Mine still liked the zoo as teenagers, if you are going to Camden anyway.

Which museums are you planning to visit? An Uber wouldn't be much from your hotel to South Ken (or Paddington for the canal boat).

Some links for sweets:
www.hardyssweets.co.uk/default.asp
sugarsin.co.uk/
www.mms.com/en-gb/mms-world-store-london
www.oseyo.co.uk/branch/
www.japancentre.com/en
www.kitchoan.co.uk/

No family tube passes.

You: use your contactless card, just tap the yellow card reader going in and out of the barrier.

Use the wide gate and take your 10 year old through for free.

Your 13 year old: either the use their own contactless, or else if you want to get the discount buy them an Oyster card and ask for the young visitor discount see here tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/getting-around-london/best-ways-for-visitors-to-pay

DD doesn't have a bank card so I'm guessing oyster card or travel card for her and travel card/contact less for me? Sorry if I'm being a bit dim, but how would DS travel in and out of the barriers if he goes free? (Can you tell I'm never in London )

Sorry I just saw about using the wide gate, that would help.

The cheapest option for 2 days is to get a Young Visitor Oyster card for your DD but it will cost £5 on top of the fares. The daily cap is £3.70 per day.

A child travelcard for her will be £6.90 per day.

If she uses a contactless card (if you have a second bank card), she will pay the adult rate. The daily cap is £7.40 (in zones 1-2).

There will be a ticket inspector at the gates who assists with ticket problems, lets people through with pushchairs/large luggage/wheelchairs who will let your DS through. The barriers have to be left open if they aren't manned. Don't try to go through any of the automatic barriers, even wide ones, with him as they will close on you if they think 2 people are going through at the same time.

Don't get a travelcard for you! Use contactless. It doesn't have to be a card, you can use your phone/Apple watch etc. Travelcards are more expensive.

Also, you can keep the Young Visitor Oyster card to use in the future but the child discount expires after 14 days, you have to get it reset at a ticket office every visit, otherwise you will be charged the adult fare.

I just remembered another Oyster/contactless tip. Don't forget to tap out on the tube/DLR/Overground, even if the barriers are open, otherwise you will be charged for an incomplete trip. Also, you only tap in on buses and trams, not out. Don't tap again when you exit, you will be charged twice.

This is such a helpful thread!

Can anyone tell me - with the daily cap does it last across any 24 hours or do you start again the next day?

The daily cap runs from 4.30am to 4.29am the next day, @coffeerevelsrock.

The weekly cap runs from Monday to Sunday. That means if you came to London for a week starting on a Thursday, you would be travelling during 2 different "weeks" so you wouldn't ever reach the weekly cap limit. It's one of the few instances where it might be cheaper to buy a 7 day travelcard (which can be any 7 days).

TFL don't make it easy to find the best fare!

I'm thinking of getting DD and I a day travel card each? it may cost more but it will take the stress out of it.

It shouldn't be stressful, you just buy the Young Visitor Oyster card at the tube station, the same as a travelcard.

The price difference between the travelcard and Oyster isn't much for your DD so if it makes it less stressful for you, do that.

I really wouldn't buy one for yourself though, it's twice the price, just use your bank card for contactless.

Daily contactless/Oyster cap (zone 1-2): £7.40
Adult travelcard (zone 1-2): £13.90

What is the daily contactless cap for outside zones 1-2, do you know? It doesn't make any of this very clear online.

tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/caps-and-travelcard-prices

For you: just use your contactless bank card. It won't be at all stressful.

OP - once you arrive and are doing it, it will unfold before you and all make sense. Millions of tourists a year, many of whom do not speak English, manage the tube. Your anxiety is making it seem far more difficult than it will be.

It's all on the tfl website:

tfl.gov.uk/campaign/new-fares
tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/tube-and-rail-fares/caps-and-travelcard-prices?intcmp=54720

It depends on which zone. Where are you going outside the central zones? Contactless is always cheaper than a travelcard.

Nooo don’t get a travelcard, they are so much more expensive! Use your contactless card. If you can be arsed visit a ticket window and get your teen an oyster with the young visitor discount. If you can’t give them another contactless card of yours or they can use your Apple Pay. There’s no need to be anxious, if non English speaking tourists manage then you’ll be just fine!

Sorry I know I'm being ridiculous . I just quite expected the whole thing to get cancelled due to Covid and now I'm facing the reality I'm going to have to actually do it after over a year and a half of only traveling to our nearest city (I had to shield throughout).

So I only have my debit and credit card. I'll give my debit to DD to use and I'll use my credit, and ask DS to be let through the big gate. Does that sound alright?

Sounds like a good plan OP! I also forget to say ENJOY

You can walk through the wide gate with your ds. Just ensure you tap your contact less card.

In fact, your dd could go though with you too. Just ensure she taps in / out.

Once you've seen a couple of people go ahead of you, you'll be fine.

It'll all be good!

So I only have my debit and credit card. I'll give my debit to DD to use and I'll use my credit, and ask DS to be let through the big gate. Does that sound alright?

Noooo! Your DD will have to pay adult fare if she uses a contactless card.

You: Contactless card
DD: Young Visitor Oyster. Go to the ticket window at the tube station or grab the member of staff by the ticket machines if you can't see a ticket window and ask to buy one.
DS: Free. Go the the ticket inspector at the barriers and ask for him to be let in/out.

Would you find it less stressful to get your DD's Oyster card in advance? If she is likely to come to London multiple times before she hits 16, you could get a permanent 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard online for her. They cost £15 though. It gives 50% discount on the tube/DLR/Overground (same as the Young Visitor card) but bus/tram travel is free. It's not worth it for one weekend though.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Piccadilly, it’s a good base to walk to places. If you enjoy walking there’s Green Park which leads to Buckingham Palace or Hyde Park.