Travelling around London / Carnaby Street/ theatre

[Kittyhasababy]

I'm British but haven't lived in the UK for decades and don't know the best way to do this! We'll be in London for 3 days, 2 adults, 2 teens. I know you can use a bank card on the tube but what about the teens? And does it have to be a British card? Are travel cards an option? Is Uber ok for 4 people?

Also dd13 wants to go to Carnaby Street as apparently it's cool. I think she might be 50 years too late but what do I know? 😂

Finally - cheapest/best theatre at the moment? We are on a tight budget but really keen to see something.
Any tips welcome! Thanks.

My daughter loves Camden

As per pp, the TodayTix app is great. You can see the prices for seats at all major shows. Lots of shows available from £18 per seat. Look on the View from my Seat website to check the view of the stage. Most of the London theatres are on there. Can recommend Crazy for You, Six and Wicked.

Also recommend buying a Thames Uber boat rover ticket for one of the days. The family ticket costs £43 ish and will give you a full day’s unlimited travel from Barking Riverside to Putney Bridge, which will take you all through Greenwich, Canary Wharf, Tower/London Bridge, Westminster, Battersea etc.

Carnaby Street is not Yuk what a silly thing to stay. Theres fab places to eat in the courtyards. Its great for teenagers. We did the dark side of london tour and loved it. You just give a good tip at the end https://freetoursbyfoot.com/london-ghost-tours/

That really depends where else you go in London! There’s a lot better.

Perhaps walk down to Covent Garden then. Neal St and the Seven Dials area has some good shops, inc BM and Subdued, but also a very nice Urban Outfitters and other little shops. Really nice street food in the old banana warehouse too.

I find todaytix consistently more expensive for last minute stuff than just booking direct

Boris bike around Hyde park/ Kensington gardens is fun! If your teens want to go to Nottinghill because they think that is cool- dissuade them. My 13 yr old loved Carnaby. I think if everyone is new to London then you can't go wrong with a bus tour? Oxford Street is crap now. Don't Uber- use the tube. The museum's are good in Kensington.
Canary Wharf is a bit meh I think but no doubt a cost effective option by comparison- to make the most of London use as a base.
I also don't live in uk and on my last trip got taken to Battersea power station- if you remember that from the old days you will be astounded by what they have done to it. Best Zara I have ever been to is there, also Zara on Kings road is awesome ( for teen) . Fun to look at how all the posh people live as well! Kids should see The Palace and changing of the guard and maybe Parliament?
Comfy shoes and once in town ( by town I mean west end/ central) hop on and off buses.
All of you download Citymapper and you can't go wrong- gives bus and tube routes from any location you are in and tells you exactly where to go etc . Also gives you taxi prices . Enjoy! You will have so much fun!

Tower of London! Now that is impressive at any age. Such a good thing to do. Have taken all age groups there and everyone from 6-80 have loved it.
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Carnaby Street is a bit meh these days but still exciting for a 13 year old I think!

I find an Uber cheaper sometimes, all depends on traffic. For clothes Camden market is worth a trip too, it's better than carnaby st. As long as you have contactless cards they should work. My kids had Oyster cards by the time they were teens - look on the visit london website for visitor ones. tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card#on-this-page-0. It explains about the young person discount too

For cheap hotels but central look at travelodge King's Cross, not the most lovely hotel but convenient and had nice staff

Hi OP,
My pool is in Soho just next to Carnaby Street so I walk to and fro to the Dean Street entrance onto the Elizabeth Line 3 or 4 times a week. I can't say you and your teens will love Soho but I have really enjoyed my walks.
Somehow Soho survived all the waves of demolition and redevelopment and is still an 18th century town. Obviously you have to see beyond the modern bits and bobs.
There are so many little high end fashion . I highly recommend the comic shop GOSH on Berwick Street for comics. And the Street food stalls also Berwick Street.
I second those saying liberty is worth a visit but omg it is hyper expensive.
Soho has been cleaned up somewhat but be aware there are still some resididual bits of "adult" service shops around.

Liberty has birthday cards! Just buy something cheap. Yes it’s upmarket but it’s unique. Another shop that’s unique is Pantechnicon.

I’ve taken lots of teens to London for sightseeing. (We had school exchanges) We always did a River trip and the Tower of London. Always St Paul’s, across the bridge to the Globe Theatre and Camden for fun. Soho not so much but there are pockets that are great. Dc usually found Buckingham Palace a bit underwhelming but Westminster Cathedral and Whitehall were better. Kensington Palace has a Royal clothes exhibition and Dc would have loved that. Borough Market is great and so is the South Bank and Southwark.

Thanks for all the tips. I've looked at the visitor's oyster card but it seems you have to order it before you arrive??? A bit inconvenient and too late for us as we're already travelling.

Today tix is great if you stick to the Rush seats and the special offers (tickets marked with a star in stead of a dot on the seating plan)

Theatre recommendation - Groundhog Day musical at the Old Vic - me and DS(14) absolutely loved it (it's only on until 19 August though).

Camden and Covent Garden markets are both much more interesting to visit than Carnaby St IMO.

My top attraction tip is Tower Bridge - it's cheaper than a lot of other things but is a really cool thing to do (especially if your kids have seen the Spider-Man film that it features heavily in).

Re TKTS You can also book tickets on the day online.

Thank you everyone for the recommendations. We had a great time and did a lot of things (Uber boat, Camden, Liberty's, Tkts - we went to Grease-, Cutty Sark, Borough Market) mentioned here! Canary Wharf turned out really well for convenience. Unfortunately we didn't get to the big Waitrose though. 😂

@Kittyhasababy Oh no!!! You missed that mega London attraction!! Hope you had a great time.

Glad you enjoyed Camden, Liberty and Borough Market. Perhaps I should be a tour guide!?