London Easter trip - I need help!!

[Honeymoonmummy]

Hi all,

I'm planning our first family trip to London with DC (5 and 7) but I'm not massively familiar with London so need some help esp with hotels, places to eat and itinerary (so everything basically!!) We should arrive at Euston around 9am on Sat 2 apr and return train is 6.30pm Mon 4 April.

The thing I'm most struggling with is where to base ourselves? Was thinking Covent garden because there will be plenty of choice for breakfast/dinner? Accommodation will be cheap and cheerful, Travelodge type family room.

I'd also like to take them somewhere "wow" for dinner if possible, as we live in a rural area where the only alternatives are Chinese and Indian! Again, any suggestions? This will probably feed into our choice of hotel.

I note that luggage can be stored in some railway stations so will do that if the hotel won't take it or it's inconvenient, so any suggestions for a luggage store easily accessed from London Euston would be good.

Finally, my draft itinerary is as follows - what do you think - too much? Am sure we'll be back within a year or 2 so won't be gutted if we miss something out.

Sat 22_
Arrive around 9.15. Drop luggage somewhere

Do duck tour (between London eye and Waterloo) - 75 mins - buck palace, houses parliament, Big Ben, 10 downing then water
Walk nr Thames/ London eye
Lunch (buy from convenience store)
Check in hotel
Covent garden?
Transport museum (couple hours)
Watch street acts
Dinner Covent garden - where???

Sun 3

Science museum (need good few hours) / Natural history museum Kensington (just for dinosaurs)
Afternoon - Shrek experience? (Too much walking??)
Dinner??

Mon 4

Check out
Kidzania shepherds bush 10amm_ slot 4 hours (to 2/3) - looks really good, interactive kids experience, nothing like it locally

Sky view walkie talkie say 3/ 4pmm_ for say 1 hr

dinner at station where pick up luggage
18:400_ train home

TIA!!

If you stay at the x county hall site you are also right by the London eye.

For Dinner near County Hall the south Bank has giraffe, strada, wagamamas, pizza express, pain quotidian, etc. There are a couple of Yo sushis as well.

I think the Sat itinerary looks fine, apart from I think by the time you have done the duck tour it will be lunch time, so no time for a walk by the Thames. The Sunday schedule looks tight, but will depend on how much the children like the museums and how tired the 5 year old gets. The trouble with the South Ken museums is that they are very popular and very busy ( and very fun). So either the children get completely put off by the crowds and the waiting (if they open at 10 then at a holiday weekend I would expect to need to get there at least half an hour before and queue) and/or they love it so much they don't want to leave!

Woooo! I just happened to go back to the Premier Inn website and they were showing a family room at their County Hall hotel for £210 so I've booked it!!! £160 cheaper than Park Plaza for same location! Stuff the fridge!!!

Thanks all. I've decided to leave Shrek for this time and probably also the natural history museum - the science museum looks awesome! I've swapped Sunday and Monday so hopefully the science museum will be (slightly) less busy on the Monday!

I've booked the train tickets and hotel now so I can relax for a bit!!

Stupid question - Oyster cards - I do visit London occasionally for work so will get one - can I swipe it twice, one for DH on same journey, or do I need to buy another Oyster card for him??

Each adult needs their own Oyster card.

If you don't want to get one he could pay contactless with his credit or debit card.

You can just swipe a debit card on the tube and not have an Oyster card at all. I use mine because I have it already but DH just uses his debit card.

or if you have contactless credit cards you can use those?

The Premiere Inns (there are 2 nearly across the street from one another) at County Hall are our usual London go-to hotels. Great South Bank location and you can beat the crowds to the Eye, County Hall McDs for quick bites. Not too far to Westminster tube, etc.

DH has a contactless debit card so that's that, I'll get an Oyster card because mine isn't contactless yet.

Keep the restaurant / things to do ideas coming! We've been to Wagas and Yo Sushi a few times (they love sushi!) but never to Rainforest Cafe so that could be good, although there is one in Manchester an hour away if I ever get round to it!! Is there anything like a Teppanyaki in the area where they put on a show?

Hmm, not sure about a show type restaurant. There is cubana just round the corner, or wahaca opposite Waterloo by he old vic, or las iguanas on the south bank, all good for South American food. Waterloo station has an m&s simply food for sandwiches etc, or a wasabi fr takeaway noodles or curry. Konditor and Cook on Cornwall Rd for takeaway cakes (pricey but nice). Personally I would do one Covent Garden dinner and one South Bank.

We did Sophie's in Covent Garden and Bill's - fab atmosphere in both

Hi all,

Thanks for your help, can't wait till we go this Saturday! Below is final itinerary with some questions in caps. If you think I've taken something out that I'll regret, let me know! Decided against the parks because there's plenty of parks where we live

Hotel is at County Hall (nr London Eye). Waterloo Station does bag storage.

Saturday

Train arrives 9.05. Tube to Waterloo, drop luggage at hotel, 3 min walk to duck tour
Do duck tour (between London eye and Waterloo) starts 10.15,takes 75 mins - Buck Palace, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, 10 Downing St. QUESTION – BOOK THIS ON WAY DOWN OR RISK FULLY BOOKED??

Walk nr Thames/ London eye
Lunch from convenience store eg M&S Food at Waterloo
Check in hotel (from 2)
Covent Garden (bus from hotel) - Transport museum (couple hours), watch street acts (what road name is this on??).
Dinner?? Covent Garden? Rainforest Café? THOUGHTS??

Sunday

QUESTION – anywhere really good for breakfast Sunday/ Monday, eg hotel near ours with nice buffet breakfast which will let us book breakfast there, or American diner?
Kidzania shepherds bush 10am slot 4 hours (to 2pm) - we take turns popping out to shops, take turns, take packed lunch and something for kids to carry money etc
Then something small in afternoon?? THOUGHTS??
Dinner??
QUESTION – WHERE TO EAT??

Monday

Check out & drop bags at Waterloo station
Science museum = get there before opening 10am (book extra things eg lunar adventure) - takes good few hours. Possibly Natural History Museum only if time, to see dinosaurs/ great whale.
Then Sky view – booked for 3.15pm, takes say 1 hr so finish say 4.15
Then Great Fire monument if time.
Monument tube (black) 5 min walk from sky view
QUESTION – GET ON TUBE AT 4.30 OR EAT THEN GET ON TUBE LATER? (don’t want to go when too busy)
One of us pop back to Waterloo to pick up bags then meet others at Euston.
Dinner at Euston station/ 18:40 train home

Great itinerary!

Love the rainforest cafe! It's great fun for little ones, your dc will love it.

If you are staying at the Premier Inn - their breakfasts are really good, and free for kids. Muffins, yoghurts, good sausage and bacon and waffles. The restaurant at the County Hall one can be a bit of a zoo at busy times. But the food is actually pretty good.

Failing that there's loads of restaurants on the South Bank.

Re Covent Garden, once you are at the Transport Museum you are right there, so you can just stroll out of the entrance, the market is ahead to your right and there will be street acts in the market and probably all the way around it.

Getting the train home - peak rush will not finish until after your train leaves so I would get on the tube at 4.30 and eat dinner at Euston.

For Sunday if it is fine I would recommend walking along the Southbank. If it is wet then if you can bear to spend more money the children are the right age to enjoy the 'Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl' at the Royal Festival Hall, this is an interactive guided tour lasting an hour and taking place every 15 minutes throughout the day. Cost £40 for the 4 if you buy your tickets there - you could phone in advance to check that they had spaces.

If you have time for the Nat history museum you can book so that you don't have to queue to see the dinosaurs, it's free to book and they give you a time slot to go. I did it last time on my phone when queuing to get into the museum and it meant we could walk straight in when we got there.

For dinner the Southbank has Strada, Giraffe, Wagamamas, Yo Sushi, Ping Pong, Pizza Express, Las Iguanas and Le Pain Quotidien.

Covent Garden or nearby there is Browns, Wagamamas, Christophers (steakhouse), Loch Fyne.

You had better double check Duck Tours - I don't think they go into the water at the moment after some fires on-board. Could be slightly disappointing if you're expecting them to.

I'd recommend the south bank, normal clipper river bus, lunch at the Swan at the Globe, or the Horniman at Hayes. HMS Belfast is surprisingly nice, and kids love it. Also check out the Premiere in near London Bridge.

If you get the RV1 the Covent Grden bus stop (Russell St) is the last on the route. Going there I think the roadworks on York Rd have altered the route a bit so you may have to get it from Waterloo. Coming back it starts in Catherine St and will take you nearer to you hotel.

Route here

here

Duck Tour was great fun when I did it a few years ago. I would book, just in case.

Don't bus to Covent Garden - it's a 10 min walk over Charing Cross bridge from the hotel you are at.

Premier inn breakfast is brilliant, but if you want something different Google dishoom- they do awesome brunch

You're all amazing, thanks! Will read properly later

Thanks all. I'm having a wobble now about doing the science museum and the Sky garden because they're half an hour away from each other. The sky garden time is set in stone, everything else can move. If we didn't make it to the sky garden I wouldn't be devastated (free tickets) but it would be nice to take them somewhere high up with views of London. Any thoughts or am I just overthinking this?!?

On the restaurant front, I'm down to the following:

Rainforest Cafe (bit of a way from CG, expensive but looks like good experience)
Spaghetti house (don't have them where we live, kids love Italian, am open to suggestions re better Italian chains)
Bubba gump shrimp (CG towards Soho)
Wahaca looks lovely and none locally
Cubana looks good, close to hotel and we've never had Cuban before

Clearly I have too many choices for a 2 night stay!! I might just play by ear and see which we end up closest to. There are a fair few restaurants in Westfield centre (all chains) but might end up staying there to shop and eat after Kidzania - any recommendations for eating in/ around Westfield Shepherds Bush?

Do I need to book the science museum extras (trip to moon etc) in advance or just do online the night before?

Thanks all!