London sightseeing with teens advice? How many days and where??

[Ilikeyoursleeves]

I'm thinking of booking a surprise trip taking my family to London in the Feb break next year.

I have 3 boys who will be 11,14 and 16 then, plus my husband. I don't know London at all although have been a few times when I was younger. Budget is around £2k and this will need to cover transport from Scotland (prob by train), tube/ buses/ taxis, hotel, food, sightseeing and shopping.

I'm thinking 3 nights and in a hotel in one room for the 5 of us. I thought Airbnb but I'd like someone to clean and give us breakfast!

Is 3 nights enough and if so what is best to see and do?!!

Any recommendations for where to stay as a family of 5??

Thanks in advance!

We took our teens, 14 and 16, to London in the summer.
Hilights were:

Puttshack - indoor crazy golf, great fun!
Game Immersive - indoor interactive game. We chose the Squid Game option.
Nike Town - a mahoosive Nike store in Oxford Circus.

They also enjoyed wandering around the fancy trainer shops and clothes shops in Soho.

Favourite meal was at Flat Iron, delicious steaks.

Thank you @BaconAndAvocado, the Nike store would be heaven for them but not for my purse 🤣

I've booked 3 nights so will start researching what to do. Where's that immersive game thing?

Ilikeyoursleeves

Nope, you’re right, Nike Town wasn’t budget friendly. DH treated DD to a Brazil top (£70) and a Spurs top with Bissouma on the back (£100)......

Sorry, I don’t know how to do a link so I’ve just done a screenshot....

This is the one we chose.
You and your family are in a small room with these kind of antenna type things on your head which link to the games being projected onto the walls.
Its brilliant!
The one we went to is in Southwark.

Immersive Gamebox is the name of the company.

What interests them? London has something for every teenager!

Teens I know seem to like Covent Garden & Carnaby street - there's teen branded shops around there. Leicester square has a buzz, street entertainers and a huge M&M store. Camden Market is popular but not as central. If you stay around Kings Cross then you can walk the canal up to Camden.

Things to do - London Dungeons, Walking Tour (can google ones that your boys would be interested in). Hop on / hop off bus or Uber boat ride if you want to see the sights. Twist Museum is fun for teens.

If they're interested in sport you can book stadium tours. Also to get a good view of London book the Sky garden (it's free but need to book).

We went to the Hard Rock Cafe on an evening when they had entertainment on which was fun and the food was really nice.
Ive heard the garden place up the Walkie Talkie building is worth going to.
Do they like history? We really liked Hampton Court.
Also look into rail cards if going by train. If you travel by train there are lots of 2 for 1 offers.

https://www.google.co.uk/travel/hotels/Kingston%20upon%20Thames/entity/ChgIvqX5_sS85IT4ARoLL2cvMXRkcnd0MV8QAQ?q=places%20to%20stay%20kingston%20london&g2lb=2502548%2C2503771%2C2503781%2C4258168%2C4284970%2C4757164%2C4814050%2C4874190%2C4893075%2C4924070%2C4965990%2C4990494%2C72240025%2C72248050%2C72248052%2C72298667%2C72302247%2C72317059%2C72347295%2C72370225%2C72372542%2C72372845%2C72372848%2C72376335%2C72379816%2C72382662%2C72387662%2C72389675%2C72389680%2C72390435&hl=en-GB&gl=uk&ssta=1&ts=CAESCgoCCAMKAggDEAAaIAoCGgASGhIUCgcI5w8QCxgFEgcI5w8QCxgGGAEyAhAAKgkKBToDR0JQGgA&rp=ELeA-rn85sO2exCVyfmCucrN-8gBEKjsj9SYuaPElAEQxei2w62y1MjoATgBQABIAqIBFEtpbmdzdG9uIHVwb24gVGhhbWVzmgICCAA&ap=EgNDQW8wA2gB&ictx=1&sa=X&utm_campaign=sharing&utm_medium=link&utm_source=htls&ved=0CHMQyvcEahgKEwj4zu66wfiBAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQjQE
I can recommend this place if visiting Hampton Court or Kew

My teens love being let loose to explore Camden Lock/Market/Stables. Cyberdog and the place that makes your ice-cream in front of you using liquid nitrogen - always hits. If you need to remain central, then freedom to explore Covent Garden is also good, but doesn't entertain them for as long as Camden.

They enjoyed a day at the Tower of London. Huge variety of things to see and do, all linked to the history of London and the monarchy. We're going with youngest (17, but has never been) at half term.

Tower Bridge museum is also a good trip, especially if a lifting coincides with your trip. It lifts roughly once in 24h and the times are posted online. We have always arranged our trips around the liftings.

The Old Operating Theatre if they have any interest in medicine or in gruesomeness.

you should book the garden place in the walkie talkie, it is higher than the Shard apparently, but needs to be booked

take an uber boat on the thames

Thank you!

So I have booked a Premier Inn in Kensington which looks fairly central? I assume we can get the tube anywhere anyway? Are there all day hop on hop off tickets? Or we could get buses but that sounds more confusing 😳

We really only have 2 full days so I'll need to think of things they will def want to do (and also that I want to do!!). Husband can tag along lol

Also, is the London Eye worth it? It's £153 for half an hour for a family of 5!

you n eed an oyster card i believe
you can use a bank card for one person only,

i am not convinced about london eye personally

contactless cards for travel, per person, so if no contactless card, you need an oyster card, imagine they are cheaper for under 16s

So much to learn 🤣🙈🤩

Thames rocket speedboat was a hit with my teens. We paid for it with Tesco club card vouchers if you have any going spare?

You just use contactless debit card on the tube. Your 11 year old won't need one as kids go free at that age. Just walk through the double gates with them. The amount is capped at a maximum daily charge - just remember to tap in and tap out otherwise they will charge you right to the end of the line.

If you're in Kensington you have to go to Harrods. It's a cliche but my kids love it and you don't need to buy anything except maybe a little something in the food hall.

Also they might like the Natural HIstory/Science Museum or V&A depending on interests. National Army Museum is nearby, free and excellent.

My children are jaded London kids but they love a meal in Chinatown - it's an experience in itself.

London Eye - wouldn't bother - Sky Garden is free for the same view and you can stay there as long as you want. I would spend some time on the South Bank though and there's usually things going on there.

They'll probably like a curry in Brick Lane or Vietnamese in Dalston - out east but easy to get to on the tube and a proper non-touristy London experience.

Agree with the PP who recommended a stadium tour. They are good value compared to exhibitions and much more interesting. Arsenal/The Emirates is a 25 min Piccadilly line journey away from South Ken.

we did 5 days/4 nights in the summer.
3 teens, so booked 2 rooms in a hotel and dh stayed with the boys and I with dd. (normal big chain hotel near excel).

we did all the museums, shakespeare globe, river boat tour. a guided walk in the east end. some shopping (forbidden planet, greenwich outlet), battersea powerstation, camden market...
hotel was expensive (170 per night per room) but other than that not too bad. breakfast at the hotel, one meal out a day.

we still had old oyster cards from when we lived in london, so the dc used that. dh and I used contactless.
children's rates are available but a faff for visitors so we didn't bother.

Download the Citymapper app. By far the most accurate for best travel routes and journey times. It'll be mega helpful while you're here but also when planning.
Don't be scared of buses - London ones are very friendly! Each bus stop has a real time countdown for when the next 10 buses are coming and when you're on them they announce each stop. Plus you could follow your route on Citymapper. If you're staying in Kensington for eg you could take the Piccadilly line into town pretty quickly, or take a slightly slower bus and pass things like Harrods, Hyde Park Corner, Fortnums etc en route. They aren't quick, cause London traffic, but if you've got a bit of time they are good way to hoover up sights as you travel.
At their ages I'd get them doing a bit of research I to what they might want to see. A trip to the South Ken museums would be very different to shopping in Camden or sightseeing at Buckingham Palace and if you aren't here often it's be a shame for anyone to miss anything.

my teens were very impressed by st pails cathedral. especially the 'whisper spots' in the dome.

take good shoes!

The London Eye is definitely not worth it! Go to the Sky Garden instead. Or Monument is about £5 if you like climbing steps, not very high though by today’s standards