Please help me plan birthday London trip!

[sameoldstoryalone]

Hi all,

throwing myself on the mercy of you all here as i am not very well travelled!

my daughter would like to go on a 3 day trip for her birthday to London. She is autistic so doesn’t have any solid friendships at the moment so we are happy to do this for her in leui of a party with friends. She is going to be 12. We tried a day trip to London last year and she did really well.

So, must-go places are Hampton Court (she’s obsessed with history and the Tudors), Tower of London, Madam Taussauds and…Sephora? 😂

Based on this, can anyone suggest somewhere budget friendly to stay that includes breakfast and hopefully a restaurant for a main meal, a suggested itinerary and perhaps even some suggestions of other places to visit? Also a hotel with parking would be good as we are planning to drive to London, but will use public transport once there.

In case you hadn’t guessed, I am not very well travelled either. I tried chat GPT for suggestions but it wasn’t very good. Husband and 8 year old son will also be there.

we visited the science museum, natural history museum, London Bridge on our day trip visit last year, so not looking to revisit this soon.

thanks!

If you want to drive then realistically you will need a hotel in the suburbs but this will then mean longer/more convoluted journeys while you are there.

Take a look on a chain hotel website (eg Premier Inn) and look on the map to see what is available on the side of London you will be approaching from. Be aware that hotel parking is often limited or in an adjacent public car park.

If you could travel by train or coach instead it might be a lot easier. Then you could stay more centrally. Especially when you want to visit places that are so far apart.

You won’t find a hotel in London with parking unless you are prepared to pay a fortune, You could stay on the outskirts , somewhere like Stanmore if you are coming from the North, and take the train in everyday. Or park on the outskirts and then take the tube in to your hotel.
I would suggest doing the London Eye and the aquarium and taking a boat down the river to Greenwich. You see lots of the sights and could visit the Maritime Museum and the `Observatory where you can stand on the Greenwich Meridian.
The Twist Museum at Oxford Circus is great fun and very interesting for adults and children, If you go round the corner to Holles Street you could eat in Market Halls. There is a choice of 9 different food kitchens and everyone can have what they like.

Where do you live? Not exactly but which direction are you coming from?

In terms of purely a place to stay that would be convenient for your must sees, I'd suggest vauxhall or Wimbledon which are on the Trainline to Hampton court but also on tube so you can get to Tussaud's or Tower of London..I don't have a teenage girl so no idea where the Sephora s are but assume a tube will get you there!

However, not sure you will find cheap places with parking in those locations so something may need to give. Eg you could look at a place a bit further out on the Hampton court line and then get the train each day to Waterloo before connecting to tubes.

Don’t stay on the outskirts. Just park outside of london (lots of outer stations have free parking nearby) and get the train in, but stay in London as it will be so much quicker to get around. I’m not sure which direction you are coming from?

How does she generally cope with activities? Are you happy to pack things into a day, or would you rather do one thing and take your time and then a wander or some shopping after? What sort of food does she like? I wouldn’t waste your money in a hotel restaurant, one thing London does brilliantly is food!!!

There is a Premier Inn near Wimbledon station. Not sure about parking though.

I think Sephora may only be in the two Westfield shopping centres.

To answer some questions, we are coming from the Bristol area so not far. We wanted to try and drive because train tickets are so expensive for four of us, even with a railcard. Plus, it feels easier when we’ll need to take luggage etc.

we aren’t looking for ‘foodie’ places as DD has ARFID, so hotel restaurant will be fine to meet our needs. There’s no point travelling to and paying for something that she simply will not eat or enjoy.

thanks for your suggestions. I was hoping a few more places would have parking, so will look into staying on the outskirts!

TravelLodge is the nearest hotel to Wimbledon station - but there isn’t a car park. There is a public car park nearby, but obviously you’d have to pay to park there. All the roads around are residents’ parking only.

The Premier Inn in Wimbledon is further away from the station, but equidistant between the main overground/District Line station and South Wimbledon/Northern Line station. Also no parking here either. And all residents’ parking.

@sameoldstoryalone I don’t know what kind of budget you have, but if you wanted to stay in Wimbledon (which has great public transport links, and is on the right side of the city if you’re arriving from Bristol), then check out The Rose & Crown or Hotel du Vin, both of which are in Wimbledon Village and both of which have parking. (And Wimbledon Village is lovely, especially around the common, which is where both of these hotels are.)

What about Ealing? West London so straight off m4, a40. On the Lizzie line so super fast into London, local restaurants lots of chains but cheaper than hotel food. Hotels with parking. You could drive to Hampton court.

When are you going?

I think I would look at driving to the end of the tube line and parking there. Parking in central London is very expensive and the driving is stressful if you aren’t used to it.

Do check and cost it all up with train tickets as well- it may not end up too expensive.

Another option might be to stay near Hampton court and get the train in from there.

Best value places to stay tend to be Premier Inns and that’s where I’d start. Staycity offer reasonable serviced apartments if you want a little kitchen.

I really wouldn’t eat in the hotel, food in an affordable hotel will be overpriced and naff. You’d be much better just finding a pub or a chain restaurant near where you are.

For the Tower of London you could go to Borough Market for lunch, but this can be very busy on the weekend so maybe not the best if DD can’t manage in crowds.

Would she enjoy the theatre? Today Tix has some good offers, although maybe less bargains to be had in the run up to Christmas.

Definitely park up on the outskirts and train/tube into London. Some places, you might even be able to park on the street but even the tube car parks much further out will be cheaper than central London. We travel down from the North West and have parked at Chorleywood tube before now as it’s close to the M25. I don’t know much about the Elizabeth line but that is definitely an option coming in from Bristol.

As for hotels, there are so many it’s hard to recommend. Premier Inns are usually pretty standard. Breakfast is extra but not too bad and kids eat free. The hub ones tend to be smaller rooms so just be careful what you are booking. The restaurants tend to be fairly standard fare for evening meals so that may be what you need. The only problem will be cost as it’s dynamic pricing so if you go at busy times, it will be expensive but equally, the earlier you can book, the better.

For an itinerary I’d do something like….

Day 1 - Hampton Court Palace - drive from Bristol in the early morning and stay the whole day. Drive to a hotel that night.

Day 2 - Tower of London and area

Day 3 - Madam Tussauds and tube to Sephora

Day 2 you’ll need Tower Hill - on the circle line.
Day 3 you’ll need Baker Street - on the circle line

South Kensington tube station is about an hour’s drive from Hampton Court Palace and is on the circle line in between your day 2 and day 3 destinations, so have a hunt on booking.com, Trivago, Travelodge and Premier Inn websites for something within your budget with parking. But budget wise you might need to do more travelling further out from there!

You could drive to Hampton Court - park at the station (they have a day and weekend rate). Visit the Palace, leave the car there. Take the train to Waterloo and stay at the Travelodge/Premier Inn at Waterloo or Southwark which are just behind the South Bank.

I would include a long walk on the South Bank. The views over the river are amazing and it is a stress-free place to walk. The Globe is interesting if you are into the Tudors (or Shakespeare!). They do behind the scene tours for families. There are lots of places to eat and you can walk over the bridge, past St Paul's and to the Tower.

I think you also can get 2 for 1 entry for Hampton Court/Madame Taussauds if you travel by train so might be worth looking at for the train/driving decision.

I would skip MT personally but I am not 12! Also depends a bit on season - in the summer, somewhere like Greenwich is much nicer.

Driving is mad! There are well priced off peak tickets from Bristol. Plenty of well priced hotels around Paddington and Kings Cross. Premier Inn.

There isn’t parking in London! Well at a massive cost! Elizabeth line has parking at Reading or Slough. Not sure if it’s possible for several days though. I’d get the train into Paddington and then you have no worries.

There’s no such thing as London without crowds. Sorry. Everywhere is busy all the time.

Save all the places you want to visit in Google maps (you can set up a London Trip category in lists. This helps you to see which places are near each other so you can group them to visit efficiently. But don't try to do too much as it will feel rushed.

You can park at Tring (Euston) for several days and Amersham (Marylebone) for several days. Time consuming way to get to London from Bris though. DD was a student in Bris and off peak trains are reasonable when compared to parking prices!

We always stay in Premier Inn Westferry because of the price and fantastic transport links.

St James's Park is our must-do every time where we hand-feed squirrels and parakeets, get chased by marauding geese, look at herons and pelicans etc. Great fun! The Tower and Tower Bridge by night are absolutely spectacular but the area can be crowded. We never really have a set itinerary apart from shows we've booked so we like to do things like jump on the next DLR, get off at a random stop and explore or do the same from Bank/Monument but I understand that might be a bit more difficult for you.

Is your daughter a Swiftie? There's a Swiftie route from her song London Boy (I think that's the right one) and she'd probably meet other friendly fans.

From Bristol, Westferry is a nightmare drive! It’s much easier to look west along M4 corridor. Any Premier Inn with parking would do as long as you can get to a tube station. Much easier just going to Paddington though!

Most London hotels charge for parking, and many hotels partner with a nearby parking facility such as a Q-Park which has its own set of rates. You’ll also have the congestion charge.

There are Premiere Inns in Central London which have parking - but I think they charge extra for the parking - have a look at them.

Premiere inn Tower bridge is one, parking is £30 per night - and that would be a good place to stay. But you will have to contend with Congestion Charge.

Right by the Tower of London. Get the tube or the river boat to Waterloo for the train to Hampton Court

I would leave a whole day for Hampton Court - lots to see, but if you get back early into Waterloo stroll on the S Bank.

On another day get to Tower of London to be in the queue before it opens and head straight for the Crown jewels first - then do the rest of the Tower at leisure. If you finish early - go to Sephora

Same pattern on Day 3 - Mme Tussauds. This is probably the shortest of the 3 attractions you mention so can be done on the morning and then home in the afternoon, Or on the day you arrive.

I do agree about train fares - they seem disproportionately expensive to and from Bristol. My family often get the coach.

Cost of parking will probably be more than return train tickets if you book early. Train in then stay in a Premier Inn Westminster handy for the sights and not too far to travel after the theatre at night if that’s your thing . Uber the rest. Have fun