Kucavana- Travel by motorhome

London in 3 days with children: perfect day-by-day route (tested and time-saving) + route map

Kucavanera family

View of Big Ben and Westminster during a 3-day London tour with children

This was my fourth time in London. And, interestingly, it had been more than 12 years since my last visit.

The last time I was here, Arnau was a baby. It's one of those trips you remember more for the photos than the actual experience. And now we've returned as a family, with a completely different perspective.

Anna was absolutely clear about the reason for her trip: she wanted to come, no matter what, for the Harry Potter studios. And to be honest, she was right.

So with all this in mind, we organized a 3-day getaway to London with childrenTrying to make the most of our time, without rushing around and enjoying the city as it deserves, but without missing any key details or visits, because the trip has to be worth it, hehehe.

In this post I'll tell you exactly the route we took, with real times, a map, and practical tips.

And I'll tell you something right now: we know we'll be back. Because London is an inexhaustible city.

At the Natural History Museum in London
At the Natural History Museum in London

About us

We are the kucavana familyWe travel with our two children and our adopted dog, Max. We usually travel in our campervan, Kucavana, hence the name of our blog (as a baby, Anna couldn't pronounce "campervan" and said "Kucavana"). But we also enjoy traveling by bicycle, by plane, and backpacking—the point is to have adventures as a family. The one writing this is me, Pilar, the mom of the family and perhaps the craziest one. I enjoy every family learning experience and I hope to help you enjoy it as much as we do. We do it by traveling.

To be closer to you follow us on our social networks: YouTube e Instagram

Map of the route through London in 3 days

Here you have the Interactive map of London with all the points of interest, daily routes and the best restaurants and cafes for breakfastKeep it because it will be very useful during your trip.

I've also included our [details of our content] in this Drive document. Summary itinerary for each day with the location of each point of interestSo that with just one click, Google Maps takes you to the next point 😉 That's what I take on trips to make planning the route easier, and it works great for us.

Quick tips before you start watching our experience and route

1. Book the important things in advance and take care of the necessary paperwork before you leave: passport, visa, insurance, hotels, free tours…

Especially the hotel, so it's not ridiculously expensive and just remains moderately priced. London is incredibly expensive in everything, but especially in accommodation, so every euro saved is important, and booking in advance is key.

It's also important to book Harry Potter Studios, museums (even if they're free they fill up) and free tours in advance, as places sell out quickly.

I'll make you one Here's a list with links to all the procedures and everything I booked or bought before going, which I recommend you do as soon as possible. Since almost all of this fills up quickly, the later it is, the more expensive it becomes:

2. Choose a centrally located hotel to avoid wasting time

London is a vast area, and choosing the right location for your accommodation is key. Ten million people live there, and 90% of them reside in two- or three-story houses, so you can imagine how large the city is. Just getting out of London by car takes more than an hour and a half from most central locations.

Sleeping in a central area will allow you to optimize your travel time and make the most of each day, especially on a short getaway like our 3-day trip.

I'm going to tell you about our own reality and experience regarding this hotel issue in London so that you can use it as an example.

After booking our flights with Vueling for €250 for the four of us, I needed to reserve a hotel for four nights. I knew it was essential that it be centrally located, so I started searching. Everything I found using the "central" filter and rated "8 or higher" was exorbitantly priced, with the cheapest going for €1500 and up. The cheapest options, around €800-€900, were private bookings—no comment needed. Since we'd had a bad experience booking with a private host in Rome—it turned out to be a scam and the apartment didn't even exist—I decided to rule out private bookings.

So I lowered my expectations, looking at hotels of any star rating and going down the ratings, hehe. The cheapest centrally located one was this 2-star hotel. Anwar HouseIt was a really shabby guesthouse, but in one of London's best and most central neighborhoods. It cost us €530 for four nights for the four of us, when we couldn't find anything for that weekend for less than €1500 :(. Honestly, it's a tiny, filthy place with practically no cleanliness, but the sheets were clean, and with an eye mask and earplugs, it was fine for sleeping, period. We didn't use it for anything else.

If you're not squeamish and can adapt like we did, it can be a great way to save a lot of money, but if you can honestly spend a bit more, look for another hotel, just so you know, haha. We just bought a car back home and couldn't afford it, but if you can, avoid this unsanitary dump, haha.

3. Combine walking with metro journeys

London is an ideal city for walking, but it's also very big.

The best thing to do is alternate walks to explore specific areas with subway journeys to save time when distances are longer.

See our guide for more information. How to get around London by tube and public transport.

4. Bring reusable bottles

There are sources to refill reusable bottles In many parts of the city, tap water in London is very good.

In restaurants you can ask for "tap water", tap water, without any problem and save a lot on drinks; it is also legally required to serve it.

5. Don't try to see everything

It's impossible. Even living there for 10 years, you don't see everything.

It's better to carefully select what you want to see and enjoy it calmly than to try to do too much. 

6. Take advantage of free museums

All national museums are free, and many of them are truly impressive.

It's well worth including one in the route.

Here's a summary of the main free museums in London:

7. London is ideal for traveling with children

It's a very easy city to travel to as a family. It has many parks and green spaces, restaurants are usually equipped for children, there are free museums which reduces family expenses, etc…

In addition, children under 11 years old travel free on the metro, which makes getting around much easier.

If you're also looking for more ideas and family plans, here's our A complete guide to London with children. 

The photogenic Westminster Abbey with a typical red telephone box

Day 1 in London: Hyde Park, city centre and Thames riverbank on foot

After so many years away, this first day felt like rediscovering the city. Everything seems familiar, yet it also looks different. The passage of time has transformed London, and in my opinion, for the better. I found it much cleaner than years ago, despite the continued door-to-door garbage collection and lack of bins, and far more organized despite having more tourists than ever before.

Our getaway this time began with our arrival at 23 pm last night, which allowed us to have the entire first day to immerse ourselves in the best of the city and what I consider the most essential sights.

Start the day: Kynance Mews and breakfast

We started early to enjoy one of those hidden alleyways that seem to be from another era, Kynance Mews It was relatively close to our hotel and on our way to Hyde Park, so I had everything planned down to the last detail. I knew that three days in London, if not well planned, would be for nothing, and I wanted to show my children everything that this city meant to me when I was young.

Next to Kynance Mews, there was a Cafe Society, a chain that has English breakfasts all day and which I remembered as a good stop for a good English breakfast. 

After a hearty English breakfast of eggs Benedict, which I loved so much back when I lived in Sheffield, we set off for our first must-see spot in London: Hyde Park. It was a great start to the day. And the sun was so hot it felt like nowhere else in London.

A stroll through Hyde Park

A must-see, especially if you're traveling with children, is Hyde Park. Greenery, nature, water, even a swimming area, horses with their riders, people running, cycling. A fantastic atmosphere that our family loves.

What to see in Hyde Park

There are many places to visit in Hyde Park, but following a route to the center and not waste too much time, we took a walk visiting the following points:

It's the kind of place where everyone finds their rhythm: the kids run around, you slow down, and the journey really begins.

Free tour of central London

A very good way to get your bearings again in the city after so many years was to do a Free walking tour in Spanish of London's must-seesSo that the little ones could also hear about the country's history and interesting facts from a good guide. That's why I booked a free tour months ago (and thank goodness I did, because it was packed in no time) that started at 10:30 am in Piccadilly Circus and covered the essential sights of central London. Definitely a great choice.

Places you will see on the tour

On our guided tour, in addition to learning a lot about the history of London, its royal crown, and anecdotes, especially about kings and queens, we visited essential destinations such as:

Even though I'd seen them before, there's something about London that makes you always want to go back, and with a good guide you always learn something new. The 2,5 hours flew by!

A stroll along the southern Thames and lunch

Once we said goodbye to the guide and the group from the free tour, from Big Ben walking towards the river we started the second part of today's route, one of the areas I like the most in London without a doubt.

Featured Places

We let ourselves be guided on foot along the south bank of the Thames and only visited from the outside until we stopped to eat at one of my favorite places in London:

Food & drink

The answer: Anchor Bankside, one of the oldest pubs in the city, right on the banks of the Thames. The menu is typical of an English pub, the food is good, and the prices are reasonable. We booked a table and time on their website because we didn't want any surprises, but the truth is, when we went for lunch at 14:30 pm, there were hardly any people there! Spanish opening hours have their advantages!

After lunch, we continued our walk, although I must say we've already covered 20 km and it's starting to take its toll, hehe. If you're going with small children, it's better to take the metro, hehe. 

Borough Market It's our next ideal visit to buy some dessert cake that we didn't get at the pub. 

Afternoon: Tower Bridge and surrounding area

Walking here is still one of the highlights of the day.

What to see in this area

Last visits of the day to finish off the hike

Back at the hotel:

A full day, but well balanced, although we walked almost 30 km since we didn't take the metro at all. If you have small children or children not used to walking so much, here's a tip: take the metro so you don't go to bed exhausted, hehe.

In the large model of Hogwarts at Harry Potter Studios London

Day 2 in London: Harry Potter

This day had a name of its own even before I left home.

Anna was very clear about it: we came to London, but above all we came for Harry Potter.

Today we dedicate to one of the most anticipated plans of the trip: Visit the Harry Potter studios in London.

How to get to the Harry Potter studios

From West Brompton, the nearest train station to our hotel, we take the following route:

Everything was really easy when buying the Harry Potter Studios admission + train ticketAlthough you can do it separately, ticket on one side and train on the other, from the website of the national train network Southern Railway You can buy train tickets in advance and save around €3 per person, which is something. However, I should warn you that I looked into it thoroughly, and it's a real hassle to buy tickets separately from the train, which isn't easy given the timetables and children's ages—it's a real mess in the end. It's much easier to buy the combined train and train ticket I mentioned. That way, you only need one click to have everything under control and you can relax. And with children, it's the only way to buy tickets without complications and get the discount, since many stations have very few ticket offices with staff who can help you.

Then at Watford Junction train station there is a free Harry Potter shuttle bus that runs continuously every 30 minutes, you can't miss it.

Visit to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

An experience that truly exceeded expectations. I didn't expect it to be so entertaining and enjoyable. It's not a theme park; it's more like a museum with the film sets from some of the Harry Potter movies.

What to see in the studios

Visit Duration

Between 4 and 5 hours. And they really fly by!

It's not just for fans, but if you are one, you'll especially enjoy it.

Late afternoon in central London

After the visit, it was time to slow down and upon arriving at the train station in London, we took the subway and decided to go for dinner in Chinatown and take a short walk around the center, where the shops close around 21pm (in the rest of London everything closes at 18pm).

Route proposal that we made

Or, if you're really tired, straight to the hotel without a second thought, hehe, with kids there's always an excuse 😛

On the steps of the central courtyard of the Natural History Museum in London

Day 3 in London: Museums, Camden and farewell

Last day, but still with plenty to see, we decided to stick to our plan and on our 3rd day we planned visits to what for us were the main museums ideal for our children's ages, apart from eating and strolling through the alternative and now more touristy than ever Camden market district.

Tomorrow at the British Museum

A classic that is always worthwhile, and this time we wanted to visit it with a free tour in Spanish so as not to miss the important parts of the museum, but also to make it more educational for our children. 

Especially the Free tour of the British Museum You have to book well in advance because places fill up fast. We highly recommend it; it was truly one of the best things we did during our visit to London. Plus, you save yourself the trouble of booking museum tickets, which, although free, you still have to book online, otherwise there are enormous queues or they simply won't let you in.

Tips for the visit

Midday at Camden Market

One of the most unique areas of London for me has always been Camden, the alternative neighborhood full of markets catering to all sorts of subcultures, street food from around the world, and so on. We hadn't been back for about 12 years, and now, although its essence remains the same, it's become much more touristy than it used to be, though honestly, it's still a must-see in London. My kids were blown away by the punks, the goths, the murals in the shops, and especially by stores like Cyberdog.

What to see in Camden

With links to the GPS coordinates from Google Maps:

Perfect for a bite to eat and a leisurely stroll.

Afternoon at the Natural History Museum

A visit that works really well with children and we loved it! Especially recommend booking your ticket in advance, like we did.  Museum of Natural History Before you go online, it's free, but you have to book through the website, otherwise you'll be amazed at the queue for those without tickets. If you have a ticket, you just arrive and go in without waiting a minute 🙂

What to expect

Farewell dinner

In the Earl's Court area where we were staying, there are some very good Indian food options, so we didn't want to leave without trying a good Indian meal with the children, although remember to always ask if it's spicy.

A perfect end to the trip. A trip that, with our children, was even better than the other three times we'd come when we were younger 🙂

Final tips for traveling to London with children

And above all, leave room for improvisation.

Our opinion

Returning to London after more than 12 years has been a very special experience.

The city still has that balance between history, plans, energy and chaos that makes it unique.

Now, we've also experienced it as a family, at a completely different stage of life. The last time we came was with baby Arnau, and in the end, when they're babies it's nothing like it is now at 10 and 13 years old.

And we're clear on that: we will be backBecause London never ends, It's a city with endless plans!

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