I have gained tons of knowledge from the wisdom of you Fodorites....I'm hopeful that I have put that new-found knowledge to good use in my itinerary! We are a family of 5, travelling the end of May. This is the first time I'm posting anything itinerary related, please be gentle with the format, but brutally honest with the contents! Whilst reviewing, please keep in mind that cost is a definate factor, we made a decision to skimp in some areas (National Express for example), and not in others (hubby flat out refuses to stay in a hostel situation, while the kids and I think it would be more of an adventure, it's all about the compromise!).

Food is most certainly not a skimping option. No plans have been made for food, we'll probably do sandwich type lunches and have nice big dinners. Breakfast is at the hotel, and is a buffet of sorts. Enough on the buffet to satisfy all of our tastes and our appetites (since it's all-you-can-eat!).

Day 1 - We arrive at Gatwick via Virgin Atlantic (from Orlando) 845am on Monday morning. We'll be taking National Express to Victoria Coach station, where we'll leave our bags at the left luggage area until later in the day.

We'll walk to Victoria tube station, purchase family travel cards and take the tube the Natural History Museum for a few hours. After which, we'll take the bus to Harrod's and wander (main reason for Harrod's trip is the Egyptian Escalator and the Diana/Dodi memorial (this is a must see for the 15 year old!).

After Harrod's it's back to gather our luggage and head out to Snaresbrook to the Innkeepers Lodge. By this time, we'll all be completely exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep!

Day 2- After a nice breakfast at the hotel, head to the tube station (930 or after!) and make our way to the Tower of London. Our goal for the rest of the day following the Tower of London is to see the HMS Belfast and possibly St. Pauls.

Day 3 - Check out of the hotel, leave our bags at left luggage (Victoria Coach Station) and go to Trafalgar Square. The kids are quite looking forward to the brass rubbings at St. Martins-in-the-Fields and also the Crypt Cafe. After Trafalgar Square it's back to Victoria Coach Station to catch the National Express to Keighely.

As the kids are not too small, we included them in quite a bit of the planning and the sights chosen are for the most part, set. We are however, open to suggestions and most definately comments!

Thanks so much! I look forward to hearing from you all (with the exception of the multiple personality troll!)

Rose

mamarosa: your schedule sounds very doable. End of May is great time. Expect some showers but it's not too cold. Just have a light coat, an umbrella and maybe something like a knit turtle kneck sweater...something like that and you should be warm enough. You will also have quite a bit of daylight at that time, so just enjoy.

I'd really be tempted on Day 2 to take the hop on-hop off bus. You can get to both Tower of London and to St. Pauls that way, plus have the benefit of a very complete tour of London from the top of an open bus, stopping at a couple other places if you wish. This is especially easy since they depart from Victoria Station as well.

crefloors, thanks for the input on jackets etc, I had not really given this too much thought yet, but have made a note of it now!

Patrick, I hadn't really thought about the hop-on-hop-off bus. I will certainly take a this! Sounds like a wonderful option for us.

Thanks so much for the comments, they are truly appreciated!

On Day 2, you could start out at the Tower of London, have lunch, see the HMS Belfast and St. Paul's. And maybe that evening take a trip on the London Eye and walk along the Thames and over Westminster Bridge to see Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. (For me, no trip to London is complete without seeing and hearing Big Ben.)

On Day 3, depending what time you have to be back at the bus station, you might want to walk from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace to take a quick look, then walk through St. James's Park (lovely flowers and water fowl) to Trafalgar Square. And if you have time, from Trafalgar Square, walk down Whitehall to see the mounted guards at Horseguards and a peek at 10 Downing Street. Then take the tube from Westminster to Victoria.

For sandwiches check out the pret a manger chain. We're going to London for the 5th time in February and always have at least 2 meals there. The food is very fresh and relatively inexpensive (I have very picky tastebuds!) It may be hard to grab enough stools but the turnover is quick and you sound like you'll be on the run anyway. I that you have time to visit Westminster and also check into the water taxi's.

You have received good advice so far. I would just recommend a slight modification to Patrick's suggestion about the bus tour. You really want to get to the Tower early to avoid the crowds. So I would take the tube to Tower Hill and tour the Tower, then walk walk across the river to HMS Belfast. Then catch either the Big Bus or Original hop-on-hop-off bus tour which both have stops at the Tower. Then you can ride over to St Pauls, get off and tour the Cathedral, the hop on another bus and continue the tour.

If you take the tour bus TO the Tower you'll get there well after opening time, but jumping on after visiting the Tower makes great sense. And the tickets are good for 24 hours so the next day you can ride some more if you want after you drop the bags at left luggage.

re the brass rubbings..my son loved it. a great souvenir and wonderful downtime activity after sightseeing.

My brass rubbing from St. Martins (King Arthur & knights of the round table) is matted and framed and hanging in my living room. A nice souvenir!

I think you will like the Big Bus Tour, especially if the weather is good and you can get on the top open air deck. You can really see a good view of London this way. If you see something you really like get off and look it over and walk awhile and get back on at another stop. I don't remeber what the price of the tickets were but I thought it was worth it. I am leaving for London on Friday. Can't wait.

I'm a big art fan, which I've noticed you don't have on the itinerary. Both the National Gallery and the British Museum are outstanding.

I've heard that the food quality in the Crypt Cafe is declining, and I've never eaten there, but it is a cool place to walk through and you are very close to the brass rubbings.

Pret is great for sandwiches; I'm an addict.

London is known for the double-decker buses, and it's a great way to explore the city since it is pretty vast. I noticed that you don't have any of the Thames area stuff. I really enjoyed a Thames River cruise and would recommend that. The London Eye is also pretty popular and a great way to get good views; your children would probably enjoy it.

If you get the chance to see a play or a musical, take advantage. London has great theatre.

Have fun!

We really liked the big bus tour. www.bigbus.co.uk is their website. If you order tickets on line, you get a 2 pound discount.

They also have free walking tours. The ghost tour was wonderful.

If you could possibly find a way to include Westminster Abbey, I would highly recommend that you do. Perhaps the afternoon of the second day?

Thank you all! I have made note of all of the recommendations and will take to the next 'family meeting'!!! Again, many thanks!

You make me laugh - the two reasons you go to Harrods are the only two reasons I'd suggest for not going.

As for food, a large breakfast should be more than enough to see you through an entire day. I never bother with lunch if I've had breakfast whether I'm on holiday on not. Your itinerary sounds fine as I'm sure you'll probably find plenty of welcome distractions enroute.

Another thing, if the weather's fine try walking instead of taking the tube, it's far more pleasant and will allow you to discover much more of the city. When on holiday I never travel underground and will always walk, unless of course a taxi is required.

London is awesome -- we went as a family of give a few years ago and had a blast. Food was our biggest problem...we had a hard time finding something we really liked and also noticed that many restaurants and cafes seemed to close early, leaving mostly pubs as an option for later evening meals. The kids didn't like the pubs because they were smoky and the food wasn't that great. Maybe we were just clueless, but with kids it can be an issue. Although I never eat chain food when traveling, the kids were thrilled to see a Burger King (or was it McDonald's) in Trafalgar Square. Sure wish I'd know about the sandwich place back then! Hope you all have a blast!!

I'll focus mainly on the food options as others have added their comments (great I might add) reagarding your schedule.
Add EAT (similar to Pret) and wagamama to you light luch ideas. There is a wagamama "behind" the nationa portrait gallery not far from St Martains. It's very kid friendly and different than what you'd find in Florida.
Pack snacks. granola bars, prezels, nuts, dried fruit, etc. great for a pick me up in the afternoon and to stave off a melt down in the post lunch/pre dinner period.
I've taken your flight but in reverse (london to orlando). It's a long one and the food is awful! eat before you get on the plane, explain to the kids that it's light out asap and sleep! Very hard to do, but what's better a "fun flight" or a good first day in London? You might even try stealing a few hours in the week before you leave. Get the kids up a minimum of one hour earlier and run them around so they'll go to bed a bit earlier as well. I've a five hour time difference and every little bit helps.
Also, get those little legs moving. NOW! You will walk and walk and walk in London and that's just from your gate to immigration at Heathrow. Can't stress this one enough.
Have a great trip.