We will be with family in London for 5 days. There will be 5 adults and grandkids are 17,15,14,11,9, ten in total. We have been to London several times but the others have never been. We will do the typical tourist activities: Tower of London, changing of the guards, British Museum, London Eye, St Pauls, Westminster, Windsor Castle...
I would like to hire a guide for some of the sites such as the Tower of London and the British Museum. Any suggestions for guides?
I'm sure that I am not aware of sites for the kids that we should visit so I welcome any suggestions.

What areas in London do you recommend to stay, and particular hotels or a VRBO location??

I think when we go to Windsor Castle we might take the train. I think that it is close to Heathrow which is where we arrive and depart from. What are your thoughts of possibly going there our last day and then taking the train to Heathrow and staying nearby for our 12:25 flight
(we would need to be at the airport around 9:30)?

If we have time we may try a day trip to Bath, Stonehenge, Cambridge or Oxford. Any thoughts on any of these ideas?

In my opinion you don't have time to go to far afield to Bath, Stonehenge, Cambridge or Oxford. The last time we were in London was two years ago and we did a day trip to Windsor, taking the train from Waterloo. Visting Windsor takes a half a day to tour the castle, which is quite large as well as St George's Chapel. The town is very sweet and it is an easy walk from the train station to the Castle. St George's Chapel is not open every day, so you do need to check the schedule.

What about theatre? I would recommend visiting Hampton Court Palace which is interesting to visit and offers the hedge maze. Although you didn't indicate time of year that this trip is planned for, but a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich is very pleasant and Greenwich itself is lovely and there is much to see and do there, including the origination point for the Prime Meridian. We once took a boat to Greenwich when we exited the Tower of London. Great to see the residential architecture built along the banks of the Thames.

I would also suggest the Churchill War Rooms, as it will make history come alive and is so very interesting, plus it is practically across the street from Westminster Abbey.

The British Museum is huge and you can check the website for visitor tours. The same with the Tower of London.

OK -- you will have an army with you -- eight of whom have never been to London. Five days is not much -when possibly herding cats including teenagers who might not be thrilled getting up early every morning. Even fitting in Windsor may be tough let alone Oxford/Bath/Cambridge/Stonehenge/whatever. And you 100% would not e able to visit Windsor before a 12:25PM flight out of LHR. You'd need to be at the airport and checked in about the same time the castle opens.

You certainly do not need a guide for the Tower. I'd slim down my expectation a bit -- what a couple can manage a a pretty brisk pace is different than what 10 various people running on different body clocks. The resident Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) do free group tours throughout the day.

I'd seriously consider not doing the Changing of the Guard. It is a real time commitment -- basically the entire morning will be eaten up standing in one place waiting.

I also recommend Hampton Court Palace -- maybe instead of Windsor-- but either one will basically take half a day or a bit more.

There are MANY good/convenient neighborhoods. What is you budget for a double room (suites/family rooms will cost more of course bur with an idea of your budget we have more to work with)

Oh and reading between the lines a bit . . . are you including the arrival and departure days in your 'five days in London'?? If so you'd really only have 3 full days plus maybe a few hours on your arrival day.

It's unclesr to me how long OP truly has but might be moving after London with just spouse according to this thread: Cornwall and Devon

But maybe the other 8 family members have only 3 full days???

That's a lot. IMO that's "too much" for a few days with just 1 to 3 people. Getting to all of those places with 10 people is...well, a trip I'd probably skip. Are all 10 interested in all of those sites?

I would hand guide books to each person or each family and ask them to share what they really want to see. Maybe your list too as a starting point. Let them have some ownership in planning the stops.

For kids of those ages, I would sub in The Royal Mews and the Churchill Rooms.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms
https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-royal-m...kingham-palace

But then again, when the kids were small we had better luck at smaller parks (like Busch Gardens) than WDW. Too much can be overwhelming and London can be overwhelming.

10 people trying to fit all that in is just...a lot. I'd check first to see if they all want to see/do those things.

I'd also consider breaking up in smaller groups. Maybe a "big" stop in the morning and then let different groups go to different places of interest. Does everyone really want to do the London Eye? Do the kids want to see Windsor Castle? What is the group doing before and after London?

It would be great if some were interested in theatre to add in a show in the West End. Maybe some in the party go to a show and some do the London Eye then.

I definitely wouldn't try to squeeze in places that you have to travel to in your plan for only a few days in London. Just getting around London with a group will be challenge enough.

On my last trip I hired a private driver for a trip out of town and that was great. I also hired a local guide and we went to places that were of interest to me (not big sights) and she customized the trip.

I don't think trying to keep 10 people all together for all 3 or 5 days is a great idea, but that's just me. Everyone travels differently. If you want to do that, I'd hire a small bus with driver and guide.

Consider going to a pub for lunch and get a traditional pub experience.

But #1 - ask them what THEY want to see and do.

Adding in - Platform 9 3/4.
Maybe a Harry Potter tour (if they like HP) for a couple of adults and the kids while the others do something that really interests them.

A couple of issues that I think make planning a challenge: Most of the major sights require or highly recommend reservations which means you'll need to create a fairly rigid schedule of timed entries along with somewhat generous calculations of travel times between sights and realistic estimates of time wanted everywhere. You may want to book only one big sight in the morning and one in the afternoon. Meals will likely require reservations and will take longer.

I agree with the suggestion of including everyone in the sightseeing choices. Or be willing to split up at times to accommodate the variety of interests.

Download the TfL app on your phone to help with public transportation. You can search routes from point to point by bus, tube, train and on foot.

We will arrive the morning of March 14th. Depending on how everyone is feeling maybe just do the hop on/off bus. Then we will have the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th ( they depart at 12:25 on the 20th). My thinking on Windsor was to visit there on the 19th and then stay at a hotel near the the airport so they could catch the train on the 20th. Certainly I will check to see what everyone wants to do, I am just trying to gather the information for them. And of course we can choose to divide and do different activities.
As for budget for a hotel, I never know what to say to that. We will be gone most of the days so we don't need luxury. Location and of course a safe place is always important. Until I am able to look at a couple of hotels or B & B's I couldn't say a price but we will pay what is needed, I know that London will be expensive.

I'd suggest having each child/teenager know how the tube works and which underground station is closest to your accommodation. If anyone gets separated or lost, they've got more chance of finding their way if necessary.

I might do Windsor on the day of the arrival, leave the baggage at the airport, catch the bus there. It keeps people out in the sun/air as long as possible. I might even book into a hotel at the airport for the first night.

Herding cats is going to be hardest part. With everything new for a lot of people you will near a tail-end-Charlie gathering in the confused/distracted certainly for the first two days. If anyone gets sick or just tired the whole thing will slow down and with 10 people over 5 days the odds of that happening just went up.

Price of accom, help us here, tell us a number then we can advise. I always recommend these guys https://www.yha.org.uk/ because they have nice places and is what is left of the original UK national organisation and gives you a good safe bottom price range.

March can be warm and wet or cold and dry, you need the team to come prepared for every day being a change day, this may mean even changing a day.

Visits out of town, Harry Potter World, Oxford or Brighton might make sense and is realtively easy to do. Otherwise you have enough to do. Seat61.com explains trains and how to get reductions on prices (family deals and groups etc) see also Nationalrail.co.uk .

As part of asking everybody in advance for their favourites, get them all - especially the youngsters - familiar with public transport before you leave.

The fount of knowledge is the TfL website, but there are also plenty of how-to videos on YouTube (some may be out of date on some of the details, but enough give the general idea to build up confidence).

I would not do the hop on hop off bus. In London you end up sitting in traffic and the regular buses are double decker, probably the kids will get a kick out of that. There are routes that take in the same views that the hop on ones do.

The area around Gloucester Road/South Kensington has a lot of hotels in many price ranges and that is a convenient area for getting around, plus to and from Heathrow. The V & A and the Natural History museum are both there, too, both good for kids, depending on their interests.

I have got great deals on booking.com for Black Friday. I think they start the sale around November 20 this year. I fly into London every year in mid February and always wait for Black Friday to book the hotel. Often I stay at the Radisson there, but there are tons of options.

Other stuff that could be cool for kids: Mercato Mayfair (a food hall in a church, everyone can eat what they want)…a visit to the Skygardem with amazing views of London (you need to book three weeks in advance, but it is free.) https://skygarden.london

London Walks dies private tours for families. https://www.walks.com/other-tours/private-walks/

I agree with skipping the Hop on Hop off bus. Most will fall asleep. Plan a walk down to the Thames, walk along and across one of the bridges, then walk along the other side of the river. Lots to see, fresh air and moving will keep everyone awake if tired and jet-lagged. Get a normal bus or tube back once you've all reached your limit.

Or the Thames Clipper! That will wake anyone up!

This is a wonderful suggestion ~ teens can become irritated with parents and having a phone, Oyster or credit card, and hotel room key can ensure a safe solo journey. Ask me how I know.

ALSO, don’t underestimate the time it takes to get tables for 5x2 in pubs or restaurants, let alone the time it takes to agree on cuisine.

Edit: And also on the food front, consider choosing hotel with a good included breakfast… your family can come down at their own speed: your sleepy-eyed nine-yr old won’t impede Grandma who needs her coffee.

I'm convinced, we will not do the hop on hop off tour. Thanks for the information about the private tours. I think someone said earlier that we do not need a tour of the tower of London, what are your thoughts on that? I think that a tour of the tower of London and probably Westminster Abbey could be helpful instead of us trying to read everything.
I must say that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed now with all that has been said. I do want this to be a good trip and it is already booked so I need to do what is necessary to make it a great trip. I appreciate all of your help.

There are kids' books for visiting the Abbey, buy one on line and get a kid to show you around.

Good to know about the kids book at the Abby, so it sounds like you think we would not need a guide.
rialtogrl, I am leaning towards your thinking about having a place with breakfast. Someone on another site had recommended the park Plaza Westminster Bridge, 200 Westminster Bridge Rd. It is close to Westminster Abbey. What are your thoughts on that area?
Some of you have asked how much I would like to spend on a hotel or apartment. Of course I'd like to get something for 200 but I understand that probably 300 is more realistic.

Back in 2018 my family did a multigenerational trip that was mainly a Baltic cruise but we had about 4 days in London at the end of the trip together. Our group consisted of 14 and as I had the most trips to London under my belt I became the defacto "tour guide". It was absolutely like herding cats.

The Tower of London was actually pretty easy as we all did a Yeoman Warder tour together first and then split up and agreed to meet at a certain time. I found that this strategy worked well for most places (splitting up and agreeing to meet at a certain time within a site), plus it helped to keep the irritation level between members of the group that inevitably arise when they're constantly together on a simmer level lol.

Dinner reservations were a must for our group size and lunch on the fly was somewhat difficult, but we were willing to split up seating. After a day or so after starting out in the morning together individual family groups felt confident enough on their navigation skills to go off on their own or return to the hotel themselves in the afternoon.

It sounds like a great trip. Budget for some frustrations, of course.

I would go with Skygarden instead of the Eye. Uber/Thames Clipper to Greenwich from the closest pier, with a river's eye view. The excellent Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the Docklands Museum in Canary Wharf are interesting and fun for all ages.

We always stay in Bloomsbury, at the budget and clean Celtic Hotel. No AC, no elevator, so too barebones for many. Great neighborhood with good public transportation.