How to enjoy Kew Gardens with under 5's

Have you ever wondered if it is worth visiting Kew Gardens with kids - especially little ones? Kew Gardens here in London has been one of those places I have wanted to visit for the whole ten years I have lived in London. I finally decided to visit, and dragged my threenager daughter there too. Here are five of my top tips on how to actually enjoy a visit to Kew Gardens if you have a small child in tow...

While Kew Gardens is a gorgeous location, absolutely stunning, it really is much more of an attraction for adults. Now, which self-respecting child actually cares much about flowers they can't pull from the ground? Yep, that's right, no-one. Especially my threenager. There is a reason why the tickets to Kew Gardens are free for under four year olds! There are however some things for very small kids to do, and things that they will really enjoy, and these are the things I found helpful when visiting with my young daughter.

1. Book tickets online. 

You can even book the tickets the same morning. On a beautiful sunny day, especially in the morning time, the queue to the tickets offices is horrendous and you do not want to wait there with your kids. I know mine would be a nightmare. So book those tickets before you get there, and bask in the smugness when you walk past the crowds inside. I bought my tickets from AttractionTix, and while they say you need to print the tickets, they accepted my e-tickets at the gate. You can get tickets online with Kew Gardens as well but they are about a quid more expensive.

2. Get on the Kew Explorer Land Train

This is one of those jeeps with carriages at the back - you know the ones that every single kid wants to go on everytime they see one... Anyway. I found this was a great way to get a small uncooperative child to cooperate enough for mummy me to actually see something and to enjoy the gardens. We sat on the train, it took us around the Kew Gardens, I saw all the main sights, and my daughter mostly sat still waving at people. Result! The tickets were a fiver for an adult and a couple of quid for kids - money well spent. 

On a busy day, do get to the train about 15 minutes before it leaves from Stop 1. No-one left or got on between Stops 2 and 3, and even from Stops 4 onwards it wasn't 100% if you would get on it. The train can be pretty packed on a busy day.

3. For outdoor play head to the Natural Area (near stop 4 on the Land Train trail)

There are indoor and outdoor play areas elsewhere, but I found these were really ram-packed with older kids, and I would not have taken a toddler or even my three year old there. Possibly on a quiet day when there aren't too many kids running amok, but on the busy day we were there I just didn't feel comfortable. So I took my three year old daughter to the Natural Area, where there is a little badger cave you can walk into (and some areas you even need to crawl!) and a log-trail to jump around on.

4. Pack a picnic - or get food from the restaurants

If you want to visit with on a budget do pack a picnic with you as it can be quite expensive otherwise, especially for adults. You can grab something to eat on your way if you arrive by train - there is a small Tesco right outside Kew Gardens Station, and some other shops nearby too.

Otherwise, you can get a sandwich and a milk or juice for kids for about £3 from the restaurants, which isn't too bad and was enough for my little one. The quietest restaurant tends to be the  Pavillon Restaurant near Stop 2 if you want to eat in, and White Peaks Cafe near Stop 7 apparently has child friendly menu.

Bring a water bottle too - you can fill them at all the restaurants saving you few bobs!

5. See the geese at the pond outside Palm House (right next to the main entrance)

This was probably one of the highlights for my daughter. You see these massive koi carps circling below the murky surface, and these ducks and geese swimming in the pond, and lots and lots of other kids marvelling at the same sights. It was quite difficult to get her to leave! We got to see a very exciting fight with the geese too, where they had a proper pecking match right in front of us. While obviously not an everyday occurrence, we did feel a bit like having been plonked right in the middle of a nature documentary!

We did enjoy our visit, although I think Kew Gardens really is much more of an adult place to go to. There are still lots of pretty cool things for kids to see. Older, school-age children will of course get much more out of it in an educational way. There are a few more tips on what to do with kids (especially older ones) on AttractionTix blog as well as on Kew Gardens site. We spent the whole day at Kew so there certainly is lots to do over there!

We also filmed a little video of our day - I hope you enjoy.

Have you visited Kew Gardens with little children? What did you do?

You might also like: How to easily see it all in London in just 24 hours, with kids and A fun family day out at The O2

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