Living in London, we already have our well-known and well loved days out that we tend to visit with the kids, or with relatives when they visit, but despite living in the capital for over 10 years now there are still a few famous attractions that I’m yet to visit, and sometimes I still come across places that I hadn’t even heard of!
This summer, I had the opportunity to try out the Keetoo app, a new app which acts as your “key to” the city of London! Through the app, we visited Hampton Court (one that I had been meaning to visit for a while) and Chelsea Physic Garden (a place I had not heard of before!)
The way Keetoo works is that you load credit onto the app before your trip, and then when you get to the attraction you just redeem it at the entry desk and off you go. This was a lot simpler than I had expected. With Keetoo being newly released I was just a little apprehensive about whether the staff would be familiar with it or not, but we had no problems at all and it was really quick and stress free.
With your credit being loaded onto the app, and then redeemed at the attraction this does give you some flexibility too. If you decide to change your itinerary at the last minute, there is no money wasted as that credit can be used elsewhere. This gives you the benefit of buying in advance to get discounted prices (you also can also get discount by combining buying multiple attraction tickets which I’ll explain in a minute..) and you still keep the flexibility that you would have if buying tickets on the door, so it’s quite a clever idea.
So – the multiple attractions savings: This works when you want to visit two attractions in one day and is called a day tripper credit. If you’re visiting London for a short break and want to fit in as much as possible, this will be ideal. It also works well for locals like us who want to visit more attractions and get a better total price. As long as you make sure that the two attractions you choose make sense logistically (not on the other side of London from each other!) then two attraction day tripper itinerary is very do-able and gives you a good incentive to see more and get more out of your day!
Our first trip of the day was to Hampton Court Palace.
This was a fab day out for a sunny day, with the famous maze to explore, along with the palace buildings and gardens. There is really good ice cream, and a nice mix of educational (it is Henry VIII’s famous residence) and family fun.
Included in your entry price, you get access to the Magic Garden. This was the highlight of Hampton Court for me, it is amazing for kids – especially younger ones, and especially on a hot day. It is a toddler heaven of water play, imagination and space to run around. 
After we finished in the Magic Garden, we made our way over to the 2nd stop of the day: Chelsea Physic Garden. This was a short drive away from Hampton Court (around half an hour) and luckily we found pay and display street parking very nearby.
I had never heard of Chelsea Physic Garden before, but it is a little gem of calm and tranquility in the middle of the city. It’s very peaceful and relaxing, and although mostly frequented by adults, they did have a kids trail sheet for the boys to fill out as we went around the garden. This sheet had questions for them to answer, things to spot, and stickers at the end of it.
Chelsea Physic Garden is quite a small place, so it was great to tack it onto the end of our Hampton Court trip and to discover somewhere new that we may not have come across without seeing it on Keetoo. They also have a lovely cafe that was ideal for a drinks and cake stop after a busy day, before we made our way back home.
Visit the keetoo.com website to find out more about the app. It is currently available for iOs devices but will be coming soon to Android too.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.