Visiting Las Vegas with Kids

BySarah
Neon Museum Las Vegas

Visiting Las Vegas with Kids

Visiting Las Vegas with Kids is a subject which I feel can cause a lot of discussion – is it suitable and if so what is there for them to do?

We have now visited Las Vegas twice with kids once as a stop over before we travelled down to California and the second time when we got married in Vegas at the beginning of a US holiday.

Las Vegas is a great option for us when we travel to the US as we can get direct flights from Manchester to Las Vegas. With having family that live in California this is often an easier option (driving from Nevada to California) for us to start our trip than driving to Heathrow and flying to LA.

Is Las Vegas suitable for visiting with kids?

During our last two visits I have learnt a lot about making our Las Vegas trips as suitable as possible for the kids.

The Vegas we have all come to know – the strip, some of the restaurants and the casinos are very targeted at an adult audience and this can be quite overwhelming to get to know where children can and can’t go. But there are so many things that you can do with children to make your trip to Las Vegas a family orientated holiday.

Where to stay in Vegas with Kids

The first time I stayed in Vegas with the kids we stayed in one of the big hotels on the strip this was extremely convenient, very cost-effective and did have a great swimming pool area. Although it was still an enjoyable trip, there were some challenges with the shear size of the hotel. This included the trek to the hotel rooms (there are thousands of rooms in theses big hotels), all of us being confined to one room (I’m a light sleeper so if anyone is tossing and turning I am also awake), having to walk through the casinos to get in and out the hotel (children are limited to staying on the lined carpeted area) and also the liveliness and party atmospheres of the pools which isn’t always suitable for young children.

Although I wouldn’t write off staying in one of the big strip hotels again with the children, what I have found works better for us is staying in the apartment style hotels. There are a number of these in Vegas which are very close to the strip and they include brands such as The Hilton Grand Vacations Club and the Marriott Holiday Inn Club Vacations. We have had a great experience with the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club which is right next to the Sphere.

In our experience the benefits of staying in these type of hotels with children is that you book very reasonably priced two bedroom apartments, there is much more of a residential apartment style resort feel which brings a calmer side to the craziness of Las Vegas and their pools tend to be far more family friendly. The Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club worked extremely well for us as it’s only a five minute walk to the Linq promenade which has plenty of family friendly restaurants including an In-N-Out and you get free parking included in your stay so ideal if you have rented a car.

What to do in Las Vegas with Kids

There is actually a lot to do with children in Vegas and below I have detailed some of the adventures we have enjoyed.

Explore the Las Vegas Hotels

Starting off with the most obvious one of all when it comes to Vegas… the hotels! The hotel’s in Vegas are designed to wow and even to adults the shear scale and design of these hotels is breathtaking. We have found that the kids love to explore some of the bigger hotels and see the displays that they have. Some of the key ones that we have visited are:

  • Venetian – the boys were amazed at the canals inside and watching the Gondola’s. Carlo’s Bakery located in the Grand Canal Shoppes was also a favourite part of my visit to that hotel.
  • Bellagio – I think everyone we have visited The Bellagio with has just been amazed by the conservatory displays and the iconic fountains which is a water, music and light spectacle that runs every 15-30 minutes dependent on the time of day.
  • Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino – well because seeing an actual Flamingo in Vegas is something every child wants to see. The Flamingo habitat is an open air part of the hotel and is free to enter. There are also lots of ducks and the kids enjoyed seeing the turtles as well.
  • New York, New York – home to the Big Apple Coaster and the Big Apple Arcade. There are height limits for the rides so be aware of this if you are travelling with young children.
  • Circus Circus Hotel Casino and Theme park with it’s very own adventure dome theme park.

The one thing I would be aware of though is the time it takes to walk through the hotels and the distance from one to the other – what looks like it will take 10 minutes to walk to can be an hour in Vegas. So maybe focus on one or two hotels that are close together or look at transport such as Ubers between them.

The Sphere

Just seeing the Sphere from the outside is an experience, especially when it lights up with it’s emoji face but if there is a suitable show on at the Sphere this can be a great option for children. Shows such as the Wizard of Oz will allow children in from around six years of age as long as they have their own ticket. These shows are extremely immersive so it is good to get an understanding of the content as it could be quite scary for some younger children but most kids will absolutely adore it.

The Neon Museum

One of my absolute favourite places is the Neon Museum (we love it that much we got married there). This provides a great history experience with the fun of the lights (the signs are lit up in the evening).

There are a number of different ways you can visit the Neon Museum including self guided tours and guided tours. They also offer special programs on certain dates where they have hands on learning activities and demonstrations for children.

The Neon museum can get really busy, so it is definitely worth booking tickets as they do hire some of the venue out for private photo shoots and events such as weddings so always check in advance that you’ll be able to get a ticket.

In the hot summer months they do also limit visits and time of visits if the temperatures raise over 100 Fahrenheit, so again worth checking on their website and social media pages for further information.

The Neon Museum is based away from the strip towards the Fremont area of Vegas but they do have their own car park or there are plenty of Ubers or similar taxi services available.

Go Karting

There are also a number of places to go indoor go-karting in Vegas very close to the strip. Some of these are suitable for children, including one that we have visited K1 go-karting. So if you’re looking for a bit of a break from the scorching sun on the strip this is a great option.

Meow Wolf

This isn’t somewhere we have been to yet just due to lack of time but are planning on visiting the next time we have a stopover in Vegas as we have heard great things about the immersive experience at Meow Wolf with the Omega Mart from family and friends. Meow Wolf is an immersive art experience – just think you walk through a fridge door in a supermarket into a world full of interactive art. A great option for those very hot days when we all need a break from the sun! 

Zip lines

There are also two zip lines in Las Vegas one on the Linq promenade and one at the Fremont experience.

There are weight and height limits for these zip lines so it’s worth checking before the kids get too excited about taking part that they are big enough and I would probably recommend the Linq one for children over the Fremont street zip line just because the area is more child friendly.

The High Roller at the Linq

The High Roller at the Linq is a 550 foot high observation wheel which makes it an amazing viewing platform for the Vegas strip and surrounding areas. Children aged 3 and younger are free with a paying parent/guardian.

Las Vegas Shops for kids

Another favourite for our boys are the large M&M, Hershey’s and Coca Cola shops. 

in the M&M shop you can create your own M&M’s with different colours pictures and messages whilst also taking pictures with the large M&M statues. 

Places to eat with Kids in Las Vegas

Now Vegas is absolutely full of places to eat, but I have put a couple of kid friendly restaurants below which we have just found really easy when you have tired jetlagged children

We would also highly recommend Carson Kitchen in Fremont (124 S 6th St Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89101), they don’t have a specific children’s menu but are willing to change dishes (take sauces off etc) to accommodate and the food is absolutely amazing.

Experiences outside of the strip with Kids in Las Vegas

If you are looking to do more away from the strip there are some great options such as the helicopter tours, the Nelson Ghost town visits and the Grand Canyon.

Our honest review of visiting Las Vegas with kids

We have had some great times visiting Las Vegas with the kids, choosing the right hotel has been a huge part of a successful trip for us as it has given us some space away from the craziness of the Las Vegas Strip whilst also allowing us to enjoy some of that during the day. For a couple of days Las Vegas makes a great stopover or short visit destination.