Las Vegas for Children & Families
Las Vegas for children & families?
Is Vegas suitable for children? There is always going to be a debate about whether you should or shouldn’t take kids to Vegas, although there are various things to do and see for younger visitors. Here are a list of our favourites..
Adventuredome – Circus Circus.
Circus Circus is arguably the The number one family hotel in Vegas with lots of fun adventures for kids of all ages. The main attraction is the Adventuredome theme park with two indoor roller coasters the ‘Canyon Baster’ and’ El Loco’, bumper cars, pirate ship, plus rides for smaller kids like the runaway coal train ride, the flying bus and the Frog Hopper. Plus a huge funfair arcade with lots of your favourite fairground games and the Worlds largest permanent Circus, where you can watch the amazing acts for Free.
Big Apple Coaster & Arcade – New York New York
Get your thrills on the world’s first coaster to feature a 180-degree “heartline” twist and dive maneuver, providing more than 1.4 million riders with heart-stopping action and excitement each year. The fun doesn’t stop there! Enjoy the excitement of some of the latest video & arcade games, and attractions in The Big Apple Arcade a firm favourite with the hoardes of kids you will find there at all times of the day.
Shark Reef Aquarium – Mandalay Bay
Shark Reef aquarium is the home of over 2,000 animals including the saw fish, giant rays, endangered green sea turtles, piranha, jellyfish and the rare golden crocodile. This unique exhibit gives you the chance to dive with a higher concentration of exotic sharks than you’d ever find in the wild. You can also experience the newly opened Sea Monsters Revealed, the world’s largest exhibition to uniquely preserved sea creatures. Become an Aquarist for a day and feed our stingrays, shark or turtle in our Animal Encounters program.
Wet and Wild – Las Vegas outskirts
Wet‘n’Wild Las Vegas is Nevada’s premier water park with more than 25 slides and attractions covering more than 20 acres, and a place for both thrill seekers and families. As Las Vegas’ Summer Playground, the park features the Tornado, a premier slide that catapults riders to a zero gravity experience; Rattler, the first slide of its kind in North America; and Constrictor, an extreme water slide featuring some of the tightest turns. Families and those desiring a more relaxing experience can enjoy Paradise Falls, the interactive children’s area with kid friendly slides and a giant dumping bucket; Colorado Cooler lazy river; and Red Rock Bay wave pool. As the park opens for a third season, one of its most popular slides, Zipp Zapp Zoom, will feature a new and exciting addition, Slideboarding, the world’s first waterslide gaming experience. Slideboarding integrates gaming, skill, and competitive sports with the thrills of a water park. Wet’n’Wild is an ideal location for all ages to beat the heat. Remember to slap on the high factor sun cream though – Vegas gets hot!
Secret Garden & Dolphin habitat – Mirage
Kids can Come face-to-face with some of nature’s most exotic and majestic creatures at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Explore, learn and play in an enchanting world of Bottlenose Dolphins, White Tigers, White Lions and Leopards. See the tiger cubs up close and create paintings with the Dolphins.
Springs Reserve – 1 minute drive from the Strip
The 180-acre Springs Preserve features an array of exhibits, galleries, trails, entertainment and gorgeous desert gardens that are fun and educational for all ages. Its worth checking the weather on the day you go as outside desert temperatures can be dangerously high.
Free stuff in Vegas
The attractions we have listed so far will all cost money and if you plan to do several of them then the budget can get stretched. Don’t worry, there are some great things to do and see in Las Vegas that dont cost a penny.
Bellagio fountain show and Mirage volcano – These are must see events along the strip and the best things is they are Free. The spectacular Volcano at The Mirage now includes two volcano systems, a lagoon and fire shooters that shoot flame on demand, more than 12 feet into the air. Whereas the spectacular fountain show outside the Bellagio combines water, music and lights and is definitely a must see attraction on your holiday, that your kids will love.
Freemont Street – In downtown Vegas this huge undercover street where you can enjoy live music and the famous Viva Vision light show, all free of charge.
Best family hotels in Vegas..
We mentioned Circus Circus as the number one family hotel in Vegas but we must mention the Mandalay Bay. Much more luxurious than Circus Circus it also has the most kid friendly swimming area with a huge lagoon style pool with its own sandy beach, wave machine and a lazy river that meanders over a quarter of a mile. If your budget allows we would recommend the Mandalay Bay as its a much nice hotel. You can always stay here and visit Circus Circus for the day.
There are now direct flights to Vegas from the UK with a flight time of 10 hours. Indirect flights may be cheaper. Generally hotels in Vegas offer exceptional value as the hotel subsidise rooms as they make their money downstairs in the Casinos, so you could find yourself staying in a 5star luxurious hotel and paying 3star prices. When you are there remember to keep the kids hyrdated and fully sunblocked as it can get extremely hot. You might prefer to take taxis or monoral, tourist train, rather than walking not just to keep out of the sun but also to avoid the hawkers giving out strip club flyers (or worse).
So if you want to take the kids to Vegas we would say YES, take them. Although we wouldn’t recommend it for babies and toddlers. Maybe wait till the kids are a bit older and big enough to ride all the roller-coasters and rides.
If you are planning a family holiday to Las Vegas contact your friendly Family-Trips travel advisor to help plan your ideal Vegas family break.
