Love of travel + have to travel frequently for work + homeschooling = a family on the go!
We love to travel and often my daughter and I will accompany my husband on his business trips. It’s a wonderful way to get out of the house, spend more time together as a family, and see the world!
Our latest business trip took us to Las Vegas, Nevada. This city is not a favorite of mine…and I’ll admit to weaseling out of traveling with hubby on occasion if I know it’s going to be to Sin City. But my husband has to go here at least 4 times a year, thanks to the automotive industry. But this time, we all packed up for the trip. And it turned out pretty good!
So what do you do as a family in a city that glorifies nudity, smoking, drinking, and gambling? First, you come up with a game plan!
Travel Family Smart
- We were fortunate to travel with one other family from my husband’s dealership and they brought along their 16 year old daughter. The sixteen year old, Abby, was a huge help particularly at night when Las Vegas is hopping with activity. She would take our 7 year old up to the suite and eat dinner with her and put her to bed. This avoided a lot of problems and helped insulate them both from many sights they didn’t need to see. It also freed the adults up to have a leisurely dinner and see a late show. If you can bring a sitter with you, go for it!
- We came two time zones west so we were all up between 4 and 5 a.m. Las Vegas time. This was great! We were able to get to breakfast early, before most of the guests were up, and head out to activities. One of my biggest problems with Vegas is the fact you cannot get away from smokers. I get migraines from the smell and the early morning is a great time to avoid many of them! Shops didn’t open until 10 a.m. so we had time to go poolside, eat a leisurely breakfast, or walk around sans crowds. So get up early to do your activities!
- By the same reasoning, you can also get to bed earlier and enjoy a respite from the crowds.
- Plan ahead so you don’t have to constantly walk through casinos to get to your room for a forgotten item. The less you have to deal with that atmosphere, the better!
- Keep in mind that if you have an underage child with you, you must keep walking through the casino. You are not allowed to leave the main walkways or stop.
Family- Friendly Activities
This was something I feared would be long gone. The era of the “family-friendly Vegas” ended with the new slogan, “What Happens Here, Stays Here.” But we found several things that were not only enjoyable but clean.
- Rent a car and get off the Strip. That’s one of the most enjoyable things to do in/around Las Vegas. We took both families and enjoyed a day of museums, tours, sightseeing, etc. at Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.
- If you can’t get off the Strip, head down to the Secret Garden at the Mirage. We enjoyed seeing Siegfried and Roy’s white tigers, white lions, and leopards. Though the show is long past, the animals are still majestic. Plus they now have an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin exhibit and research center. You are able to go to 3 different pools and see adult males, females, and babies up close. If you are really interested in them, you can purchase a special ticket so you can get in the water with them. (One thing to be aware of: you have to walk past the “Bare,” the nude pool at the Mirage to get to the garden. It is fully hidden from view but you might get questions, as we did, from a curious little one.)
- Watch the volcano erupt at the Mirage beginning at 7 p.m. or the pirate show at Treasure Island also starting at 7 p.m. or the Bellagio Fountains starting at 3 p.m. All these shows are fun and free. We saw the Bellagio fountains from our room and it was beautiful! Or take a trip over to the Stratosphere and enjoy the view, dinner, or a roller coaster ride high above Las Vegas!
- Circus Circus is another place kids will want to go. The second floor of the casino is devoted to children- think Chuckie Cheese video arcade on steroids! They have every imaginable carnival game, video game, and even shows. We saw some contortionists and acrobats. Very fun and lively- and lasted only 20 minutes so it’s perfect for even the short attention spans. McDonalds is the restaurant of choice there and you can trade your tickets in for lots of fun prizes. Red came away with a pillow pet that she just loves!
- The pool…of course we cannot go to a hotel without checking it out at least once. My little fish could spend all day there if we let her. However, the weather didn’t cooperate on this trip and it was quite chilly. Red swam one afternoon but that was all we could stand! The Mirage had a lovely pool with waterfalls and plenty of chairs on the sun deck.
- Don’t discount room service. We had a fantastic family dinner one night in our room compliments of room service. It was wonderful to kick back and eat together away from the crowds, wait staff, etc. And the food you get via room service is usually just as tasty, if not better, than the hotel/casino restaurants!
- The shows…Las Vegas may be known for its gambling, but it is also known for its shows! Granted, you have to be careful in choosing a family-friendly show, but we found several that would have worked. Everything from a medieval jousting tournament and feast to Cirque du Soliel. We chose to go see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” at the Venetian. It closes in September so we had to see it! The theater was built for “Phantom” and that made it even more phenomenal of a production. It definitely rivals the Broadway production, if not surpasses it.
- Speaking of the Venetian, I love that place! The shops are wonderful and I love the canal that runs through it. In fact, this time we all climbed aboard the gondolas for a trip to Venice….sort of! It’s a 20 minute ride up and down the canal but the fun part is the experience your gondolier gives. Our gondolier, Tino, sang Italian arias and Disney songs. He was part stand up comedian, part tenor, and very good at what he does! It was fun and fun to see how our daughter responded to it!
- Now if you have a shopper, as I do, then you must go shopping! Red and I hit the pearl counter at Treasure Island to open oysters and find pearls. This was a tradition we started in Hawaii and when we saw they had a pearl counter in Las Vegas…we had to try it! We loved the shops at the Venetian with the huge waterfall feature and gigantic electronic butterflies. Basin White became a favorite when we got to try out their scrubs, hand soaps, bath salts, etc. Plus there was a wonderful French bakery, Bouchon, that is a great stop for snacks. We ate macaroons, cinnamon rolls, and beignets. Also enjoy the living statues at the Grand Canal Shoppes. For $1, you can have your photo taken with them!
That was the sum of it for our family. While I still can’t stand some aspects of Las Vegas, I was very impressed with the part we stayed and played in! My best advice is to research ahead of time what you want to do as a family then adjust as need be once you arrive. You never know what fun exhibits or shows may be playing when you go. In fact, the Luxor had a Titanic exhibit in honor of the 100 year anniversary of the sinking. Wish I’d known! We probably would have hit that too.
One other piece of advice: think early. Early to rise, early to bed- that helps you avoid a lot of the seaminess of Las Vegas!
For now,
Call us travelers
Call Me Carol 