I know, I know…Las Vegas isn't your typical family vacation destination. But the question remains…should you take your kids to Las Vegas on vacation? We just got back from taking our kids to Las Vegas on a family vacation and I am going to share my thoughts on this question!
Should You Take Your Kids to Las Vegas on Vacation?
Several months ago I started planning our summer vacation. It was going to be a little different than usual because my oldest daughter was going on a cruise with her friend's family…so it was just going to be our 2 younger daughters going on the family vacation.
We live in Kansas and so to get to most vacation destinations we have to go a LONG WAY. We have already been to locations that are within 8 hours of us…so I had to expand our search.
Every place I thought to go to was going to take over 20 hours of driving to get there. BOO. That is 4 days of driving and 4 days we are losing. Driving that far really limits how long we can actually have fun.
I am sure you are thinking…JUST FLY THERE. Yeah, I realize we could have flown to these places, but it is costly to fly from Wichita, KS. The only places that are reasonable are Las Vegas and Orlando. We weren't going to Disney World this year so that left Las Vegas!
It is Cheap To Fly To Vegas
Let's face it, Las Vegas is one of the cheapest places you can fly to from practically anywhere in the US. It would have cost my family more than double to fly to some of the other places I was considering.
So flying your family to Las Vegas is pretty economical.
There are Actually Tons of Things for Kids to Do in Las Vegas
If you haven't been to Vegas in a while or ever you may not realize that the city has really started to cater to families with kids over the past 10 years.
We had a list of places we wanted to go that were kid friendly and we didn't get everything done….that is how long the list ended up being!
Don't Plan on Gambling
I LOVE Las Vegas and I am not a gambler. The lights, entertainment and fun atmosphere just draw me in. My husband doesn't gamble either.
If you are planning a family vacation to Las Vegas then I would say you shouldn't plan on spending a lot of time in the casinos.
Obviously, kids can't be in the casinos and I wouldn't advise leaving your kids alone in the hotel room while you try to win some money.
If you go into the trip realizing you will be doing family activities and that this isn't an adult trip…you will have a great time and won't feel disappointed.
It Can Be Educational for Kids
We honestly didn't encounter very many inappropriate situations the week we were there. That isn't to say your family won't. I had talked to my girls before we left about some of the things they may see or hear.
It was a time to explain to the kids that some people choose to live their lives differently from us. We live in rural Kansas and honestly…my kids are pretty sheltered from the real world. That can be a good thing and a bad thing.
I felt like the experience was a benefit for my kids. We didn't have to get too deep into adult issues, but were able to talk openly about things they haven't seen at home.
There are also a lot of educational locations in and around Las Vegas! We went to the Titanic Museum and Hoover Dam and both places were full of new information for my children.
The Food Isn't Cheap
The flight may have been cheap, but the food wasn't. Las Vegas is no longer the home of the 99 cent buffet. The buffet at our hotel was around $20 per person. Ouch!
We love to eat at new places and we tried a few nicer restaurants. We tried to limit our food expenditures by eating twice a day…we would eat a late breakfast/early lunch around 11am. Then we ate a late lunch/early dinner around 5pm. It worked great for us because we slept in a little bit each day.
I also had both girls order from the kids menu whenever possible. A lot of restaurants serve HUGE portions that are perfect for sharing!
Good Prices on Nice Rooms
Depending on when you go and where you stay you can get good prices on nice rooms. We stayed at the Luxor this trip and had a premium room for about $100 a night. That is less than we could get a room at a hotel in Wichita!
We could have upgraded to a 2 room suite for only about $30 more per night, but we didn't really need the space.
Strollers Would Be Hard
I will tell you that if I had a child in a stroller I would not go to Las Vegas on a family trip. Vegas really isn't stroller friendly and I can't imagine having to struggle with a stroller on the thousands of escalators in the city.
I definitely saw families doing it while we were there, but I felt for them and was glad it wasn't me. You can make it work, but expect to have to walk way out of your way to find elevators!
Affordable Family Fun
We had an affordable family vacation. My girls LOVED the trip…my 12 year old now wants to move to Las Vegas when she grows up, LOL.
We spent way less than we would have on the other trips I looked at taking. The time we spent together was a blast.
We also were able to avoid most of the casinos without issue. The few times we had to walk through a casino to get where we were going weren't too bad. The smoke was MUCH better than it was even two years ago. I am not sure if they have improved ventilation or if more people are vaping rather than smoking.
Would You Take Your Kids on a Las Vegas Vacation?
I know that taking your kids to Vegas is a controversial topic and honestly I had a lot of people tell me we were crazy. Luckily, we didn't listen to those people, LOL.
You have to make your own decision about where you go on vacation. I hope that by sharing our experience you have a little more information about the reality of going to Las Vegas with kids.
I would love to hear if you have or would take your kids to Las Vegas! If you want another great family vacation destination check out my post on Wisconsin Dells!
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I haven’t been to Vegas over a decade and would love to with my boys. Thank you for sharing your honest opinion because I might wait a bit longer until Pancho is a bit older.