Las Vegas with Kids?! Sounds crazy right. Bear with me though because Las Vegas with kids is one of the most fun trips we have taken. We’ve just got back from our second trip to Vegas with our boys aged 6 and 7. The first time we took them they were 3 and 5, and when I told them we were going back they cheered!! We love to travel with our boys and Vegas does not disappoint.
Where We Stayed
There are literally hundreds of awesome hotels in Vegas, but many of them are also casinos. We decided we would prefer to have control over when our kids walked through the casinos so we picked a hotel without a casino. We also chose to be off the strip but still within walking distance. This led us to the Holiday Inn Desert Club. This is a condo hotel which meant we had a kitchen and a separate bedroom. That makes all the difference when traveling with kids!
When traveling to Vegas without the kids we have stayed at various hotels and loved them all. Our favourites have been the Cromwell and Wynn Encore. Lots of the hotels both on and off the strip have suites which would give the best option for families.
Fun Activities to do In Las Vegas With Kids
Vegas is literally teaming with fun things to do with kids of all ages. We’ve rounded up our family’s favourite Las Vegas activities.
Gondola Ride at The Venetian
The Venetian is a beautiful hotel. Kids will be in awe as they walk through the hotel and shops (where they have a ceiling that looks like the sky), but the real magic is outside where you can hop into a gondola for the Venice experience!
Siegfried and Roy’s Garden at The Mirage
This is not somewhere we have visited for personal reasons, but the gardens are supposed to be beautiful.
Fall of Atlantis Show at The Forum Shops, Caesar’s Palace
Inside the Mall at Caesars Palace, tucked away at the back, is an animatronic show where we learn about the fall of Atlantis. It’s a little strange, but kids love to watch it and it’s a welcome break from the heat (and the shopping!) Even better, it’s FREE.
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay
We were pleasantly surprised by this aquarium. They have a wide variety of sea animals and generally, they seem to be living in adequate sized tanks. It’s definitely a fun way to spend a few hours. They have 11 different types of shark and the children will feel like adventurers as they walk through what feels like an Aztec temple.
The Volcano at The Mirage
If you haven’t been to Las Vegas then you may not fully understand the sheer size of the hotels. Imagine this: The Mirage is one of the smaller hotels and it has a huge volcano outside which erupts throughout the day. That pretty much sums up the scale of the Las Vegas strip hotels.
Natural History Museum of Las Vegas
Nevada State Railroad Museum
This museum is in Boulder City which is about a 30 minute drive south of Vegas. Little train enthusiasts will love seeing trains of all ages.
Circus Circus
This hotel is not our favourite place to visit in Las Vegas BUT this kids loved it. Think Chuck E Cheese with circus acts thrown in, and you’ve got Circus Circus.
Bellagio Botanical Gardens
The Bellagio is one of the most beautifully decorated hotels, and their botanical gardens do not disappoint. The gardens are changed seasonally and they really are worth a visit. The entire garden is inside a huge conservatory. It is stunning and short enough to walk around that kids won’t get bored and parents can feel cultured for 10 minutes!
Town Square
This is a super fun outdoor shopping mall. It has plenty of shops and great restaurants. It’s big selling point though is the Children’s’ park and mini town in the middle of the mall. Our boys could have spent hours at this park which has a hedge maze, a tree house, fountain and a little storytelling stage. Town Square also has an AMC movie theater and Game Works, an amusement arcade like Dave and Busters but with the added bonus of bowling.
Discover Children’s Museum of Las Vegas
Every play opportunity that kids might want is housed in this 3 story museum for children. Plan to spend at least 2-3 hours here but you could easily spend much longer. It’s one of the real stand out activities when visiting Las Vegas with Kids.
Floyd Lamb Park
This 680-acre park in the Tule Springs area of Las Vegas is a great way to let the kids run off some steam and perfect for a family picnic.
Red Rock Canyon and Visitors Center
If your family love to hike then Red Rock is most definitely worth a visit. The scenery is breathtaking and the hikes range from quick and easy trails to much more complex ones. This is a must visit for us and a great way to get back to nature after the wildness of the Vegas Strip! The 13 mile drive through the park is one way so if you see somewhere you want to stop for a hike, a picnic or just to enjoy the views then make sure to stop!
KISS by Monster Mini Golf at The Rio
Glow in the dark mini golf which is KISS themed – what’s not to love right?! If you are a mini golf fan then you have to try out this fun take on it. Make sure to check Groupon for deals here – we paid $25 for 5 of us which was a great saving.
Marvel Avenger S.T.A.T.I.O.N. at Treasure Island
Here is what Treasure Island has to say about this family friendly exhibit:
Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is an interactive and educational exhibit bringing visitors in the world of The Avengers.
All ages are welcome to the official Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network (S.T.A.T.I.O.N.) headquarters and dive deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Access exclusive intelligence files, classified studies, and experiments that explore the history and scientific origins of The Avengers while training to become an official agent of the S.T.A.T.I.O.N.
Valley of Fire State Park
Just an hours drive from the strip, this 40.000-acre state park is known for its beautiful rock formations, petrified trees and bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops surrounded by gray and tan limestone. If you are a fan of the many breathtaking state park in the US then this one is definitely worth the drive.
Cirque Du Soleil
We are huge fans of Cirque Du Soleil shows but we waited until our boys were 6 and 7 before we took them to one. Many of the shows have an age limit of 5 and over but we wanted to be sure they’d sit through the whole show. We chose to take them to Ka, but you’d have success with Mystere, O, and La Reve as well (possibly Love or MJ One if they are music fans!). Watching a show through their eyes is so wonderful, and they were mesmerised by the acrobatics and martial arts in Ka. It’s also pretty loud so it drowned them out when they wanted to ask questions!!
Springs Preserve
Springs Preserve is a large nature reserve about 20 minutes from the strip. They have a section on their website with the best way to spend your time whether you have 1-2 hours, half a day or the whole day. I think you really need to plan to spend at least 4 hours here for it to be worth the trip and the money. We only had 3 hours and it wasn’t enough for us. We did enjoy a delicious lunch in their cafe though! They have themed days and festivals throughout the year and they really are a fantastic outdoor haven for families visiting Las Vegas with kids. Our boys loved the park area and the simulated flash flood.
Downtown Container Park
This is one of the weird and wonderful things we love in Las Vegas. We spent a wonderful few hours here after walking through Fremont Street and it was the perfect antidote to the wildness of downtown Vegas! The Downtown Container Park is full of boutique shops, artisan food vendors and a fun interactive playground for kids. They have regular free concerts and if you fancy an immersive movie experience you can visit The Dome and watch a 4K movie in style! Be sure to stay past sundown to see the giant praying mantis shooting fire and singing – it’s hilarious!
Fountains of Bellagio
We try not to spend too much time on the strip when we visit Las Vegas with our kids, but they love watching the Bellagio Fountains. Every 30 minutes during the day and 15 minutes at night, the fountains dance to music in a truly spectacular show. You can’t get much more ‘classic Vegas’ than the Bellagio Fountains!
Freemont Street
I’m not going to suggest this is a kid friendly area to hang out. It isn’t! It is very busy and there are a lot of adults doing what adults do in Las Vegas (they don’t call it Sin City for nothing!). But our kids love all the lights, walking through the old hotels (the Golden Nugget has a huge gold nugget on display and a pool with a fish tank in the middle of it!), seeing the street performers and watching people zipline down the lit up ceiling!
M&Ms World, Coca-Cola Store, and Hershey Chocolate World
These shops are the stuff of dreams for kids! Each store is huge and full of treats and exclusive merchandise. The M&M store even has a movie theater! The Coke store has it’s own fun photo op with the Coca Cola Polar Bear. You can also go for a Tastes of the World drinks flight where you sample 6 different international beverages. Fancy! And if you are looking for food themed homewares (I am drawn to them and I don’t know why!) then you’ll go wild at these stores.
Kid Friendly Restaurants in Las Vegas
Las Vegas in a culinary hub with an unimaginable amount of different cuisines. This basically means that everyone can be kept happy! From giant buffets to pancakes as big as your head, to insane steaks, Vegas has you covered where food is concerned! Here are some of our favourite kid friendly restaurants in Las Vegas, and some great options for foodie kids.
Hash House A Go Go
This famous Vegas eaterie is the home of the biggest pancakes you’ve ever seen! They are the perfect place for brunch. Be aware that the portions here are HUGE. Definitely big enough to share!! There are 4 locations in Las Vegas to choose from, but they all get pretty busy so choose you mealtime carefully.
Tournament of Kings
Ok, you don’t come here for the food, but for mass made show food, it really isn’t bad. Our kids had the best time at this jousting show at the Excalibur Hotel and we were all satisfied by the roast Cornish game hen dinner. with tomato soup and apple pie. The perfect activity when in Las Vegas with kids!
Honey Salt, Summerlin
We came to this gorgeous little farm to table restaurant in Summerlin after our hike at Red Rock Canyon. The food was delicious and they had some wonderful artisan cocktail offerings. It might be a little fancy for kids but our kids loved it!
Hot N Juicy Crawfish
Sometimes you just need a bag of piping hot seafood smothered in garlic butter or cajun spices. Hot N Juicy Crawfish is here for you when only seafood will do!
Chin Chin’s Cafe and Sushi (NYNY)
If you are fans of dim sum, sushi, and Chinese food then you’ll love the fun and colourful Chin Chin’s. The sushi is particularly delicious.
Tom’s Urban (NYNY)
Delicious food, lots of choices and with a solid kids menu means that nobody will leave Tom’s Urban disappointed.
Milk Bar (Cosmopolitan)
This isn’t a sit down restaurant but it’s definitely worth a visit. Their specialties are their cereal milk flavoured ice cream and milk bar pie, but everything they serve is delicious!
Gordon Ramsey Burger (Planet Hollywood)
Anywhere that does truffle parmesan fries has my vote. And who doesn’t love a bit of Gordon Ramsey, hey?!
Hakkasan
Ok maybe this is the most kid friendly restaurant, but their Asian fusion cuisine is some of the best food we’ve ever eaten. They also happen to do some insane cocktails, so it’s definitely worth a visit!
Flemings
Flemings is our all time favourite steak house. This chain of upmarket steak and seafood restaurants serve amazing quality meat, but they also have a great kids menu. We ate at the Vegas Flemings for Thanksgiving one year and it didn’t disappoint. If you haven’t tried Flemings in Orange County yet, you MUST! And if you get a hankering for steak while in Vegas, this is a great place to go with the family.
Rollin Smoke Barbeque
We have been to this restaurant on every visit to Las Vegas that we have ever done. It’s reasonably priced, portions are very generous (we share a meal!) and the food is delicious. It’s a fun place to eat in Las Vegas with kids.
America (NYNY)
The decor in this restaurant is super cool. They serve food inspired by places all over the US. There is no kids menu but there are still plenty of child friendly meals on the main menu.
Buddy Vs (Venetian)
Fans of the TV show Cake Boss will love Buddy V’s for the desserts, but there is also an array of tasty Italian food on the main menu and a great kids menu. If you just fancy a cake then Buddy also has a cake shop you can visit. We enjoyed the brunch buffet which is served at the weekend and it was delicious!
Black Bear Diner
If giant breakfasts are what you are looking for then you can’t go wrong with Black Bear Diner! There are 4 Las Vegas locations to choose from.
Bouchon (Venetian)
This French bakery was once called “the best restaurant, ever.” by Anthony Bourdain. French food is some of the best in the world and Thomas Keller, the chef who owns Bouchon is known to be one of the best chefs. The Venetian also has 2 Bouchon bakeries on site if you don’t fancy sitting down at the restaurant.
Shake Shack (NYNY)
Burgers, hot dogs, fries and shakes. What Las Vegas dreams are made of!
800 Degrees Pizza (SLS Hotel)
This is probably as clean as you’ll ever get where pizza is concerned. Fresh and high quality ingredients are baked for 60 seconds in an 800 degree oven. If that doesn’t impress you, I don’t know what will!
Our Favourite Buffets:
This is the first buffet restaurant we ever went to when we visit Las Vegas 15 years ago! It’s still a great option.
I love everything about the Wynn Hotel so maybe I am biased, but we’ve enjoyed their buffet a couple of times. The dessert station is particularly good.
This buffet is a MONSTER! Go hungry and be prepared to eat like royalty. I have no idea how they are able to mass produce food that tastes so good, but the can and it’s insane! It most certainly hs the price tag to match the standard of the food, but if you love a buffet then you will LOVE this one.
Las Vegas with kids is such a great option, especially as it’s so easy to get to from Orange County. We almost always drive because we live to take stuff with us, but there are a lot of flight options too.
Have you been to Las Vegas with kids? We’d love to know what you got up to!
