How to Take a Family-Friendly Vacation to Las Vegas! Plus, Money-Saving Tips!

I’ve been to Las Vegas more times than I can count.  Living only 5 hours away makes it a super easy last-minute trip.  But what about taking kids to Las Vegas??  Known as “Sin City”, it doesn’t sound like the best place to take kids. And if you’ve been there, you know that there is a lot more that kids can’t or shouldn’t do vs. what they can do.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I really needed to just get out of town and since the weather was going to be hot and sunny in Las Vegas, we decided to make it a family trip.  But if you are gonna make Las Vegas a family-friendly trip, you’ve gotta tweak a few things and how you actually vacation there.  So I wanted to share some of my tips on “How to Visit Las Vegas Family-Friendly Style”.  And you know me…. I’m all about saving money.  So I’m gonna share ideas and ways to save during your Las Vegas trip too. 🙂

FAMILY FRIENDLY HOTELS:

I think hotels can be the trickiest part of a Las Vegas vacation.  Because with kids, you might not want to stay on the strip.  You definitely won’t want to walk it with all of the porn cards that people hand out and end up littered all over the sidewalk.

I recently found out that Get Away Today actually has Las Vegas deals!  Say what??  I know they have travel deals all over, but I’ve only ever used them for our Disneyland trips. So when I started searching their website online, I was super surprised that they had so many great deals and all of the same hotel properties I was searching for everywhere else. Not to mention that they have a 110% Best Rate Guarantee!  If you find that someone else has a better rate for the same date online anywhere else, they will refund you your money plus 10% extra!  That kind of guarantee definitely means they do their homework when it comes to making sure they have the lowest rates. So if you haven’t used them to book your Las Vegas trip, you will want to!  It should save you a bunch of money on your hotel stay.  You can find their Las Vegas deals over here.

TIP for Getting the BEST Hotel Rates in Las Vegas:

If you can be flexible with your dates, it can save you hundreds of dollars!  There are lots of conventions, concerts and events in Las Vegas all year round. You might not even know that you want to go on vacation during the same time as one of these events until you start searching for hotel rooms. And if there are events or conventions during your vacation dates, rooms will be hard to find.  Plus, hotels mark up rates on these dates because they know people need a place to stay.  If you are flexible with dates, you will find that certain weeks or weekends are MUCH cheaper than others because there isn’t anything happening to warrant selling out of hotel rooms.

So where do you stay? I had heard a lot about the Red Rock Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and it seemed like a one-stop shop for a lot of things to do at the hotel.  And since it was off the strip, we hoped we wouldn’t run into anything inappropriate. The Red Rock Hotel & Casino has a movie theater inside, bowling alley’s, tons of restaurants, a food court and a pretty fun pool area.  And while it was off the strip (about 20 minutes to the west), I actually really liked it because we were super close to Red Rock Canyon- another family fun thing you can do in Las Vegas.

These are my actual pictures of the hotel room– and it looked just like their pictures from their website.
Super nice!

There are a few other hotels off the strip we have heard are family-friendly you might want to check the next time you are headed to Las Vegas:

• The Westin Lake Las Vegas
• South Point Hotel (South of Strip) We have stayed here before as a super cheap option and although it’s pretty basic, it was great for our needs during a Football Tournament!
• Hilton Lake Las Vegas
• JW Marriott Las Vegas
• Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa (East of Strip) We stayed here with couples once. But it is a great family-friendly hotel. Awesome pool, lots of food options and within walking distance to an outdoor mall with food and shopping.
• Aston MonteLago Village Resort

**Obviously there are a ton of hotels that are off the strip.  But these are the ones I’ve heard good things about and have more than just a typical “hotel” to stay at. 

So when you start looking for deals on hotels, make sure you check out prices on all of these to find the best rate for the date(s) you want to go on vacation.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY THINGS TO DO ON YOUR TRIP:

#1 Red Rock Canyon:  I had no clue where this even was.  So like I said above, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was only 5-10 minutes away from our hotel.   Red Rock Canyon was perfect for our kids. Entrance per car was $7 and you can drive the entire loop in your car and pick which hikes, picture spots or scenic lookouts you want to stop at during your drive.

We chose to do one of the easier hikes called the “Lost Creek Children’s Discovery Trail” and my kids had SO much fun!  They ask us to go on hikes all of the time now.

We ended up at a Waterfall with a cave.  And since it hadn’t rained in quite some time, our waterfall was more of a drizzle.  But the kids didn’t seem to care.  We had a blast!

We found lizards all over the place.  And for some reason, my husband always thinks he can catch them.  Ok…. well truthfully, sometimes he does. 😉

#2 Mirage Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat:

This is a pricier thing to do.  But it can be worth the money.  And I’ll tell you a few ways to save on it too!

The Mirage has a Dolphin Habitat.  And unless you have actually been to the Mirage, you might not even know it’s there.  Your entrance fee let’s you stay inside as long as you want to watch the Dolphins swim & play and see all of the Lions & Tigers in the Secret Garden.

Throughout the day, the trainers will come out to exercise the Dolphins and you can watch them do all sorts of tricks.

HINT:  Be there first thing in the morning and you basically get a private show!  People didn’t start showing up until we were about to leave.  Having the place almost to ourselves was awesome! I mean look how close my kiddos got to the dolphins in the pictures above! 🙂

Not only that, but the Secret Garden has Lions, Panthers and all other sorts of animals to check out too.

Tickets cost $19.95 for Adults and $14.95 for kids ages 4-12.  Kids 3 and under are free.  One way to save on this attraction and a ton of others is to think about grabbing the VISITicket Power Pass. You can buy a 1 Day, 2 Day, 3 Day or 5 Day Pass–

#3: You could purchase a VISITicket Power Pass for an adult for $84.99.  It includes admission into all of the following:

• VooDoo Zipline
• Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Experience
• The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage
• Stratopshere Observation Deck Entrance
• 1 Ride on the Rollercoaster at the New York, New York Hotel
• Entrance to the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
• Grand Canyon West Legacy Tour
• Hoover Damn Motorcoach Tour

 

If you were to go to all of these, you would pay $189!  And obviously, you probably won’t go to all of these. You would probably pick a handful of them that fit for your family and what you are interested in doing.  BUT- if you do a little math and realize that it is a lot cheaper to purchase the VISITicket Power Pass than purchasing 2-3 of the tickets/passes to the different things I listed above, it doesn’t matter if you don’t use all of them.

#4: Another option to save would be the 3 for $57 Deal that the Mirage Does.  It gets you access to any 3 of the following:

• Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat
• BODIES…The Exhibition
• Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
• SCORE! Interactive Sports Exhibit
• Adventuredome Theme Park
• CSI: The Experience
• Roller Coaster at NYNY
• Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

 

For families, you might find that this is a better selection of what you are interested in doing.  The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is a great attraction for families as well!

#5 GO Card Las Vegas: Pick 3 or 5 attractions your family wants to do and you can get up to 55% off gate price!  There are 11 different options to choose from.  OR- if you can check out the “Build Your Own Pass” option that has more attractions to choose from to get 20% off gate prices.

The best part about the GO Card is that they have a 100% Risk Guarantee.  If you purchase a GO Card and don’t activate your pass within a year of purchase, they will refund you!  

Another thing that makes GO Card different is that you have 30 days to use your pass from the time you redeem your first attraction!  You don’t have to get all of the attractions done in one day or two days, like you do from some of the other discount places.

**Smart Destinations’ GO Card has the same thing available for Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oahu, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington D.C.  So you might want to remember this place for future reference!

#6: Las Vegas Perks Printable Coupons: These guys offer different packages to get printable 2-for-1 discounts and coupons for attractions, tours and even restaurants.  You will just need to pick the package you want like the “Family Show Package”, the “Dinner Show Package” or “Tour & Attraction Package”.  Each package costs a different amount and you will get access to printable coupons for every item in that package.  You might not use all of the coupons in that package.  But if the cost of the package is a lot less than what you would pay regularly for any of the items you ARE going to do, it’s a great option!  Just do a little math! 😉

**If you are going to do more than 5 or more of their attractions, restaurant offers or tours, you will probably want to pay $49.95 to get access to ALL of them in their “Deluxe-ALL Package”.  Again, do the math and makes sure it makes sense for your family.

#7 Best of Vegas Discounts:  These guys offer discounts on just about every show and tour available in Las Vegas.  And if you only need a discount for one or two shows/attractions, this might be a better fit and a better deal for your family.

You’ll find family-friendly show deals like:

• Blue Man Group
• Jeff Civillico (We wished we would have had time to do this!  We heard he is great and his show is VERY family-friendly!)
• Tournament of Kings (I did this when I was younger and thought it was awesome!  These tickets are expensive because they include food.  However, if you have little ones, I believe their ticket policy is if they share your seat and meal, you only need one ticket.  So double check that before you purchase tickets.)
• Jabbawockeez 
• Recycled Percussion
• You can see all discounts for Family-Friendly shows here.

Best of Vegas also has discounts on a ton of different Tours & Attractions like:

• Pawn Stars Tour (the popular TV show on A&E)
• Hoover Dam or Grand Canyon Tours
• Red Rock Scooter Tours and more

 

SAVING MONEY ON FOOD:

I feel like saving money on food  is pretty much the same for every vacation or trip you go on.  There are always ways to make it happen like getting a room with a mini-kitchen or even just a mini-fridge.  Purchasing breakfast foods or even snacks to keep in your room can help you stay away from pricey options when you are out with the family.

However, here are a few other tips just for Las Vegas:

#1 Eat at Chain Restaurants.  When I go to Las Vegas with my husband, the food is one of the main reasons I go! I love to try new restaurants, new food and have a really nice night out.  But with kids, it’s a different story. Their attention span is only so long. And my kids aren’t old enough to appreciate good food–especially since they just want to order Mac & Cheese at every restaurant we go to, LOL.

By eating at chain restaurants or at food courts with well- known brands, you might be able to use coupons, rewards programs or special offers that can help you save money.  Plus prices are typically a lot cheaper.

When we stayed at the Red Rock Hotel, there were tons of different popular restaurant chains in their food court and a lot of hotels in Las Vegas do.  Check to see what restaurants are around your hotel and then sign up for different restaurant’s rewards programs or sign up to get emails to get coupons and offers for your meals.

#2 Don’t forget to look at your receipts.  On our way to Red Rock Canyon one morning, we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast.  It was a cheap option and to be honest, I really like their Egg White Delight Egg McMuffin. YUM! (My kiddos love their pancakes too!)

On the receipt, it told us to take a quick survey about our experience and they would give us a Buy 1, Get 1 FREE Breakfast Sandwich.  So guess how we could save money on the next morning’s breakfast??

#3 If you are a gambler, you might get rooms, food and activities given to you free by the hotel.  The amount you get for free depends on the amount you gamble.  But even if you are a gambler, you might not be doing a lot of that on a family vacation–since your kids aren’t over 21 years old. However, if you have a player’s card, make sure you use points from past stays to help you get discounts and freebies on things for your family-trip!

#4 Purchase Discounted Restaurant Gift Certificates from Restaurant.com.  You can enter in the Las Vegas Strip zip code, 89109, to see what current offers they have.  Here is how it works:

• Search for the restaurant you want on the Las Vegas Blvd Strip or nearby. 
• Once you find the deal you want, check to see what the minimum spend is at the restaurant. By purchasing a gift certificate from Restaurant.com, you will need to order AT LEAST that much in food in order to use it.
• Pick the deal you want.  You will see $5 Certificates, $10 Certificates and even $25, $50 or $100 Certificates.
• If there is a coupon code to save even more on your purchase, it will be listed when you first started on this page.  Enter that coupon code in during checkout.

So for example, right now I am seeing a Pampas Churrascaria Gift Certificate. (They are located in the Planet Hollywood Casino right on the strip.)

There are 3 different options.  So you will have to do your math a little backwards to figure out which one to purchase.

Example #1: I can purchase a $25 Gift Certificate for only $10. (With the coupon code currently at the top of the Restaurant.com site, it drops the price to $4.99.)  

When I get to the restaurant, I will need to order at least $50 worth of food before any taxes or tips.  Then when it is time to pay, hand the waitress your Gift Certificate from Restaurant.com.  Let’s say your total is $50.  After your $25 Gift Certificate–that only cost you $4.99–, your total out of pocket would only be $29.99 for that $50 meal! (plus tax and tip-which is a normal cost anyway)  Make sense??

Example #2: Another scenario would be the $100 Gift Certificate. If I add the $100 Gift Certificate, the minimum spend amount changes to $200. I could grab the $100 Gift Certificate for only $19.99 with the code currently at the of the Restaurant.com site.  

When I get to the restaurant, I will need to order at least $200 worth of food before any taxes or tips. Then when it is time to pay, hand the waitress your Gift Certificate from Restaurant.com. For this scenario, let’s say you magically hit $200 in food. After your $100 Gift Certificate–that only cost you $19.99–, your total out of pocket would only be $119.99 for that $200 meal! (plus tax and tip-which is a normal cost anyway)

**If you have more questions on how it all works, you can read the Help section over on Restaurant.com.  However, I have used these guys a bunch of times and have never had a problem. And in the rare occasion that you do have a problem with redemption, Restaurant.com will let you exchange your gift certificate for another restaurant instead. 

#5: Don’t forget to check out the Restaurant section on Freebies2Deals.com.  Any deals, discounts or coupons for popular restaurants will be listed there for you and updated regularly.

OTHER FREEBIES and DISCOUNTS TO LAS VEGAS:

#1 Reader Tiffany told me about MyVegas.com.  Basically you can play on Facebook or download the app, and play fake slots with fake money.  And by doing so, you earn REAL deals, discounts and freebies like Free Hotel Room Stays, FREE Activity Vouchers, FREE Restaurant Vouchers.  And guess what??  It’s legit!! Over 100,000 people have redeemed their coins for freebies!

My only pointer would be to make sure you NEVER EVER actually pay for chips.  You don’t need to. Once you run out, stop playing.  They will eagerly email you within a day or so giving you a ton of free chips just to come back and play.

They will also ask if you want to share your “win” on your facebook page.  Just say no or opt out of those when they pop up.  That way, they won’t be autoposted to your personal facebook page.

I literally put the Facebook Game on automatic roll and earned a ton of coins while I was doing other things on my computer.  You can redeem your coins at any time.  So if you know you want to do a Vegas Vacation, just start playing on a regular basis and get your husband to as well.  Then you will have twice as many rewards coming to you.

#2 Don’t forget that Vegas has a lot of FUN and FREE things you can do as a family.  Some of them include watching the Volcano erupt outside of The Mirage, Watching the Bellagio Fountains and heading to the Wildlife Habitat at The Flamingo.

There you have it!! Just a FEW of the ways you can save in Las Vegas on your next Family-Friendly Vacation! I hope it helps you plan your next trip or make one now that you have some fun, cheap and free things to do while you are there–all family appropriate.

And as always, if you have done other family-friendly things on your Vegas Vacation, definitely comment below and let us all know what things we shouldn’t miss!

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Want to Save on a Trip to Hawaii??  See My Awesome Money-Saving Tips in this 3-Post Series over here:

How to Score a CRAZY Deal to Hawaii Part 1

How to Score a CRAZY Deal to Hawaii Part 2

How to Score a CRAZY Deal to Hawaii Part 3

Want to Save on a Trip to Disneyland??  I’m a Disneyland NUT and love sharing videos and posts about ways to save! Head over here to learn more.

And as always, CURRENT deals on all different Travel Destinations are shared and posted here on a regular basis!  Save it to your favorites or bookmark it for easy access! ENJOY! 🙂