Visit to The Las Vegas Strip, Day 1

Martha has put together TWO “tween talk” videos this week, after staying for 24 hours on the Las Vegas strip. If you might be planning a trip to Las Vegas, you can get a quick preview of a few family friendly, fun things to see… and if you won’t be coming anytime soon, you can still check out the fun!

On Day 1, we drove to the Luxor (where we enjoyed a free night’s stay, thanks to MLife points earned by Martha’s Mema). Our plan for the afternoon / evening was to get to the Venetian to go to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. We first tried to take a tram to the Excalibur, but it wasn’t running, so we decided to walk past the Excalibur to the New York, New York and continuing on to the Monte Carlo. From the Monte Carlo, we took a tram to the Bellagio, and checked out the Conservatory there. It took us over two hours to get to the Bellagio, so after enjoying the Observatory, we decided to take Uber the rest of the way to the Venetian to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.

A few tips for visiting the Las Vegas Strip

– Expect to walk A LOT in Las Vegas.  Expect it to be HOT, if you come in May, June, July, August, September, and sometimes even October.

– Everything (food, drinks, etc) is more expensive on the strip. Water bottles at Starbucks were $6.00! But we found out that they will sell you venti sized cups of water for $1.25. Four cups of water cost less than one bottle of water would have. It doesn’t hurt to ask nicely to see if there are less expensive options!

– There will be lots of smoking in the casinos, and often it is hard to get from one place to the next without going through or by the casino areas. If you have children, try to stay on the outskirts of the casino areas, and the smoke is not quite as bad.

– The strip is really not the most family-friendly place, so I recommend driving a rental car or taking Uber. If you walk on the strip sidewalks, you can expect to see characters, flyers, billboards and more that are not appropriate for children. If you can include Uber rides in your budget, you can get from one hotel to another for $5-8 per trip. Driving on the strip can be tricky, and more casinos are now charging for parking, so Uber is one of the most affordable ways to get around easily.

Family Friendly Places to Visit

– The Conservatory at the Bellagio – it is amazing! The fountains out front of the Bellagio are also a must-see.

– The Wax Museum at the Venetian  – it was fun (although a little bit expensive for the experience). The inside of the Venetian is fun too, with the canal and gondolas (again, expensive, but a fun experience). There are mini-shows (free) (Living Statues, Carnevale di Venezia, etc) in the Venetian Grand Canal shops area every hour or so.

– Tomorrow we’ll talk about the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. with a special video from our trip there.

–  The Secret Garden and Dolphin habitat at the Mirage – so very cool!

– Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops – one of the prettiest shopping areas on the strip, and there is a Fall of Atlantis animatronic show that includes REAL fire, and a giant 50,000 gallon aquarium.

– We aren’t huge fans of Circus Circus, but they do have a pretty large Midway with carnival games and circus acts. And the Adventuredome, while a bit expensive, can be a fun option if you have a day to spend there.

We’ll be back again tomorrow with more about the Shark Reef, and other family-friendly options and tips for visiting Las Vegas!