So - sell Vegas to me :)

[Guest]

I have to admit, Las Vegas has never appealed to me in the SLIGHTEST. I have zero interest in gambling, and I pretty much have been under the impression for most of my life that that's all it is, well, plus ancient crooners.

Plus I holiday with my children, currently 7 and 10, and I didn't think it seemed a 'suitable' family holiday

I recently spent a couple of hours on a train with a work colleague, however, who was trying to convince me I've got it all wrong, it's great for kids, you don't have to be a member of GA, there's tons to see around the place etc.

By the end of the train journey I was texting my other half and saying "let's go to Vegas and California next year! "

A week on, however, I can't remember what I liked the sound of

And threads like this:

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=326171

just take me right back to my "this is no place to take the kids" mindset...

So... come on Vegas fiends... do your best sales job on me and remind me why a week ago I was raring to book!

[Essex Benjy's!]

We went when both our kids were under 5 but as part of a 3 week trip to LA taking in Disneyland-Seaworld and Universal etc.
If you go for these reasons then fly into LA and drive to Las Vegas for 2 or 3 days just to see it.
Your kids may like Circus Circus and its a site worth seeing as it is kind of unbelievable really.
We dont gamble either so 2 nights was enough for us, the rest of LA and San Fran are well worth the trip though-but its a 12 hour flight (which you can usually get for near the same or cheaper than Orlando?

[Guest]

I'm going to back out of this one because I believe you need responses from people who have experienced Vegas with children, and unfortunately the only children we've ever taken to Vegas is ourselves 36 and 31 respectively.

The only thing I would add is don't just consider Las Vegas the city. Factor in some amazing day trips which I'm sure your children will enjoy. Things like:-

Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Lake Mead
Valley of Fire State Park
Red Rock Canyon
Mt. Charleston

All within a short distance of Las Vegas apart from the Grand Canyon, and many of which can be combined together in one long day (i.e. Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Valley of Fire SP).

[Guest]

And this TA link may help with your decision:-

las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor... as_Nevada.html

[alijolly]

We took our kids last year, although they are older than yours, they were 11, 13 and 15 as part of a multi stop trip. I would say go to Vegas for a couple of days if you are on the West Coast just to do it. We came back glad to have done it but in no hurry to go back. There is plenty to do even if its just exploring the hotels which are amazing and some of the pool complexes at the hotels are great. I wouldn't want to spend too long there although I know some people go and love it and can't wait to go back. For me it was a great experience adn I wouldn't want to have missed it.

It is,of course, a fantastic base to head off to see things like the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon etc

[Guest]

love that TA list, thank you

and yes, maybe we should just do 2 or 3 nights there and the rest in Cali... good idea folks

[Vizeman]

[QUOTE=ju_itfc;3883340

The only thing I would add is don't just consider Las Vegas the city. Factor in some amazing day trips which I'm sure your children will enjoy. Things like:-

Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon
Lake Mead
Valley of Fire State Park
Red Rock Canyon
Mt. Charleston

[/QUOTE]

To be honest I can't imagine kids aged 7 & 10 enjoying trips to any of these places! They're not interested in views and sightseeing, they need entertaining:pop:
Now if these were the names of theme parks, that would be different

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Vizeman

To be honest I can't imagine kids aged 7 & 10 enjoying trips to any of these places! They're not interested in views and sightseeing, they need entertaining:pop:
Now if these were the names of theme parks, that would be different

See more...

Maybe, maybe not? I know if I was 10 years old and my Mum & Dad took me to see the Hoover Dam I would be pretty blown away.

I don't see how you can catergorise all children into one interest i.e. theme parks? Not all children are the same. I spent an excellent day sightseeing around Bandelier National Monument (ancient ruins, deep canyons, mountains and part of the Rio Grande Valley) in New Mexico last August and adults were far outnumbered by children... and guess what... they were enjoying it as well...

Clearly the OP knows their children better than we do. I was only indicating that there is a lot more consider to a Vegas trip than just Las Vegas Boulevard.

Anyway, people who have only visited the Strip and never been Downtown have still yet to visit Las Vegas. That's a fact.

[Guest]

oh they are theme park fiends alright Six Flags Magic Mountain is already high on the list

but they like a good clamber over rocks and a ramble out in the wilds too - I for one would certainly want to see the Grand Canyon if I was out in that part of the world...

[Tiggernut]

Originally Posted by Vizeman

To be honest I can't imagine kids aged 7 & 10 enjoying trips to any of these places! They're not interested in views and sightseeing, they need entertaining:pop:
Now if these were the names of theme parks, that would be different

See more...

Generalise much?!

My DD's favourite place on our last trip to California (when she was 6) was the Cable Cars in SF and Yosemite National Park... when we said we were going again this year (she'll be 9 when we go) she didn't ask about Disneyland or any other theme park she wanted to know if she could go to Alcatraz and to see the Hollywood sign in LA! She's also looking forward to seeing the General Sherman tree in Sequoia NP. Not all kids are the same, please don't make sweeping statements!

In answer to the OP - at one point we were looking at LV during our trip in October/November but really only for one night as a stopping off point. I remember going to LV back in 1997 with my DH and swearing we wouldn't bring kids there. The 'flicker' cards were a problem (and it seems it hasn't got much better) especially when people just dropped them on the floor for all to see. When we were looking to go this year we were panning to find a good kid friendly hotel for one night and pretty much stay around there during our trip.

There is loads to see in California/Nevada without going to LV imho.