Family-Friendly Fun in Las Vegas, Part 1

Steve and I are relatively new empty-nesters, but traveling without our son hasn't changed our focus on finding the best family-friendly, educational activities to do wherever we go. We spent 4 wonderful days in Las Vegas and managed to avoid everything that gives it the nickname of Sin City. But we didn't skimp on fun! I'm excited to tell you about the awesome museums, tours, restaurants, and more we experienced during our time in Vegas.  

Because I blog about educational travel, I was given complimentary admission tickets for many of the places we visited during our trip. This has no bearing on my reviews. Unless I say otherwise, everything I'm sharing is something that I recommend. If you notice any gaps in my narrative, it is because I didn't love a particular attraction enough to recommend it, regardless of how much I paid or didn't pay.

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Travel Adventures in Las Vegas, Nevada

On Sunday, January 25 Steve and I flew from Sacramento to Las Vegas. I've been to a lot of airports and can say with confidence that Vegas' is one of the most unique, in that there are slot machines and neon everywhere. 

We didn't check luggage, so we didn't get to see if the baggage carousels were themed like the ones in Rapid City. I hope so. 

We had a short ride from the airport to our hotel. We splurged on a fountain-view room at the Bellagio. It was totally worth it. The first thing we did was rearrange the furniture so that the comfy chairs were side-by-side overlooking the fountains. 

Even the bathroom had a view. 

We unpacked and then watched the fountains until it was time for dinner. Then we walked next door to the Cosmopolitan. 

We had dinner at Jaleo by Jose Andres. 

Jaleo features Spanish tapas. Our server recommended getting five dishes for the two of us to share, which ended up being the perfect amount of food. 

  

My favorite dish ended up being this Pan de Tomate. I was expecting something closer to bruschetta, but it was completely different. Light, crispy, and bursting with more tomato flavor than tomatoes have.  

We also had ham croquetas, an iberico slider, brussels sprouts, and their paella of the day. 

Everything we ate was perfection. We both agreed it was one of the best meals we've ever eaten. 

Feeling pleasantly full, we crossed the street and waited for The Deuce. The Deuce is, by far, the easiest way to travel on the Strip. The double-decker buses covers a nine-mile route that takes you close to many of the best attractions in Vegas. We paid $20 each for a 3-day pass and definitely got our money's worth. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus to arrive and the buses were never even close to full. That said, we were there during the off-season and never took it later than 8:00 pm; I'm guessing that makes quite a difference. 

Our destination was the Wynn. We started by exploring their beautiful lobby displays. 

Then we headed upstairs to the viewing platform to watch the Lake of Dreams show. It's free and runs every 30 minutes after dusk. The show itself was about 7 minutes long and included water elements, cool lighting, video, and puppetry.  

After the show, we explored more of the Wynn. It's a really nice hotel. 

We headed back to the Bellagio....

... and got back in our chairs to watch the fountains. They're beautiful during the day and even more so at night. 

The shows run every 15 minutes in the evening. Between the shows, there was still plenty to watch: the High Roller, the lights at the Paris, and the nighttime traffic and pedestrian crowds that we were not stuck in. 

We had a wonderful first day in Las Vegas with much more fun to come the following day. It was a special occasion, which I'll tell you about tomorrow.