First time in Las Vegas

    Most people goes to Las Vegas to play in casinos or for the easy wedding. We tried to explore it with 3 kids with jetlag as part of our Great American Tour.

    Of course we surfed the web a few months ago to find good programs. We collected the ‘must see’ things, located them on the city map, made a budget (Vegas is not a cheap place). But the reality is of course not what you would imagine at home.

    Fabulous Las Vegas sign

    Day one

    The plan was to have our private renewal wedding ceremony in the morning. Twenty years is a long time, and we were just celebrating our 20th anniversary just at that time of the year, while being in Vegas. The big thing was that the package contained a limo service, so for the first time in our life, we sat in a limousin and were taken to the small chapel and back. We enjoyed the ride very much.

    In the morning Mr Green was still OK. After the ceremony, he was knocked out because of the 9-hour time difference, and he was sleeping all the afternoon. The small sneakers enjoyed the situation, since they are great pool fans. So they spent the whole afternoon in the pool of the hotel (the water of which is kind of salty), and had a lots of fun.

    Las Vegas wedding

    Day 2

    We started the second day in the Atomic Testing Museum. It was at a walking distance from our hotel. We had a very interesting experience. Stay tuned for a separate blog post on the museum! Our hotel had a shuttle service to the Strip, so in afternoon we started to explore the heart of Las Vegas. We just walked, saw the famous Bellagio fountain, looked for the Monorail station, and traveled the Monorail line. We got off at the MGM station, and walked up to Luxor Hotel. There were two exhibitions (1. Titanic, the Artifact Exhibition, 2. Bodies, The Exhibition). If you like history and nature, we highly recommend both. Again, look for a dedicated blog post on fivesneakers.com.

    The Las Vegas Strip

    Day 3

    We started the last day on the Strip with the Madame Tussauds Museum. It was amazing! You should try the 4D cinema. It’s a freaky experience. We were planning to see the Volcano eruption in front of Hotel Mirage. It was scheduled for 7 pm, but when we got there, it turned out that we would have had to wait until 8 pm, which was too late, because we wanted to see the sunset from the Stratosphere tower. We had another ride on the Monorail, this time until the SLS Station. The view from the top of the tower was impressive. It was an ideal location to say good buy to the City of Lights.

    Next day we had a rental car, so we made a second farewell to the Gambling Capital of the World at the famous Fabulous Las Vegas sign.

    Las Vegas Madame Tusseauds

    Pro Tip

    With Kids book a hotel away from the Strip. The hotels are cheaper and more relaxed than right on the Strip. Most of the hotels offer a shuttle service to the Strip. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, which turned out to be a good choice for the fine breakfast buffet, Starbucks coffee, pleasant pool and laundry options.