Las Vegas with a Toddler - Tips to Make the Trip Smoother

I love to travel. After I had my daughter, our travels slowed down but we always made a plan that where ever I go with my husband, my daughter comes along. Even if it is to the most unconventional places. When I told my coworkers that I was travelling to Las Vegas last month, the first thing they asked me was if I was going with just my husband or if I was also bringing my daughter. “Of course I was bringing her”, I said. And after I convinced them that Vegas could be child friendly as well, I went off to plan and research for my toddler friendly vacation. I was glad after we landed to see that there were a lot of families there with their young kids. The only limitation to our travels is what we put on ourselves. But for those who are weary of travelling with stubborn, young toddlers, here are some (my top 7) tips and tricks to make it a bit easier.

1) If possible, find a place with a kitchenette. We stayed at Polo Towers, a condo just off the strip. Staying in a condo lets you have the freedom of cooking food when you just can’t go out to eat, have a bit more quiet time compared to a hotel room, and gives more space so you can make it feel a bit more like home. Having the ability of having a bedroom separated from a living room area let my daughter take her much needed afternoon naps and go to bed early while my husband and I got to enjoy our evening in.

2) The Brita Filter is our friend! I’m trying to cut down on my carbon footprint and in an attempt to do this, we avoid buying bottled water if we don’t have to. Though the tap water may be safe to drink, different cities have different tastes to the water. Brita filters remove the impurities in water and makes water drinkable. By bringing our own bottles, it ensured that there was some familiarity in some routines (and that my daughter would drink water on this trip). Having said that, make sure the water in the city/country you travel to is safe to drink.

3) Research grocery stores near your hotel/condo. Where ever I travel to, I like to find the closest grocery store to me so I know where to go to get essentials.

4) Research baby/toddler friendly places to eat. There are so many places to eat in Vegas. There are also many places that are not necessarily child friendly. This was the biggest adjustment I had to make in my life once my daughter was born. I have made it my mission to look for and review child friendly places online since then so other foodie mothers can enjoy a variety of places other than typically family chains.

5) Bring your stroller (or carrier if you’re a baby wearer)! I can’t emphasize enough how handy a compact and durable stroller is. It not only holds your essentials, it also gives your toddler a place to sit/sleep when they get too tired to walk. There were lots of elevators and space on the sidewalk for us to navigate.

6) Plan your activities before you ever fly to your destination rather than on the fly. The drawback to going to Vegas was that a lot of places such as the Mandalay Bay Aquarium open at 10. If you have a child that naps early, your morning plans may go out the window. Knowing when certain sites opened allowed us to map out our day. We chose to do scenic walks/hotels in the morning and late opening places in the afternoon after naps. We chose specific child friendly restaurants that were near our last activity to prevent a hangry child from throwing tantrums.

7) Bring child sized dishes and utensils. While restaurants may be baby/toddler friendly in that they have a kids menu and have high chairs and booster seats, many do not have spoons and knives (and sometimes cups) that are suitable for their hands. Wherever I go, I always bring the eating mat, bib, bowl, and cutlery set.

While this list is not extensive, these were a few tips that I found have helped my travels go a lot smoother over the past two years. If you have travel tips that have helped you and your family, I would love to hear them and start a discussion on what also works.

Cheers!

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@ChristianaD - I commend you with taking a toddler to Vegas and keeping her on her schedule. It’s amazing how much gear one needs to bring once a baby /toddler is in the mix. Literally, I feel like I am packing my house to be sure I have all the basics.

I would add to your list:

  1. Bring one favorite stuffed animal (I used the “car bunny”) and a couple of toys and books. It brings comfort and can keep your child entertained. If your child is old enough, let them make the decision of what to bring (give two choices).

Cheers,

Karen

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