Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

26
CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO LAS VEGAS
miles away may seem like an insurmountable
challenge. But family
travel can be immensely rewarding,
giving you new ways of seeing the
world through smaller pairs of eyes.
That said, Vegas is hardly an ideal
place to bring the kids. For one thing,
they’re not allowed in casinos at all.
Because most hotels are laid out so that
you frequently have to walk through
their casinos, you can see how this
becomes a headache. Some casino
hotels will not allow the children of
nonguests on the premises after
6pm—and this policy is seriously
enforced.
Note also that the Las Vegas Strip is
often peppered with people distributing
fliers and other information about
decidedly adult entertainment options
in the city. Sex is everywhere. Just
walking down the Strip might give
your kids an eyeful of items that you
might prefer they avoid. (They don’t
call it Sin City for nothing!)
On top of everything else, there is a
curfew law in Vegas: Kids under 18 are
forbidden from being on the Strip
without a parent after 9pm on weekends
and holidays. In the rest of the
county, minors can’t be out without
parents after 10pm on school nights
and midnight on the weekends. If
you choose to travel here with the
children, see the “Especially for Kids”
section in chapter 7, and the “Family-
Friendly” boxes in chapters 5, 6, and
10 for suggested hotels, restaurants,
and shows.
If you do decide to take your family
vacation in Las Vegas, the good news
is that children under 12, and in many
cases even older, stay free in their
parent’s rooms in most hotels (we’ve
noted these in chapter 5). You’ll definitely
want to book a place with a
pool. Many hotels also have enormous
video arcades and other diversions.
For great tips and suggestions for
your Vegas family vacation, we strongly
suggest you pick up a copy of Frommer’s
Las Vegas with Kids.
You can find good family-oriented
vacation advice on the Internet from
sites like the Family Travel Network
(www.familytravelnetwork.com); Traveling
Internationally with Your Kids
(www.travelwithyourkids.com), a comprehensive
site offering sound advice
for long-distance and international
travel with children; and Family Travel
Files (www.thefamilytravelfiles.com),
which offers an online magazine and a
directory of off-the-beaten-path tours
and tour operators for families.
How to Take Great Trips with
Your Kids (The Harvard Common
Press) is full of good general advice
that can apply to travel anywhere.
WOMEN TRAVELERS
Las Vegas, thanks to the crowds, is as
safe as any other big city for a woman
traveling alone. A woman on her own
should, of course, take the usual precautions
and should be wary of hustlers
or drunken businessmen who
may mistake her for a “working girl.”
(Alas, million-dollar proposals a la
Robert Redford are a rarity.) Many of
the big hotels (all MGM MIRAGE
hotels, for example) have security
guards stationed at the elevators at
night to prevent anyone other than
guests from going up to the room
floors. Ask when you make your reservation.
If you’re anxious, ask a security
guard to escort you to your room.
Always double-lock your door and
deadbolt it to prevent intruders from
entering.
Check out the website Journeywoman
(www.journeywoman.com), a
lively travel resource with a free e-mail
newsletter; or the travel guide Safety
and Security for Women Who Travel
by Sheila Swan Laufer and Peter
Laufer (Travelers’ Tales Inc.), offering
common-sense advice and tips on safe
travel.