Las Vegas Feedback on my AZ / Vegas trip?

[mefordis]

I would love any feedback on our upcoming trip to Sedona / Grand Canyon / Vegas. Thanks!

Family of 4 with 15yo girl and 10yo girl.

Mid April:
Friday evening arrive in PHX, stay at Westin Phoenix
Sat - Drive to Grand Canyon, stay at MASWIK Lodge on Northern rim (only place available inside GC)
Sun - MASWIK Lodge GC
Mon - Drive to Sedona - stay at Courtyard Marriott
Tues - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Pink Jeep tour
Wed - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Sedona bike tour
Thurs - Drive to Las Vegas, see Hoover Dam on the way, Stay at Cosmopolitan,
eat at Wicked Spoon for dinner, see Cirque Du Sol - Beatles
Fri - Pool at Cosmopolitan, walk through hotels, Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasars for dinner.
Sat - Flight home at 11:30 am

 

[_19disnA]

You didn't say whether or not you have ever been to Vegas. Casinos are a LOT further apart then they appear, so walking isn't always practical, but the weather in April shouldn't be like July/August. If you or your spouse intend to gamble, underage children cannot loiter in the gaming areas. They can walk THROUGH the casino on the way to your room, the pool or restaurants when with their parents. If only one day, can probably find enough to see, but I wouldn't recommend Vegas for a lengthy family vacation, since it mostly appeals to those who gamble. Some Vegas shows have age restrictions due to the content of the show. I believe you can determine that on the website where you buy the tickets. Hotels associated with MGM & Caesar's now charge $40/day resort fee and ~$20/day for parking. Those are fairly new charges within the last couple of years.

 

[AuntieMe3]

I would love any feedback on our upcoming trip to Sedona / Grand Canyon / Vegas. Thanks!

Family of 4 with 15yo girl and 10yo girl.

Mid April:
Friday evening arrive in PHX, stay at Westin Phoenix
Sat - Drive to Grand Canyon, stay at MASWIK Lodge on Northern rim (only place available inside GC)
Sun - MASWIK Lodge GC
Mon - Drive to Sedona - stay at Courtyard Marriott
Tues - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Pink Jeep tour
Wed - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Sedona bike tour
Thurs - Drive to Las Vegas, see Hoover Dam on the way, Stay at Cosmopolitan,
eat at Wicked Spoon for dinner, see Cirque Du Sol - Beatles
Fri - Pool at Cosmopolitan, walk through hotels, Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasars for dinner.
Sat - Flight home at 11:30 am

Maswik lodge is on the south rim. You don't want to accidentally ending up heading to the North Rom from Sedona as it's a really long drive.

Love the Grand Canyon and Sedona and it's a nice drive into Vegas over the Hoover Dam. Well its desert and not much to see but I like it. LoL There are little sections of Rte. 66 off the 40 on your way. The little towns are pretty cool to drive through and doesn't take much extra time.

We just got back from Vegas and I really wanted to go to the Beatles Love show, maybe next time. We enjoyed using the monorail to get around to different sections of the strip....if you buy your tickets in advance it's cheaper.

Enjoy your trip...

 

[mefordis]

Maswik lodge is on the south rim. You don't want to accidentally ending up heading to the North Rom from Sedona as it's a really long drive.

Love the Grand Canyon and Sedona and it's a nice drive into Vegas over the Hoover Dam. Well its desert and not much to see but I like it. LoL There are little sections of Rte. 66 off the 40 on your way. The little towns are pretty cool to drive through and doesn't take much extra time.

We just got back from Vegas and I really wanted to go to the Beatles Love show, maybe next time. We enjoyed using the monorail to get around to different sections of the strip....if you buy your tickets in advance it's cheaper.

Enjoy your trip...

I thought Maswik Lodge was on the north rim. The south rim is where I want to be anyway, right? Thanks so much for your input!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Argh....my reply keeps getting eaten. My page keeps refreshing and it deletes what I'm replying before I can post it. Grr...

Anyways...short answer...LOL Maswik lodge is on the South Rim and yes, you probably want to be there for your first visit.

 

[mefordis]

Thanks for the input! We changed from the Sedona Courtyard to the Sedona Bell Rock Hilton. It was a bit cheaper and seemed to be more like a resort than the Courtyard.

 

[oakleycat]

It sounds like a great trip! I think one day in LV with kids is perfect. See the Bellagio and Caesars and have a couple good meals and shows. I would turn in the car when you arrive in LV if it will save you money and if you don't plan to venture off the strip (if you do, the Neon Museum is really cool). Driving around is a pain with the traffic and parking fees at some places, and it's much more convenient to walk or monorail. We never drive in LV even when we drive there and have a car available. The Cosmopolitan is beautiful, my only caution is that it's not the most kid-friendly hotel and if your pool time is on a weekend its possible there will be a lot of drinking and loud music. I've seen people be very inconsiderate to families with kids (drinking, cursing, inappropriate PDAs) at those trendy hotels where the "party" atmosphere is prevalent. Mornings should be okay though as most of those people won't be awake yet. The couple times we have had to take our kids we stay at Excalibur, Luxor or Mandalay Bay where it's family friendly and there are a lot more kids.

 

[mefordis]

It sounds like a great trip! I think one day in LV with kids is perfect. See the Bellagio and Caesars and have a couple good meals and shows. I would turn in the car when you arrive in LV if it will save you money and if you don't plan to venture off the strip (if you do, the Neon Museum is really cool). Driving around is a pain with the traffic and parking fees at some places, and it's much more convenient to walk or monorail. We never drive in LV even when we drive there and have a car available. The Cosmopolitan is beautiful, my only caution is that it's not the most kid-friendly hotel and if your pool time is on a weekend its possible there will be a lot of drinking and loud music. I've seen people be very inconsiderate to families with kids (drinking, cursing, inappropriate PDAs) at those trendy hotels where the "party" atmosphere is prevalent. Mornings should be okay though as most of those people won't be awake yet. The couple times we have had to take our kids we stay at Excalibur, Luxor or Mandalay Bay where it's family friendly and there are a lot more kids.

Thanks so much for the input! We chose the Cosmopolitan because I used Marriott points, so it was deeply discounted. When we arrive in LV we'll see The Beatles Cirque show that evening. The next day ( our last day ) is just for exploring the hotels and going to a buffet.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks so much for the input! We chose the Cosmopolitan because I used Marriott points, so it was deeply discounted. When we arrive in LV we'll see The Beatles Cirque show that evening. The next day ( our last day ) is just for exploring the hotels and going to a buffet.

Your trip is coming up soon!

 

[ninergrl6]

"Exploring the hotels" could take days! lol Pick which hotels you want to see. Even just walking by the outside takes time because everything is further apart than it looks. If you want to go inside someplace, for example The Venetian to see the canals, plan for an hour per hotel. The Cosmopolitan is centrally located, so pick which direction you'd rather explore -- the Bellagio/Caesars/Mirage direction or the MGM/Park MGM/Excalibur direction. There's tons to see either way, but I recommend having a plan if there's something your family really wants to see. I've been going to Vegas on family vacations since I was 11 years old and it's changed a lot but there are more "family" things to do there now.

 

[StageTek]

You're back! How about a little trip report?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

How did your trip go?

 

[mamamary]

Would love to hear about your trip.

 

[kandb]

I would love any feedback on our upcoming trip to Sedona / Grand Canyon / Vegas. Thanks!

Family of 4 with 15yo girl and 10yo girl.

Mid April:
Friday evening arrive in PHX, stay at Westin Phoenix
Sat - Drive to Grand Canyon, stay at MASWIK Lodge on Northern rim (only place available inside GC)
Sun - MASWIK Lodge GC
Mon - Drive to Sedona - stay at Courtyard Marriott
Tues - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Pink Jeep tour
Wed - Sedona Courtyard Marriott, Sedona bike tour
Thurs - Drive to Las Vegas, see Hoover Dam on the way, Stay at Cosmopolitan,
eat at Wicked Spoon for dinner, see Cirque Du Sol - Beatles
Fri - Pool at Cosmopolitan, walk through hotels, Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasars for dinner.
Sat - Flight home at 11:30 am

We are doing a similar trip in 2 weeks, Albuquerque to Petrified Forest to Meteor crater, flagstaff, Courtyard in Sedona for 3 nights, Grand Canyon, Bearizona, Kingman-Route 66 museums, Las Vegas-Palazzo for 4 nights, sightseeing and hoover dam.
We are going for 2 weeks.

How was your trip? We have 3 children 10, 16 and 16. Hope they don't get bored. Lol

 

[MickyLynn]

My best/only rec for Vegas is to get the 24 hr pass on the Deuce. There is another much more expensive bus that covers the strip, but the Deuce is really all you need.