Las Vegas has tried over the years to market itself as more family-friendly, which hasn’t been nearly as successful as the whole “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” campaign – which is yet another indication of the challenge of making this a good spot for a family trip.

It’s a challenge, perhaps, but it can be done – and with so many great deals on offer for Vegas pretty much year-round, it can be an easy way to take a family trip without spending a fortune. Here are a few reasons why taking a family vacation to Las Vegas is a budget-friendly and fun option:

Airfare is Cheaper

As anyone who travels with their kids knows, buying airline tickets for a family can be enough to make the budget-conscious cry. Whereas international airfare for four or more people is prohibitively expensive, however, buying tickets to Las Vegas is often a bargain. There are often special vacation packages available to Vegas as well that combine accommodation with flights, and can include activities as well.

Off-Strip Hotels are a Good Deal

The bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip are appealing to young and old alike (I recall my eyes bugging out of my head the first time I saw them at the age of 12), but the hotels that line the Strip are often too costly to consider for a family. You may find a great deal on one room, which is fine if you’re just traveling with your spouse, but getting a room big enough for the kids as well (or getting a second room) is another story. Looking at hotels off the Vegas Strip is a good way to find better deals, and that’s where many of the family friendly hotels in Vegas are, too.

Kid-Friendly Activities

As mentioned above, there are plenty of things to do in Vegas that are decidedly not family-friendly – but there are also excellent options that parents and kids will both enjoy. The area around the city offers a veritable plethora of outdoorsy activities, including hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and off-roading. In the winter months, there’s skiing in the nearby mountains. There are day trips you can take to places like the Hoover Dam. Within the city itself, there are lots of great shows that kids will love as much as their parents, and although Circus Circus isn’t exactly the place most people want to stay in the city it does offer a whole kid-friendly section full of carnival-style games. There are lots of options in Vegas for teenagers, younger kids, and their parents to keep everyone entertained.

Further Reading:

• Las Vegas for Kids
• 8 tips on taking the kids to Las Vegas
• Family Travel in Nevada
• Day trip to the Hoover Dam

photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

It has to be something that I think my readers will like, it would help if it included links, and I’m not copying/pasting a whole press release. Readers should know that this is PR info and not independently vetted by me.

Here are a few recent items that might interest you….

• Kid-friendly Hollywood Holiday Inn – The Beverly Garland Holiday Inn is nestled on seven acres in North Hollywood, less than a mile from Universal Studios Hollywood.  The 255 room property, which has been owned and operated by Hollywood actress Beverly Garland and her family since 1972, features seven “KidSuites” that are ideal for families. In addition, the property offers discounted VIP packages with Universal Studios.
• New York City tourism site revamped – The site NYCgo.com features a comprehensive one-stop hub of information for visitors and residents, tailored to the interests of a variety of lifestyle categories, with select information available in nine foreign languages….Additionally, the website for the first time will house a dedicated cultural calendar from the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, featuring more than 300 event and exhibition listings submitted by cultural institutions across the five boroughs.
• Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada – If you are looking for a unique, entertaining and educational experience that ties together nature and the environment, you absolutely have to visit the Hôtel de Glace in Duchesnay, Jacques-Cartier region….With its towering snow archways and crystalline ice sculptures alongside inviting fireplaces, North America’s only ice hotel stands out both for its ethereal beauty and excellent service.  The ice hotel is completely redesigned each year.  January 4 to March 29, 2009.
• Hawaii Whale Watching -  Humpback whales are being spotted in Hawaii’s warm waters as the whale watching season is in full force around the islands, which typically runs from November through May. While the whales are here, visitors can enjoy the impressive acrobatic displays of these large mammals from the sea or from the shore. Besides the various whale watching tours available, humpback whales may be spotted from just about any beach park around the state with the right timing and with some patience. Make a family day out of the activity and see how many you can find.
• MonteLago Village Resort at Lake Las Vegas – A mere 17 miles from the bustling neon of the Vegas Strip, this incredibly child and family-friendly resort encompasses condo-style accommodations with kitchenettes (great for preparing quick snacks and/or meals for the kids without breaking the bank at restaurants every day) and multiple bedrooms, if desired. There are a plethora of outdoor activities like swimming in the year-round, kid-friendly, shallow pool (adults have one with a hot-tub, as well), boating (paddle, kayak, gondola), golfing, hiking and ice-skating in the winter (there is one casino on the property.)  Visit www.montelagovillage.com
• Frommer’s top destinations for 2009 -
  1. Cartagena, Colombia
  2. Cape Town, South Africa
  3. Saqqara, Egypt
  4. Washington, D.C., United States
  5. Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada
  6. Civil Rights Trail from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, United States
  7. Lassen Volcano National Park, California, United States
  8. Berlin, Germany
  9. Belfast, Northern Ireland
  10. Istanbul, Turkey
  11. Cambodia (but not Angkor Wat)
  12. Waiheke Island, New Zealand

That idea’s been a total failure; I can’t seem to find time to scan calendars to pick out good events for kids. An alternative idea popped into my head recently.

I get a lot of emails from travel-related public relations folks telling me about their latest and greatest promotion or event.  Many of them, quite frankly, are not properly targeted and are obviously just scattershot announcements….the old PR “spray and pray” method of sending out mass info and hoping it sticks, only now it goes out mostly via email because that is so easy to do and its free. Never mind that improperly done, it clogs my IN box with garbage and is massively annoying.

Anyway, I’m a nice gal and want to support the travel industry in tough economic times, so here’s my plan – on Thursdays, when I have time, I’ll put up a post with short excerpts from relevant PR pitches.  The deal is, it has to be something that I think my readers will like, and I’m not copying/pasting a whole press release. Readers should know that this is PR info and not independently vetted.

Here goes:

• (Monterey, CA) Jaw-dropping Aquarium exhibits, an organic Earthbound Farm adventure and a thrilling IMAX movie experience are all part of the family and budget friendly “Fish, Farm and Flix” package at Monterey’s Victorian Inn. Available through November 2008, the two night package starts at $379, not including taxes, a savings of up to $60 if package items were purchased separately. For reservations, please call 800-232-4141 or visit www.victorianinn.com.
• (New England, USA) Says Mandy Grenier of Francestown, New Hampshire, “I am a mother of a two-year-old, so we are always on the go. I was always searching for a site that had area attractions for toddlers in New England and never found one with reviews on what to expect once we got there. Planning ahead; that’s the name of the game when you have a toddler! Anyway, I decided to start my own blog, One Mom’s Review.”
• (Contest) Lands’ End would like to make planning family holiday get-togethers a whole lot easier this year by giving your readers a chance to win a great family get together for 7 nights for up to 12 people at The Resort at Paws Up in Montana! The contest kicked off September 30 and Lands’ End will accept entries at www.landsend.com/greatgettogether through noon October 30, 2008.  Prizes include a get together for 7 nights for up to 12 people at The Resort at Paws Up in Montana,  Cashmere Great Get Together package with Lands’ End’s high-quality cashmere sweaters and scarves for the family, and Fleece Great Get Together package with cozy fleece jackets and accessories for the family. Just have your readers fill out the online entry form and submit an up-to-300-word essay and photo.
• (Philadelphia, PA) Two items:
  • Headed to the White House, a first-of-its-kind exhibition running through December 14, 2008, allows visitors to travel on the campaign trail, vote for their favorite candidate and take the Presidential Oath of Office through multimedia, interactive and theatrical displays. www.constitutioncenter.org
  • October 18 (next Saturday) is the opening of the children’s Please Touch Museum in a dramatic new home in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. The challenge for exhibition designers was to create a contemporary [hands-on] children’s museum in a building that embodies the spirit of the Victorian age. The museum space is divided into six learning-through-play environments. There is a Please Touch Museum hotel package available on gophila.com, also see www.pleasetouchmuseum.org
• (Product) Linda of Family Travel Gear says, “I have images of my little one climbing out of her airplane seat during the flight, and causing such havoc that we all end up on the news. She is not a sitter, she is a runner. So I discovered the CARES Child aviation restraint system which is the first and only harness type Aviation Child Safety Device to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an alternative to a car seat (which I do not want to bring along so that I can have two hands free for adventures.) CARES is an elegantly designed belt-and-buckle device that works in conjunction with the regular airplane seat belt and provides young travelers the same level of safety as a car seat.”
• (Mystic, CT) Everyone knows about the marine animals at Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, but did you know you can now explore and touch sea creatures from millions of years ago? They are waiting to be uncovered by pint-size paleontologists in the new interactive exhibit Dig It! Prehistoric Creatures of the Sea, opening on Friday, October 10. This first-of-its-kind, hands-on exhibit provides a unique workshop experience where kids can dig for hundreds of authentic sea fossils. The fossils range in age from 500 to 600 million years old and come from Brazil, China, Europe, Madagascar, Morocco and the United States. Every three months, the types of fossils to be discovered change, so kids can find new specimens with each visit. The exhibit is open during the Aquarium’s normal hours of operation and will remain at the Aquarium through January 2010. Admission into the exhibit is $4.99 per child and includes one fossil that the child can keep. For each additional specimen to be brought home, the cost is $2.99.

Things coming up….

**  It’s Fabulous First Friday on February 1 at the Miami Science Museum. This month’s planetarium “Live Star Show” will feature information about the Total Lunar Eclipse, which will be visible from Miami Wednesday February 20th.

**  What will happen with Punxsutawney Phil on Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania? It’s Groundhog Day Feb 2nd.

**  The St. Kilda Festival in Melbourne, Australia February 2-10.  Australia’s “largest outdoor festival” is a huge beach festival with live music, tons of summer activities (since it’s the Southern Hemisphere) and Kid Zones.

**  Sample Oman’s heritage and culture at the Muscat Festival Feb 1-2.

**  It’s Candlemas, the formal end of the holiday season in Mexico, February 2nd.

**  For the Japanese, it’s “out with the demons and in with good fortune,” plus ceremonial bean-throwing, at Setsubun February 4th.

**  In London, it’s Magic Carpet Storytelling for toddlers at the National Gallery February 3rd, and the Great Spitalfields Pancake Race (for charity) on Feb 5th.

**  Oh, yes, it’s Mardi Gras on Feb 5th, with parades in New Orleans (and other cities.) Sure, you can take the kids. Really. Just stay away from Bourbon Street with them. Come to think of it, that’s always good advice….

**  On top of everything else, it’s the Year of the Rat, Chinese New Year, on and around February 7th.

Good deals and opportunities right now….

**  Whale-watching in Virginia Beach, Virginia and 2nd day free at Universal Studios Hollywood.

**  Tips and tricks if you’re thinking about sun and fun at family resorts in Cancun, Mexico, a family reunion on a cruise ship, deals for skiing, a last-minute Caribbean vacation, advance booking for popular London summer events and planning those summer holidays.

**  This is the time of year for good deals at US national parks, at Club Med all-inclusives and even for hotel/travel packages to Bali and tied to the American Girls dolls.

**  Arthur Frommer’s blog recommends the Top Picks section of the Spirit Airways Web site, and Roe Gruber’s Escapes Unlimited to Central & South American and Asia.

**  Finally, Frommer’s recommends deals to the French & Italian Riviera, Botswana, the Rivera Maya in Mexico, Hong Kong (sigh – I’d kill to go) and Cape May, New Jersey.

** On January 12th, try winter sports like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on Winter Trails Day.

** London is hopping with the International Mime Festival starting January 12th, and the Russian Winter Festival in Trafalgar Square January 13.

** They celebrate winter in unique ways in pretty Blowing Rock, North Carolina January 24-27 (I discovered the town last summer while researching my NASCAR/North Carolina road trip article for Automotive Traveler.)

** In Canada, the kids would love the huge Quebec Winter Carnival February 1-17, just one of many great Canadian winter festivals and events.  If you’re in Europe, here are 10 ideas for a January break.

** It’s out with the evil and in with good fortune during Setsubun in Japan February 4th. Get rid of your mental and physical gomi (trash.)

** Chinese New Year is celebrated in many US cities February 7th.  It’s the Year of the Rat!

** Are there art lovers in your family?  Here’s a list of well-respected arts fairs and festivals through the year in places across the U.S.

** Florida celebrates some yummy agricultural products during January and February –  citrus, seafood, strawberries and corn — with fun local festivals.

** Current travel deals that may interest you:  13 nights in 5 Balkan countries, three-day family getaways in Illinois, great airfare to Germany (how about some castles while you’re there?) airfare plus 3 nights in Orlando FL or 6 nights in Peru.  Here’s an entire list of trip deals on Budget Travel.

** Hotel deals are available in Boston, in Chicago (tie in with visit to the Museum of Modern Ice,) in New York City and at a major resort in San Antonio (good deals at hotels all over Texas, in fact, even winter rates at Texas RV parks.)

** Finally, check out the best of the best during winter in each US state’s parks.

**  The Chicago Tribune/Baltimore Sun has a dandy list of travel packages with good prices for this time of year, including family-friendly ones in Hershey, PA and the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia.

**  San Francisco is magical in any month, but right now Travelzoo highlights a hotel deal in the center of the action: the Sir Francis Drake Hotel right on Union Square.  Want more “brrrrr?”  Travelzoo also found a bargain rate at the Quebec Ice Hotel.

**  Even in the midst of ski season you can find decent prices, and Budget Travel has 11 ski deals from California to New Hampshire.

**  There’s a special package geared to families at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa on the Santa Ana Pueblo (near Albuquerque NM.)

**  In London there two winter goodies this weekend:  the Frost Fair of winter fun along the Thames on Bankside (husky dog sledding, a children’s illuminated parade and family events at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater,) and the Spitalfields Winter Festival in London’s East End.

**  In Chicago, the Lincoln Park Zoo shines brightly with thousands of lights during ZooLights.

**  How about an outdoor ice rink in….Charlotte, North Carolina? Yes, it’s Holiday on Ice in a park in uptown Charlotte.

**  In Budapest, Hungary, Christmas music pours from the Matthias Church on 15 December.

**  New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine features Paul Winter’s Winter Solstice Celebration concerts December 13-15 (and on National Public Radio.)  This year the show ”will showcase music from two new albums, and present special guests Native American singer/drummer/flutist John-Carlos Perea, and Brazilian singer/guitarist Renato Braz.” 

**  This weekend is the lighted Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach, CA and another one on Sunday, Dec 16th in San Diego harbor.

Many or even most of these events may not be located in your hometown, but I still think it’s fun to see what’s hopping on the planet, and if you notice something that sounds like fun for your family, you can make plans for next year.

Coming up this weekend/soon:

• One of a Kind craft/art show and sale, Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, Dec 6-9.
• The First Friday art gallery stroll (plus street musicians) in Old City Philadelphia PA is going to be particularly festive this time of year. 5-9 pm Dec 7th.
• Feel festive at the Wassail Weekend in picturesque Woodstock VT Dec 7-9.
• The elephant’s story is set to music: London’s Babar Family Concert Dec 8th.
• Dance to the music at southeast Asia’s largest dance music festival, the ZoukOut Dance Festival on Sentosa Island in Singapore Dec 8th. 
• Enjoy a Christmas market, Italian style at The Christmas Country market in medieval Sant’Agata Feltria Dec 8th.
• My own hometown of Austin TX offers the Trail of Lights in downtown’s Zilker Park; a mile-long lighted wonderland from 9-23 December.
• It’s the off-season, so grab major savings this time of year in thrifty New England at the Freeport, ME outlet mall stores, then investigate some local vodka makers.  There are winter packages in Newport, RI as well that would work for teens (hat tip to Smarter Travel.)

Coming up later this month or in early 2008:

• San Francisco Bay Area women who blog, don’t miss the BlogHer Very Merry Holiday Meetup next Thursday, December 13th at Cafe Royale in San Francisco, 5:30-8:00 pm.  It’s free but you do need to RSVP.
• The spectacular Winterfest Boat Parade (with lighted boats sailing the Intracoastal Waterway) is held in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Dec 15th.
• The three-day Trongsa festival of mask dances is held in Bhutan December 18-20, 2007.
• Celebrate Twelfth Night on London’s Bankside near the restored Globe Theater, music, theater and merriment on January 6th 2008.
• The Holiday Train Show in the New York Botanical Gardens ends January 13, 2008. From the Web site, “model trains and trolleys zip along over bridges and on winding tracks past scaled replicas of New York landmarks….favorites are the Empire State Building, Little Red Lighthouse, Brooklyn Bridge, and the borough’s own Yankee Stadium.”
• The World Buskers Festival (ten days of dynamic street performances) is held in Christchurch, New Zealand January 17-27 2008.

This time of year, there’s so much going on that I had to pare it down to this weekend and then a little of early January.

Coming up this weekend/soon:

• It’s almost the end of whale-watching season in Hermanus near Cape Town, South Africa.
• Welcome the holiday season in Houston, Texas with choirs, fireworks and a tree-lighting. November 30, 2007. Here are some more tree-lighting events.
• Admire the luminaria displays starting this weekend, through December, at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.
• Enjoy an ethnic holiday festival with examples of Christmas cheer from around the world, at the Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, Nebraska. November 30, 2007.
• It’s an Old-Fashioned Cowboy Christmas in Medora, North Dakota. November 30-December 1, 2007.
• See Santa Claus at Germany’s biggest theme park, Europapark (near Rust in Freiburg, close to the French border) on December 1, 2007. We visited Europapark and loved it; check out my FT post on European theme parks.
• Marching down Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, VA, it’s the Hometown Holiday Parade on December 1, 2007.
• There’s a lighted boat parade sponsored by the Fell’s Point Yacht Club in Baltimore, Maryland’s Inner Harbor, December 1, 2007.
• The San Diego, CA Maritime Museum has a Family Fun Day this weekend, getting underway December 2, 2007.
• Celebrate Saint Barbara Day in Bulgaria (she’s the saint who protects children from disease.) December 4, 2007.

Coming up in early 2008:

• New Year’s Day Polar Bear swims are always a hoot (my brave husband did one at Easton’s Beach in Newport, RI one year.) Check out the Coney Island, NY plunge.
• Three Kings Day Parade and concert events, January 4 & January 6, 2008, sponsored by El Museo Del Barrio, New York.
• The Winter Flower and Train Show ends January 6, 2008 in Chicago IL.
• Prague Winter Festival, Czech Republic, January 2-7, 2008. Classical music, opera and ballet in ornate venues. Includes Bambini di Praga children’s choir.
• Illawarra Folk Festival, Bulli, New South Wales, Australia, January 17-20, 2008. More than 400 folk performers and 150 events, including a children’s festival.
• Shindig Set Dance Festival, Tralee, Ireland, January 18-20, 2008. Great Irish music, storytelling, singing, Guinness and workshops for dancers.

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