The Family Tourist Itinerary: 2 Days in Las Vegas

While Las Vegas is known for its culture around alcohol, casinos, and nightlife, it might be surprising to see how many families decide to visit the city each year. This itinerary includes plenty of activities for both parents and adults without being too intense, and aims to show families some of the best of what Las Vegas has to offer. Since Las Vegas offers a wide variety of high-quality food near to almost every attraction included in this itinerary, we only will offer one restaurant recommendation to provide you with timing flexibility and the ability to pick your own food during your trip!

Scheduled Plan for 2-Day Las Vegas Family Itinerary

Day One

08:30 – 09:45 Neon Museum

09:45 – 10:00 Travel to the Downtown Container Park

10:00 – 11:30 Downtown Container Park

11:30 – 14:00 Fremont Street Experience & Lunch

14:00 – 14:15 Travel to Springs Preserve

14:15 – 16:30 Springs Preserve

16:30 – 17:00 Travel to the High Roller

17:00 – 17:45 High Roller Ferris Wheel

17:45 – 19:00 Dinner

19:00 – 20:30 Fountains of Bellagio & Bellagio Conservatory

20:30 – 22:00 Coca-Cola Store and M&M World

22:00 – onwards Return to accommodations, relax, etc.

Day Two

08:00 – 09:30 Breakfast Brunch at the Bayside Buffet

09:30 – 11:00 Shark Reef Aquarium

11:00 – 11:30 Travel to Circus Circus Hotel

11:30 – 16:30 Adventuredome (with lunch)

16:30 – 17:00 Travel to the Venetian

17:00 – 18:00 Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

18:00 – 19:30 Dinner

19:30 – 21:00 Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.

21:00 – 21:30 Travel to the Stratosphere

21:30 – 23:00 Stratosphere Tower Observation Deck

Our first day starts in one of the lesser-visited yet still energetic neighborhoods of Las Vegas: Downtown. Located where Las Vegas initially was created, and the center of the gambling culture before the Strip, Downtown Las Vegas now is home to an eclectic, retro scene with a culture highly tied to the “glory days” of Vegas. Situated just north of the neighborhood on Las Vegas Boulevard is the Neon Museum, a museum which features historic neon signs from old casinos and businesses spread out over six acres.

After checking out the Neon Museum, a five-minute drive towards the Strip will place you at the Downtown Container Park, a family-friendly outdoor shopping center made entirely from shipping containers. In the center, a large, interactive playground offers your kids the opportunity to play on a 33-foot slide, a massive treehouse, and several foam building blocks. Then, a two-block walk down Fremont Street will have you arrive at the famous Fremont Street Experience, a sprawling mall with an LED-lit canopy. If anyone is feeling adventurous, the Slotzilla Zipline offers two different ziplines which allow you to fly seven or eleven stories above the busy mall beneath.

After the hustle-and-bustle experienced in Downtown, a ten-minute drive westwards will land you at Springs Preserve, a 180-acre collection of gardens, trails, museums, and yes, another playground for the kids. Here, you’ll be able to check out hands-on classes, ride a train, or take a short hike around the massive open space located in the heart of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area.

Now we’ll finally make it to the pinnacle neighborhood of Las Vegas: the glitzy Las Vegas Strip. Located twenty minutes from Springs Preserve and directly behind the LINQ hotel, the High Roller is a 550-foot tall Ferris wheel which is notably taller than even the London Eye. Riding on the High Roller will offer you stunning, 360-degree views of the entire Las Vegas area in a spacious, 40-person cabin. Interestingly, the wheel takes an entire thirty minutes for one revolution, and offers both family and student discounts for their visitors.

After disembarking the High Roller, a fifteen-minute walk across the Strip will land you at the Bellagio, where you’ll be able to see the Fountains of Bellagio, where music and lights offer a choreographed aquatic show free for the public. Then, venturing inside the hotel will offer your family the opportunity to experience the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, a massive atrium with plants, flowers, and trees from around the world which change with every season.

This evening will end with an exciting visit to another iconic family destination in Las Vegas: M&M’s World and the Coca Cola Store. Located next to each other in front of the MGM Grand Hotel, fifteen minutes walking distance from the Bellagio, these two stores will offer you and your kids a shopping experience which you never be able to forget. At the Coca-Cola store, you’ll be able to enjoy samples of Coca-Cola beverages popular around the world and plenty of Coke-themed merchandise. Afterwards, M&M’s World, with four stories and 28,000 square feet, includes a personalized M&M printer, a free 3-D movie, and more M&M-themed merchandise than one could imagine. After finishing your visit, enjoy returning to your accommodations to relax after a long first day in Viva Las Vegas.

Today begins with breakfast at one of the top-rated buffet restaurants in Las Vegas: the Bayside Buffet in the Mandalay Bay Resort. Speaking from personal experience, the Bayside Buffet is indescribable in the quality and quantity of food they offer, from crab legs to smoked salmon breakfast pizza and many more extravagant options. After finishing up your meal, venture over to the Shark Reef Aquarium, also located within the Mandalay Bay resort. Lauded as North America’s only predator-based aquarium, this exciting exhibit offers a 1.3 million gallon main tank with sharks, rays, sawfish, and more.

Then, for an attraction that likely will take up a large part of this afternoon, head up to the north side of the Strip for the Circus Circus hotel. Inside, you’ll find the Adventuredome, a five-acre, indoor theme park with rides and attractions which suit all ages. You’ll be able to buy a pass inside which allows unlimited rides, including bungee jumping, clown shows, miniature golf, and an arcade.

After spending some quality time riding some of Adventuredome’s best offerings, head back down the Strip to the Venetian Hotel. Here, you’ll be able to visit Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, the first Madame Tussauds museum featuring over 100 wax figures of celebrities from around the world, including Britney Spears, Sofia Vergara, and Muhammed Ali. Afterwards, a quick walk back across the Strip to the Treasure Island hotel will offer your family the chance to see one of Vegas’s more kid-friendly attractions: the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. museum. This interactive and educational exhibit geared towards The Avengers, and will allow you to experience “classified studies and experiments that explore the history and scientific origins of the Avengers.”

Finally, to end the night, we will be returning to the North Strip to the Stratosphere Tower, the tallest observation tower in the United States rising nearly 1,200 feet above the ground below. At the top, you’ll have access to a revolving restaurant fittingly named “The Top of the World”, a panoramic observation deck, several shops, and most notably, four thrill rides including Insanity, where riders are dangled over the edge of the tower and whirled around at forty miles an hour. Whether or not you decide to try out the daring rides, finishing the day at the top of Las Vegas will be the perfect end to a wonderful family trip.