Going to Vegas with 4 month old... what to take?

[spdztr]

Like the title suggests, we're taking our 4 month old son to Vegas next month, and we're trying to decide if we should take the carseat, in which he sleeps very well when we're on the move, or the seat which came with the stroller (not the bassinet):

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41bQKF5OLwL._SS400_.jpg

Does anyone know how old a child should be to use the stroller seat? Our son is a big boy, and will probably be around 17 or 18 pounds by the time we go. We're not going to have a rental car, and will rely on the shuttle to take us from the airport to the hotel. The rest of the time we'll just be walking.

Any advice is appreciated.

[ayeung]

Is that your stroller? DO NOT BRING THAT. That's too nice to bring on the plane IMHO.

You probably will be better off to rent a car than use the shuttle. I just came back from Vegas in Oct/Nov with my then 9/10 months old and it was about $15/day for a compact car or about $30/day for a van. These are some useful websites:

Transportation in Vegas:
http://off2vegas.com/transit.html

Car rental rate check here and then book with the respective car rental company directly (book early if the rate is good, they don't ask for your credit card # now and there is no cancellation or no show penalty):
http://www.travelnow.com/cars/search.jsp?cid=48817

Depending how many days you are going ... last time we stayed there 4 nights and we visited the nearest Walmart (10 mins) for "infant use water", baby food etc).

We brought our car seat and stroller as well, but next time, I will probably bring a cheap stroller. We flew with Air Canada and checked the car seat & stroller at Toronto (fragile) BUT from Vegas to Toronto, they don't have fragile check in and refused to handle it with special care with our car seat. The stroller then has lots of scratches, cup holder attachment broken, and the wheels misaligned that I have to replace them after the trip. They just threw it even it has a "fragile" sticker.

[bubba_gump]

Hi, we're going to Vegas as well in a couple of weeks. We decided not to rent a car except for our day trip to grand canyon(I know, this is gonna be a killer drive to do in one day).

Were you guys able to get into the hotels or casinos with the baby? How hard was it to travel around without a car?

[spdztr]

Thanks for the tips. Yes, that is our stroller (FirstWheels Elite). I don't want to have to buy something else to take, so I think we're stuck taking it with.
I may do a cheap car rental just to have in case of emergency, but in terms of long walks, which would be more confortable for the infant?

Oh, and we're flying WestJet, if it makes any difference with handling fragile items.




Is that your stroller? DO NOT BRING THAT. That's too nice to bring on the plane IMHO.

You probably will be better off to rent a car than use the shuttle. I just came back from Vegas in Oct/Nov with my then 9/10 months old and it was about $15/day for a compact car or about $30/day for a van. These are some useful websites:

Transportation in Vegas:
http://off2vegas.com/transit.html

Car rental rate check here and then book with the respective car rental company directly (book early if the rate is good, they don't ask for your credit card # now and there is no cancellation or no show penalty):
http://www.travelnow.com/cars/search.jsp?cid=48817

Depending how many days you are going ... last time we stayed there 4 nights and we visited the nearest Walmart (10 mins) for "infant use water", baby food etc).

We brought our car seat and stroller as well, but next time, I will probably bring a cheap stroller. We flew with Air Canada and checked the car seat & stroller at Toronto (fragile) BUT from Vegas to Toronto, they don't have fragile check in and refused to handle it with special care with our car seat. The stroller then has lots of scratches, cup holder attachment broken, and the wheels misaligned that I have to replace them after the trip. They just threw it even it has a "fragile" sticker.

[ayeung]

Thanks for the tips. Yes, that is our stroller (FirstWheels Elite). I don't want to have to buy something else to take, so I think we're stuck taking it with.
I may do a cheap car rental just to have in case of emergency, but in terms of long walks, which would be more confortable for the infant?

Oh, and we're flying WestJet, if it makes any difference with handling fragile items.

If your child can sleep comfortably in the stroller w/o the infant car seat, definitely do that coz it's tiring enough to walk and walk and walk in Vegas and save the risk of compromising the safety of the car seat from letting it to go to airplane cargo. You should know better or try it out now at shopping mall to find out. I can't tell you coz I've a small baby (she is now about 18 pounds at 11 month) and she can't fall asleep in just the stroller.

From what I understand, it's the Vegas airport that doesn't have the fragile cargo belt like Toronto ... not sure if Westjet is willing to handle the car seat & stroller seperately for you. But AirCanada said no.

[ayeung]

Hi, we're going to Vegas as well in a couple of weeks. We decided not to rent a car except for our day trip to grand canyon(I know, this is gonna be a killer drive to do in one day).

Were you guys able to get into the hotels or casinos with the baby? How hard was it to travel around without a car?

First of all, that's a crazy idea to go to Grand Canyon in one day and rent the car for only 1 day! It's a 5+ hrs drive one way.

We don't gamble so we mainly just hotel hopping and shopping (Prime Outlet & Walmart near downtown, Fashion Show Mall, Cesar Forum etc). I did stop at slot machine and self talking with baby in front of it and was asked to leave and stay away from it. However, you are allow to go in and out the casino freely (w/o escort like in Niagara Falls) as long as you don't stop at the table/machine.

To travel around w/o car is not hard, but it'll be harder if you are with a baby unless you live very close within your activity area. 5 of us rented a Van ($30/day) last time and it was GREAT. Baby sleep in the infant car seat and I only need to bring a small diaper bag with me all time while leaving a day supply of diapers, formula, water, baby food, blanket, sweater, toys etc in the car. Usually $15 for a car, $30 for a Van, sometimes even cheaper while sometimes more expensive, depending on dates. There are free shuttle to the rental car terminal at the airport; otherwise, shuttle from airport to hotel/strip is about $10/pp or taxi will be about $15-20 anyways. Parking is easy in Vegas and free parking everywhere. Driving is not hard if you familiar yourself with the area and print out a map before trip (otherwise, free maps also available at many places in Vegas). The double-decker buses were always packed and the monorail is so expensive and doesn't have frequent enough stops. LOTS of taxi but I bet that will be expensive and you need a car seat for baby.

[bubba_gump]

Hehe, I know it's crazy to go to Grand Canyon for a day but we have no choice. We're not going to the main area anyways so I think once we see some nice scenery we'll be ok and maybe start heading back. We plan to rent the car for 2 days, one day for the Grand Cnayon trip and the next day for an outlet shopping trip. Thanks for the tips about getting around, I'm not a big gambler anyways so avoiding the slots will be easy. I might drop in a loonie before we go though, just in case.

Thinking of going to watch a Cirque show as well... depending if we can leave the baby with somebody... hehe

[ayeung]

Thinking of going to watch a Cirque show as well... depending if we can leave the baby with somebody... hehe

There are places where you can get some same day or next day show tickets for cheaper price. But of course, the popular O show may not be on the list.

Check this out: http://www.tix4tonight.com/

[bubba_gump]

There are places where you can get some same day or next day show tickets for cheaper price. But of course, the popular O show may not be on the list.

Check this out: http://www.tix4tonight.com/

Thanks! I think my wife might be booking the tickets before we get there, we're travelling to meet some relatives so we're hoping they can babysit while we go watch.

Also, we feeding our daughter formula so we need hot/warm water all the time. For the long trip to the grand canyon, is there a lot of places we can stop like service stations? Or am I going to have to get a portable water boiler?

[ayeung]

Thanks! I think my wife might be booking the tickets before we get there, we're travelling to meet some relatives so we're hoping they can babysit while we go watch.

Also, we feeding our daughter formula so we need hot/warm water all the time. For the long trip to the grand canyon, is there a lot of places we can stop like service stations? Or am I going to have to get a portable water boiler?

I brought a Thermo vacuum hot water bottle and have it refilled once a day at a clean restaurant (some restaurant has filtered boiled water) or you can also filled it at your relative's house?. I bought jugs of "infant use water" (for baby and also for ourselves) from Walmart and mix the cold and hot with formula. There are 3 - 4 Walmart around Vegas strip.

[lochlan651]

Do not forget that if you are flying you need a passport for your baby.

My sister and brother tried to fly to Atlanta this pas weekend with their 10 week old and could not because the baby was not allowed on the plane without a passport.

From the Air Canada site...



To the US
January 8th, 2007, all passengers including Canadian and U.S. citizens will be required to present a valid passport when traveling by air between Canada and the United States. We strongly recommend customers who do not hold valid passports apply for new passports well in advance of travel plans. For further information, please click here .

Minor children (children under the age of 18) travelling to the USA are subject to the same entry requirements as adults.

[spdztr]

Yup, picked up his passport last week. As an FYI, you can get a passport without a birth certificate. We're still waiting for the birth certificate, but if you have a Travel Letter from the city, and proof that you have plane tickets (the passport people actually need to see your booked tickets, showing $0 balance), then you can get a temporary passport for 1 year. Once you get a birth certificate, you can extend it to 3 years.

Do not forget that if you are flying you need a passport for your baby.

My sister and brother tried to fly to Atlanta this pas weekend with their 10 week old and could not because the baby was not allowed on the plane without a passport.

From the Air Canada site...

[miguel sanchez]

WARNING regarding Air Canada: they recently changed their gate-check policy for strollers. Only smaller umbrella-type strollers can now be gate-checked. I wouldn't want to check a nice stroller like yours through the baggage system unless it was well packed. Aluminum frames tend to bend easily when thrown around like most baggage is.

See this link (http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/youngtravellers/infant-child.html) for more details.

I'm not sure if WestJet has a similar policy.

[spdztr]

Westjet doesn't stipulate what kind of stroller you can take:

Extra baggage allowance: Guests travelling with infants may check in a car seat and stroller at no additional charge. A playpen may be substituted for either a car seat or stroller.




WARNING regarding Air Canada: they recently changed their gate-check policy for strollers. Only smaller umbrella-type strollers can now be gate-checked. I wouldn't want to check a nice stroller like yours through the baggage system unless it was well packed. Aluminum frames tend to bend easily when thrown around like most baggage is.

See this link (http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/youngtravellers/infant-child.html) for more details.

I'm not sure if WestJet has a similar policy.

[heikesdad]

just back from vegas. I would recommend renting a car, we got a ford fusion for $13/day, which is cheaper than one taxi ride. Try CarRentals.com, some hotel casinos are very smoky, specifically the Rio.

have fun

[ayeung]

WARNING regarding Air Canada: they recently changed their gate-check policy for strollers. Only smaller umbrella-type strollers can now be gate-checked. I wouldn't want to check a nice stroller like yours through the baggage system unless it was well packed. Aluminum frames tend to bend easily when thrown around like most baggage is.

See this link (http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/youngtravellers/infant-child.html) for more details.

I'm not sure if WestJet has a similar policy.

That seems to be the case for the longest time as long as I can remember. And only umbrella style stroller within the size limit. Mine was the umbrella style but longer and wider so they made me check in at counter. I do agree with u not to bring expensive stroller on flight (gate check or not).

Westjet doesn't stipulate what kind of stroller you can take:

All airlines will put your stroller in the cargo anyways, it's just a matter where you drop it off (at the gate or check in counter). So, to some degree, you are risking your nice expensive stroller being exploited when threw into the cargo. I experienced this and I would buy a cheaper stroller for travel (you can resell it if you don't need it after the trip).

[bubba_gump]

just back from vegas. I would recommend renting a car, we got a ford fusion for $13/day, which is cheaper than one taxi ride. Try CarRentals.com, some hotel casinos are very smoky, specifically the Rio.

have fun

I'm getting concerned not that everybody is saying to rent a car for the whole trip. Is it because there is a lot to see or is it because the places are far apart from each other?

[ayeung]

I'm getting concerned not that everybody is saying to rent a car for the whole trip. Is it because there is a lot to see or is it because the places are far apart from each other?

It's a long walk from one hotel to another; they are far apart from each other because each building is huuuuuuge. Don't let the strip hotel map fools you. If you tell us where you are planning to stay, we can tell you basically where you can walk. If you plan to take transportation (bus, taxi, monorail etc), forget it, rent a car, cheaper.

For example, from Treasure Island to Paris Paris & is a 2+ hr walk with stroller (meaning you have to go up & down elevator/escalator all the time) if I remember correctly and we only stopped for ice-cream, washroom and no more than half hour of lounging around.

RENTING A CAR IS CHEAP IN VEGAS AND CONVENIENT WITH A BABY!!

[spdztr]

We're staying at the Hilton Flamingo, which is pretty well central to everything. As such, I don't think we'll be renting a car.

[kaimui22]

have you considered using a baby carrier (ex. snuggly, baby bjorn etc) instead of a stroller? It'll make things SO MUCH easier..of course it's taxing on your back but you'll save a lot of time looking for elevators, dodging people on the sidewalk, getting on and off the curbs...etc

going to such a packed and busy place, a baby carrier will save you a lot more time and energy...also it's a lot safer because people around you are smoking and you wouldn't want their cigarette butts or smoke dropping onto/into your stroller.

just put all your diaper bag stuff into a backpack, and carry the baby in front and the baby bag in the back..it'll make life sooo much easier

we just travelled to asia with our baby and for the month and a half we were there, we probably used the stroller for about 5 times...the rest of the time we were glad to use the baby carrier so we can go on escalators/stairs etc etc

[spdztr]

Yes, we'll be bringing with the Baby Bjorn Active also, but I don't know if he'll last hours in it at a time.

[bubba_gump]

Ok, you guys have convinced me, I've booked a rental car for our trip there. I might regret it but at least I have some peace of mind that we have a car to get around. Only problem now is that I don't want to have to bring our car seat, I'm gonna have to get one from the rental company.

[ayeung]

Ok, you guys have convinced me, I've booked a rental car for our trip there. I might regret it but at least I have some peace of mind that we have a car to get around. Only problem now is that I don't want to have to bring our car seat, I'm gonna have to get one from the rental company.

Given car rental is so cheap in Vegas, no doubt many people will recommend renting one. However, you will run into extra cost if you get a car seat from car rental company (like about $10 extra a day).

If you want to see different hotels, having a car is much easier & cheaper speaking from experience although it can also be done without a car. Luxor, Paris Paris, M&M (next to MGM), MGM (to see the lions - free), New York New York, Treasure Island, Bellagio (dinner buffet is very good, must try even more expensive than other, about $30/pp), Cesar/Forum Shop, Fashion Show Mall, Prime Outlet (off strip near downtown), Stratophere's observation tower (for a fee) and if you want to visit Walmart for snacks & water for yourself & baby .... etc etc.

[spdztr]

I guess it depends on the purpose of your trip. We're planning on just walking around and taking it easy for the 4 or 5 days we're there. Because we're central to everything, I think it would be more of a hassle to get in/out of the car everywhere, and always be looking for parking. By the time you walk from a parking lot to the hotel/casino, you would have been halfway to the next hotel already.

[bubba_gump]

For us, we're staying outside the strip so it might be more beneficial to rent a car. I didn't know about the extra charge for the car seat though, that hurts. I might have to think about bringing ours instead.

So Belagio buffet is recommended? Any other recommendations for food?

Was thinking of going to Bouchon, might be the closest I'll ever get to be in one of Thomas Kellers restaurants :)

[AudiDude]

Ok, you guys have convinced me, I've booked a rental car for our trip there. I might regret it but at least I have some peace of mind that we have a car to get around. Only problem now is that I don't want to have to bring our car seat, I'm gonna have to get one from the rental company.

You won't regret it. Most naysayers have never rented anyway. I too rented a car for the trip to the Grand Canyon in 2006. When I was supposed to return it, I informed them that I would be keeping the car for the rest of the trip.2007 I had a rental from beginning to end, and I went and shopped everywhere. That is the key to relaxation on vacation, not hurrying through crowds on foot because you're 1 Km away from the next attraction.

Every parking lot was a 30-60 second walk from an entrance to a hotel/casino and every hotel/casino has parking for free. Seriously there are way more people in your way and traffic jams on the sidewalks.If you left the Bellagio to walk across the street to Paris by the time you got most of the way down the driveway I would be passing you in the car (this is without having to walk with children as well). With no car, where do you put anything you have purchased that day?

When I arrive, a shuttle takes me and my luggage to my car. When I leave, I pull up in the car, grab my luggage and a bus takes me back to the main terminal. You can see 40% more Vegas for a little more money and go off strip as well. You can go to Fremont St. in your car, or take a bus or taxi ($$)with your day's shopping and kid paraphanalia in hand because you have no trunk...

When you are done, come back and tell us if you really regret renting a car, I don't think you will.

[peroorim]

Ok, you guys have convinced me, I've booked a rental car for our trip there. I might regret it but at least I have some peace of mind that we have a car to get around. Only problem now is that I don't want to have to bring our car seat, I'm gonna have to get one from the rental company.

Most companies have only the convertible car seat (from 22 pounds) and not the bucket. I would recommend double checking the type they have, or better just bring yours. Will save you money and will be more convenient as you and your child are used to it.

[bubba_gump]

When you are done, come back and tell us if you really regret renting a car, I don't think you will.

Hehehe, thanks for the reassurance, I prefer to anyways but I know my wife will say otherwise. She's already said that the cost for the rental car will be coming out of my PS3 fund, to which I replied that she won't be allowed to come with us in the car then to go around :)

[bubba_gump]

Most companies have only the convertible car seat (from 22 pounds) and not the bucket. I would recommend double checking the type they have, or better just bring yours. Will save you money and will be more convenient as you and your child are used to it.

Hmmm, this might cause a complication then, one more thing to bring aside from the stroller... Oh well, at least it just has to sit in the car.

[ayeung]

If you decided to rent a car, also reserve a car seat. Otherwise, bring your own. I did bring my own (mine can be used without the base) but then I didn't get my LO a seat on the plane and the plane were overbooked, hence I have to send it to the cargo.

Make sure you have a fragile sticker AND your address in both Vegas and Toronto on your stroller and car seat. Some airplane will also provide a plastic bag to store your car seat in their cargo and I just bought a linen bag from dollar store. If your place is not full, check with your airline to see if they can give your child a seat and let you bring the car seat to the plane.

[AudiDude]

Hehehe, thanks for the reassurance, I prefer to anyways but I know my wife will say otherwise. She's already said that the cost for the rental car will be coming out of my PS3 fund, to which I replied that she won't be allowed to come with us in the car then to go around :)

Funny, that's something I would say to my GF. I'd let her ride though, of course I'd have to charge her for the "taxi" ride. You could use the money to replenish the PS3 fund. Bottom line is you get to relax and see more Vegas because you aren't spending 50% of your time walking, so it is cheaper to stay there for less time and rent a car because you will see more, if you catch my drift. She'll see that it was a good idea in the end. Besides I give you full permission to blame me so you can get out of the doghouse in case anything backfires.