Las Vegas with Teenagers: What's Allowed from 14, from 18 – and Where Only 21 Counts
Updated September 11, 2026 · 7 min read
With teenagers, Las Vegas is easier than with young children, and more complicated at the same time. Easier, because teenagers cope better with the heat, long distances and late evenings. More complicated, because many of the attractions that appeal to them come with an age limit, and these limits aren’t uniformly set at 18. Depending on the ride, tour and time of day, the age that counts is 14, 15, 18 or 21.
This article sorts the city by these limits. What applies to families with younger children, from the casino rule to the midday heat, is covered in the overview Las Vegas with Kids.
The Age Limits at a Glance
The details come from the booking pages of the listings on GetYourGuide, accessed in September 2026. The prices are the lowest currently bookable there. Both can change; the booking page on the day of booking is what counts.
| Attraction | Age rule | from |
|---|---|---|
| Flyover flight theatre | from 102 cm tall, up to age 13 only with a companion aged 14 or over | €24.98 |
| Shark Reef Aquarium | under 18 only with parents or legal guardians | €25.62 |
| Rides on the STRAT | under 18 not without a companion, up to age 15 only with parents | €29.24 |
| Go-kart racing at SPEED VEGAS | from age 14 and 150 cm | €30.14 |
| SkyJump from the STRAT | from age 14, under 18 with parental consent | €124.87 |
| Guided quad tour in the desert | not under 18 | €93.87 |
| Happy Half Hour on the High Roller | only from 21, even without alcohol | – |
Out Alone: When Teenagers Are Allowed Out Without Their Parents
In many families with teenagers, there comes a point where the children want to go out alone in the evening, to the fountain show, to go shopping, to Fremont Street. In Las Vegas, two different authorities regulate this.
On the Strip and the streets around it, the Clark County rule applies: on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays, minors under 18 may only be there between 9pm and 5am in the company of a parent or guardian. There’s no holiday exception on the Strip.
Fremont Street in Downtown belongs to the City of Las Vegas, and the city has set the same time for that district: Friday, Saturday, public holidays and New Year’s Eve, from 9pm, no one under 18 without parents. For the rest of the city, a general curfew applies. During the school term it runs from 10pm to 5am Sunday to Thursday, from midnight to 5am on Fridays and Saturdays, and every day from midnight to 5am during the summer and school holidays.
On top of that come the operators’ own rules. The Shark Reef Aquarium admits no one under 18 without parents or legal guardians, even at midday. On the STRAT’s rides, minors are excluded without a companion, and anyone 15 or younger must come with parents or legal guardians. At the Flyover, by contrast, a 14-year-old is already allowed to accompany a younger sibling.
Adrenaline: What 14- to 17-Year-Olds Are Actually Allowed to Do
This is the category that draws teenagers to Las Vegas, and the one where four of the seven age limits in the table above apply. An overview of all the listings is at Adrenaline Adventures Las Vegas.
The rides on the STRAT. Big Shot shoots riders from a platform at around 281 metres up about 49 metres up the mast in a few seconds, at around 72 km/h. X-Scream tips a row of seats at 264 metres head-first about 8 metres out over the tower’s edge. The ticket for the rides starts from €29.24. Teenagers can’t ride alone there: the booking page excludes minors without a companion, and up to age 15 it has to be a parent or legal guardian. When a thunderstorm moves in, the rides shut down. One guest reports being offered the next day or a refund; ask on the spot before you replan.
SkyJump. The secured jump from the STRAT is open from age 14, but the conditions are strict: under 18, a parent with valid ID must sign a waiver on site, otherwise a notarised letter of consent is required. A parent who’s already back at the hotel doesn’t count, then. On top of that, a minimum height of 132 cm and a maximum weight of 120 kg apply. The ticket costs from €124.87; a video costs extra, according to reviews.
Go-karts. SPEED VEGAS offers racing on an outdoor track from €30.14, with each run lasting eight minutes. Minimum age 14, minimum height 150 cm. The listing has only a handful of reviews on GetYourGuide so far; one guest writes that it was still very hot even at 5pm.
Quad tours through the desert. This is where it ends for teenagers. Both quad tours in our listings, the guided tour from €93.87 and the tour through the Mojave Desert from €90.43, are stated on the booking page as unsuitable for under-18s. Whether operators outside these listings take younger children along as passengers, and from what age, we haven’t checked; that’s only stated on their own websites.
Shooting ranges. Shooting a machine gun and a rifle in the desert starts from €43.06. The booking page states no minimum age. Whether and from what age teenagers are allowed to shoot is something to clarify directly with the operator before booking, not just at the range.
Indoors, When It’s 40 Degrees Outside
Teenagers cope better with heat, but they don’t enjoy walking across shadeless bridges at midday in July. The hours between midday and early evening belong indoors.
The Sphere shows “The Wizard of Oz” as a 75-minute performance with images all around and vibrating seats, from €106.79. For teenagers, this is often the highlight of the trip. The booking page excludes people with back or heart problems and pregnant women, which is more likely to affect the parents than the children.
The Flyover lasts around 30 minutes and costs from €24.98. According to the booking page, you stand for 20 to 30 minutes during it, worth knowing if legs are already tired.
Anyone who likes history will find the story of the mafia in Las Vegas at the Mob Museum in Downtown, housed in the former federal courthouse, from €30.10. It’s within walking distance of Fremont Street and fits well into an afternoon before the street livens up in the evening.
The High Roller big wheel from €18.43 is often too tame for 16-year-olds. But it’s the cheapest viewpoint ticket in this site’s listings, and day tickets run from noon to 5pm. The pod with the open bar, the Happy Half Hour, on the other hand, is strictly 21 and over, even for teenagers who don’t want to drink.
More ideas with prices are at Things to Do in Las Vegas and at Las Vegas Shows and Tickets. For shows, each production sets its own age limit.
At 18, 19 or 20: Adult at Home, Not Quite in Nevada
This group is often forgotten when planning. Anyone who’s 18 can go on the quad tour and doesn’t need a parent’s signature for SkyJump. But anything to do with alcohol or gambling stays off-limits until 21. That covers not just bars, but the gaming tables and machines in the casino, most clubs and the Happy Half Hour on the High Roller.
For a family with a 19-year-old, that means: the child can walk the Strip alone at night, but can’t join their parents at the roulette table. Anyone wanting to give them a night at a club as a birthday present should take a close look at the listings at Las Vegas Nightlife beforehand.
Excursions: What Appeals to Teenagers More Than the Viewpoint
The Grand Canyon is a must-see destination, but for teenagers, viewed from the railing it’s over quickly. What captures them is usually the journey there. Which route suits which age, from bus to helicopter, is covered in the article Grand Canyon with Kids; the listings themselves are at Grand Canyon Tours from Las Vegas.
Closer and shorter is a helicopter flight over the Strip at night. It lasts around 11 to 12 minutes and starts from €85.26. Age rules differ by operator; all the flights are at Helicopter Tours Las Vegas.
For teenagers who’d rather walk than sit, Valley of Fire is a better day trip than a 17-hour drive to Arizona. The small-group tour, with a maximum of 13 people, takes six hours, lunch included, from €85.26. More destinations are at Desert and National Park Tours and in What to See in Nevada.
When to Skip It
If your teenager is mainly hoping for the quad tour or a club and is under 18 or 21, don’t plan Las Vegas around that one wish. The disappointment on the spot is bigger than the anticipation back home.
If you want to send your teenager out alone in the evening, don’t do it on Fridays or Saturdays, and don’t assume the holidays change anything about that. On the Strip and at Fremont Street, they don’t.
And if you don’t want to come along yourself for SkyJump, only the notarised letter remains. That’s hard to arrange once you’re already on holiday, so sort it out before you leave.
What else there is to see in the city is covered in What to See in Las Vegas.
