Hi friends!!
I am back today sharing all about our family trip to Atlantis. It was a great trip + highly recommend it.
HOTEL:
Atlantis is a huge resort so there is lots of towers you can stay at. We stayed at the Harborside which are suited with a full kitchen. Highly recommend getting a place with a kitchen so you can go to the grocery store and save $$ by not eating out for every meal.
TRANSPORTATION:
Good news is you don't need to rent a car. You just need to pay for your trip to and from the airport.
There are free shuttles that run every 5-15 minutes between the various hotels, the marina village and the harbor. The shuttles can take up to 45 minutes to get to your destination so we ended up walking most places. Just make sure to pack everything with you each day as there's no quick trip back to your room.
Taxis are also available at each hotel/tower if you would like to take a trip to Nassau downtown but they are pricey. They are a minimum of $20 to just get over the bridge.
FOOD/RESTAURANTS:
Everything in the Bahamas is $$$ because thy import everything. But Atlantis is a nice resort so prices are even higher. There is a 10% VAT tax and additional 15% gratuity on top of all food and drink purchases. Yes even if you get a coffee at the coffee shop there's a 25% up charge and there's nothing you can do about it so be prepared. There's lots of restaurants and food options everywhere but honestly the food was not that great. Think of it like a theme park with expensive food prices but not amazing quality. If you are planning to drink at the pool you can purchase their refillable cup which gets you unlimited soda refills and a cheaper price on alcoholic drink refills. I would recommend getting one the first day if that is something you plan on doing during the week.
ACTIVITIES AT THE RESORT:
The waterpark is by far the best part of Atlantis. All water slides are unique and a great time. If you are bringing kids the height requirements is 48 inches for all the rides except the little kiddie area. Their tube rides are so much fun and they have a rapids river that is over a mile long and takes about 30 minutes to get through.
The aquariums at Atlantis are amazing. There's a main one at the entrance of the hotel and then there are a couple more. Highly recommend checking out the predator one that has all different types of sharks.
There are tons of other activities such as movies, cooking classes, craft making, kids club passes and more but most everything is an additional upcharge. Our kids checked out the teen club that they have every evening which was a good time but $30 per person.
There are lots of different beaches + pools you can hang out at so you can switch up your scenery everyday if you'd like. Since the resort is so big there's lots of open spots everywhere + you don't have to stress about saving pool chairs first thing in the morning when it opens.
SWIM WITH PIGS EXCURSION:
If you are looking to do an excursion I highly recommend doing the swimming with the pigs. You spend the day on an island with activities you can do at your own pace (about 20-30 minute boat ride to the island.) There is snorkeling, relaxing on the beach, large bouncy floats to play on and the beach swings. Feeding the pigs is at a designated time when they give you carrots to feed them and they release the pigs in the water to run and swim around. It is about 20 minutes in time for feeding the pigs. A food buffet and 1 nonalcoholic drink is included with your ticket price and then you can pay extra for any specialty drinks as there's a full bar there.
If you plan on doing this excursion do not purchase the ticket through Atlantis resort. They charge a huge fee ( for the resort to get their cut I am sure) when you can get the exact same tour for a fraction of the price off the resort. This is an off resort excursion anyways. I recommend going with Sand Dollar tours. They are the ones that actually own the island you are going to. When you purchase through the sand dollar company it is $99 per person and when booking through Atlantis it is $249 per person. And they are the exact same tour. Here is where you can book.
Overall, Atlantis was SO fun and definitely so much to do + experience. If you have never visited, I highly recommend it. Let me know if you have gone + what your favorite activities are!
