Bahamas Family Vacation: The Atlantis

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My husband and I spent a couple of nights at The Atlantis during our honeymoon, and we knew it was a place we’d want to visit someday with our kids. We figured when the youngest was 5, it would be a good time to go. That way the kids can be old enough to do most of the slides and really enjoy the entire Bahamas family vacation.

That was our plan. But some things don’t always go perfectly, no matter how meticulously planned out they are. A mere 11 hours before our flight to the Bahamas, our 5-year old fell in the backyard and broke his arm. He and my husband went to the ER while I drove to different pharmacies looking for water-proof cast coverings to try to salvage as much of our vacation as possible.

In this case, if we had purchased trip insurance, maybe we would have considered postponing the trip. But we were going with another family and we were all so excited. So after a sleepless night in the ER and some long lines the next morning at the airport, we were finally on our way. Luckily, the rest of the Bahamas vacation went off without a hitch.

Choosing Where to Stay for Your Bahamas Family Vacation

We opted to stay in the Royal Tower, which is the main tower at the Atlantis. If you want to know which location is best for you, check out this Atlantis hotel comparison.

The Royal is home to the casino, aquariums, multiple restaurants, and it’s closest to the water park. Each morning, we would stop at the Starbucks kiosk in the Aquaventure Water Park for coffee and breakfast, and then post up in some lounge chairs for the better part of the day.

Other tower options consist of The Reef, an all-suite hotel great for families wanting more space; The Cove, a more upscale option; The Coral, a bit more budget-friendly option that’s still close to all the action; and The Harborside Resort, which is a bit removed but has full kitchens and separate living spaces.

Bahamas Family Vacation: With a Cast & Small Kids

The first day of our Bahamas family vacation was spent really trying to figure out what Emerson could do with his cast. We didn’t want to ruin it on day 1, so he took it easy at first, walking around and watching the sharks and sting rays. We found the baby slides that he could go down at a snail’s pace, not getting any part of him wet. But he got bored of that pretty quickly.

Then we discovered the splash area, with areas to climb, squirt water, and go down small slides. He could do all of that without ever being immersed in water. It was perfect for him! Between that area, and unlimited virgin daquiris, this kid wasn’t missing out on a thing.

The Water Park

The Aquaventure Water Park area has it all. A lazy river, that isn’t really lazy at all– it has some rapids in the beginning and takes you up a conveyor belt half way through–tall tower slides, innertube slides, and large, beautiful pools. There are lounge chairs set up in various areas near the pools. And we never had any issues getting a few close together where we could set up a home base.

Throughout the Atlantis waterpark, there are some food stands with sandwiches, burgers and wraps. You can also purchase adult beverages and shaved ice.

As fun as the waterpark is, you can’t go on a Bahamas family vacation without spending some time on the beach. There are lounge chairs set up on the sand as well. So you can relax with a beautiful view of the blue waters or cool off with an ocean swim. The water is clear enough that you can see fish swim by your feet.

Besides the Atlantis waterpark and beautiful beaches, The Atlantis also has many areas to explore. Various aquariums and lagoons are full of sea life for your viewing pleasure. You can see sting rays, hammer head sharks, lobster, grouper, eels, and the list goes on.

You can also schedule interactions with dolphins or go paddleboarding with them. We could see them playing and jumping in the lagoon from our balcony. We only did the free meet-and-greet visit with the dolphins since we’ve done other interactions with them in the past. It was a quick, up-close look at the dolphins in their lagoon, but it was very minimal. I think it was mostly to entice people to book extra interactions.

Food at The Atlantis: Pre-pay Options

Finally, the food. If you go to the Atlantis, I highly suggest you pre-pay for food credits. Your money will go further that way (they offer deals like get $15 free for every $100 you purchase). When we booked initially, there were meal packages that we added on, but after Covid, those packages haven’t returned, and I’m not sure that they will. We took the money we had paid towards the meal packages and bought that much worth of food credits.

I personally love an all-inclusive feel for our vacations–makes it way easier to say yes to everything the kids want. For the entire trip, every coffee, daquiri, sandwich, burger, pizza, sushi, etc., we ate was charged to our room, and those food credits covered it. In fact, we had quite a bit left at the end, so our last two nights consisted of feasts, trying to use all of our credits. Something to note, the credits only cover the food and beverages, so you will still need to pay the taxes and gratuities that accumulate.

Check out these other family all-inclusive resorts in the Bahamas and this list of the best family resorts in Nassau if you want to explore all options.

There are several Atlantis restaurants and quick-bite places throughout the various buildings of the Atlantis resort, and on the harbor. Burgers, Italian, Sushi, Mediterranean, steakhouses, and more. Some are more up-scale, some are very casual. There’s also a Ben & Jerry’s, which the kids enjoyed a couple of the nights.

More Amenities at the Atlantis

If you find yourself needing a break from the sun, you can escape to the spa or salon. They have a whole menu of services you can enjoy. I had a deep tissue massage and thoroughly enjoyed it.

You can also hit up the casino. While I didn’t try my luck, my husband did. He learned that, like Vegas, they will bring you free drinks while you’re gambling. However, they pour them strong and bring them very quickly. He might have been winning at one point, but by the end, he was probably giving our money away and was everyone’s best friend.

Despite a broken arm and rough start to the trip, we had a great Bahamas family vacation at the Atlantis. It’s definitely high on my list of best family vacation destinations for Spring Break.

Our kids ask to go back often, and someday we will. It would only be fair to let Emerson enjoy all the slides and activities without a cast holding him back. I highly recommend adding this resort to your family travel bucket list.

Until next time, Atlantis.

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Thinking of staying in the Bahamas, but not interested in the Atlantis? Check out our stay at the Viva Wyndham resort on the Grand Bahama Island plus these awesome all-inclusive resorts in the Bahamas. I also share even more family all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica.

Interested in more? Check out:

• The Best Turks and Caicos Family Resorts
• The Best Caribbean Islands for Families
• Disney Cruise: Western Caribbean on the Magic
• Atlantis, Bahamas: Which Hotel is Right for You?