Is the expense of a one day excursion to tour the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas worth the money? We had to make a choice to spend the money to do it or skip it while on our family vacation.
My family was on a Disney Cruise and we were pondering our choices for port adventure excursions. We had many awesome excursions to choose from and some were cheaper than others. It was a hard decision considering we’re a family of five and this excursion was an expensive one at $79-$94 per person (check website for current rates per age). However, since we were on the cruise in the Caribbean, we decided to go for it because we wanted to make the most of our time in the Bahamas.
So…Is the Expense of a One Day Excursion to Atlantis Worth the Money?
My answer is yes! The Atlantis Beach Day and Discover Atlantis excursion is worth the money! It was an amazing and awesome experience is many ways. We loved it because:
- the scenery was so beautiful
- the sea creatures in the aquariums and lagoons were amazing
- the resort itself was gorgeous inside and out
- the beach was very nice (though vendors do approach)
- the snorkeling was fun in the sea-inlet away from big ocean waves and near live sea creatures
- I felt we could have spent even more time there than just one day because there was so much to see so we definitely got our moneys worth
- lunch was included
- Our family may never be able to afford to stay at the resort, so with day passes, at least we were able to enjoy the beauty and some of the amenities at Atlantis Paradise Island Resort
One Day Excursion to Atlantis Beach Day and Disover Atlantis
My family disembarked the Disney Cruise ship (we were on the Magic) when the ship arrived at the Nassau, Bahamas port. We rode a shuttle bus for twenty-five minutes through Nassau to reach the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas resort.
The excursion passes gave us passage into Atlantis for a one day tour of the resort. We were also allowed to spend some time on the Atlantis beach area right on the Caribbean Sea, plus we were permitted to wander about “The Dig”, the open-air marine habitat, peruse shops, and hang out at the snorkel area and beach. Our excursion also included lunch for the five of us.
Arrival at the Resort
We arrived at the beautiful resort and the scenery was stunning. The fountains, architecture, and stone sea themed statues were breathtaking and majestic even at the entrance of the resort. The arch bridge structure between the two buildings was amazing to gaze upon, an amazing feat of construction. As we walked, we continued to be amazed by the resort’s decorations and architecture which were truly gorgeous to behold, including the seahorse and shell statues on the side of the walkway in the picture below.
Inside the Resort
We followed our tour guide through the building. We saw breathtaking glass chandeliers and glass sculptures, which we were informed were worth millions of dollars. The colors of glass were amazing, one piece was a ball with brilliant bright blue and white glass, plus another a medusa sunburst type sculpture with squiggley glass of yellow, red, and orange. I had never seen anything like them before in my life, they were exquisite and beautiful pieces. We loved the gorgeous statues and sea creature murals all over the buildings as well.
Inside the building, the resort also offered a casino and shops for shopping too. We didn’t take the time to shop because we wanted to see all the fun sights at Atlantis.
Day Tour
A resort tour guide led us around and explained how the day pass would work for us, what was included in our excursion pass, and how to traverse the resort. My youngest was thrilled to play tour guide for a few minutes when the guide let him carry the flag while we walked along.
Personal tip: We did a lot of walking at Atlantis so be sure to wear shoes that are comfortable to walk in and don’t bring too much to carry along. I suggest to only bring the essentials like a camera, sunscreen, beach coverup, goggles, passports (needed for reboarding the ship), and sunglasses. They gave us a bag and towels to use.
On to the Beach
The first resort stop on the day tour, after walking through the awesome shell roof building, was the beach area on the Caribbean Sea. My family spent a few minutes swimming in the gorgeous blue ocean on this beautiful white sand beach. We knew there was so much more to see at Atlantis, so after a short swim we headed out. We were excited to snorkel and go on our self-guided tour of “The Dig” marine life exhibits and lagoons.
Personal tip: Be aware that vendors do walk around the beach and approach visitors with attempts to sell products and goods.
I love all those shades of blue in the picture below! Just looking at the picture makes me want to go back.
Snorkel and Swim Time at the Sea-inlet
Our adventures continued as we headed over to the snorkel area. We were excited because our adventures had only just begun on our day at Atlantis because there was so much more to see.
My husband and two older boys snorkeled and swam around to see all the amazing sea creatures; they even spotted a huge lobster. I stayed near our youngest son on shore because he only wanted to swim and play. It was a beautiful beach to relax on, plus I was thrilled to lounge for a bit in a chair (a win-win for all). My youngest son enjoyed this beach for swimming because it did not have the large ocean waves being it was an inlet. We all enjoyed this area of the resort immensely.
The sand was perfect because it was white and soft, ideal for young kids to play in.
The resort offered life jackets and snorkel gear for visitors to use.
Fountains and Lagoons with Sea Creatures
We set out to walk the resort after swimming and snorkeling. We enjoyed all the gorgeous fountains and thirteen lagoons filled with thousands of sea creatures. The Atlantis website lists they house “more than 50,000 sea creatures representing 250 species”. The lagoons appeared to be truly well taken care of which is fabulous for the animals living there. I’m an animal lover so I am extremely pleased to see well taken care of animals. The water in the lagoons was crystal clear and this allowed for easy viewing of the beautiful sea animals.
The plant life, flowers, and other foliage were gorgeous and well kept. I loved the beautiful water rapids outdoor display as well (see below).
Lunch
We ate a simple fast food type lunch near the pools and water slides of the resort.
The Dig, the Lost City of Atlantis
Next, my family trekked the self-guided tour of “The Dig”, which was an underground passageway through ruins filled with aquariums housing sea creatures. We loved the underground tunnels because it was a fun adventure. My boys thought it was super fun to walk through and they loved the surprise of what the next tank held. We saw many types of sea fish, lion fish, eels, piranhas, and jellyfish. My boys loved the tank of crabs too.
Another feature we loved was the amazing aquarium tunnel that guests walk under while fish and sharks swim overhead and to both sides.
We loved this whole marine life part of the resort as well, it was such a fun self-guided tour!
From The Passageways Right into The Lobby
We enjoyed walking through and exploring “The Dig” tunnels. We meandered along the passageway from amazing tank to amazing tank. As we walked through the passageways underground, the decor began to change from the dark ancient ruins theme to a bright white, sophisicated tropical themed lobby.
It was an unforgettable experience to simply walk into the lobby. I caught my breath when I stepped into the lobby with the sculpted ceilings, bright white majestic pillars, and tall palm trees. We loved the sea life murals, ball shaped fountains, and tropical decor; it was truly luxurious and just so stunning!
An amazing wonderous journey for my family. We highly recommend this excursion, even with the high price tage, because it offers so much excellent entertainment and fun to visitors.
I was amazed at the experience standing in this great hall and gazing about at the beautiful stonework, decorations, and fountains. These pictures don’t do it justice, there is nothing like standing in a great gorgeous hall such as this.
Other Resort Amenities
The resort offered super fun looking water slides, pools, and water parks including lazy rivers. We were only there for one day so we were not able to enjoy these amenities, though we would have loved to!
We Loved It!
We loved our day trip to Atlantis. I would go back again if every given the opportunity. Atlantis was so beautiful everywhere we looked with all the flowers, plants, fish, sting rays, sharks, sea creature lagoons, sea themed architecture, and sea animal statues. A truly gorgeous experience well worth the money. We will always remember our day at Atlantis which was packed with amazing sights and fun. A truly unforgettable family vacation memory!
If you liked this post about family travel, you might also like Review of Grand Palladium Mexican All-Inclusive Resort with a Family Focus or within the USA Family Travel Destination to Amazing Arizona.
I have noticed you don’t monetize juliehoagwriter.com,
don’t waste your traffic, you can earn additional bucks every month with new monetization method.
This is the best adsense alternative for any type of website (they approve all websites), for more details simply search
in gooogle: murgrabia’s tools
Thanks for the tip.
Thank you for your post. My family of 5 is about to take a cruise on RC. I am trying to decide if we should stay on the boat when we get to Bahamas, pay for an excursion or just get to a beach and relax. We only get 4 days on the boat and we have a 14, 9 and 3 yr old so the age gap is hard. I have a question for you, did your excursion not include the water park at Atlantis or did you just not have time to visit it?
Hello! Your family will have a blast! I recommend the excursion. Our excursion did not include the water park but I think my kids would have loved it. It’s a good excursion to span the ages because our excursion included swimming with optional snorkeling at the private area within the resort, plus viewing all the amazing sea life animals was a huge with all my boys. The inside of the resort was beautiful to walk through and we all enjoyed that. At the time my kids were 6, 9, and 11. They all enjoyed it as did my husband and I. We did walk a lot so a small umbrella stroller might be nice for your 3 year old if he or she tires easily with walking, something light you could also carry if he walks. It was expensive, but we felt it was well worth the cost. I hope you have a wonderful trip!!!