Atlantis at The Bahamas is a super fun place to visit with a family. No way you will get bored at the Resort. They have activities for everyone no matter the age. However, keeping this vacation on a budget requires a little bit of work and research ahead of time. Here are tips on how to save money at the resort without missing the fun of it. I personally did all of these without feeling I was missing the fun!
1. Arrange transportation ahead of time with an outside company (airport to resort round trip)
Some people get afraid to go with a non-resort company when visiting foreign countries but this tip could really save a lot of money on this trip! I did some research before selecting a company and I was really happy with the company I used. I used Cheryl’s Bahamas Taxi and Tours. They greeted us just outside the airport door with our names. They wear blue and yellow uniforms and once we go to the car, even Cheryl was there to say hi with a smile. They gave us juices for the kids and some grown up juices (Bahama Mamas). They were very professional and I totally recommend them.
2. Make a stop to buy groceries, drinks and alcohol
As part of the transportation arrangement, I asked for them to make a stop at the grocery store and the liquor store (they were both next to each other). We bought breakfast items, snacks, drinks and wine. We ate breakfast in our room everyday (which was real nice and relax) and had snacks throughout the day. There is an option to order groceries at the resort but the prices of the items are quite high and there is a fee for the order but we did not needed it because we made the stop on the way to the hotel.
Instead of going for drinks at night, we would go outside/downstairs with our bottles of wine to have lovely quality time while having great conversations (there was a bottle opener in the room and wine glasses). This saved us a lot of money.
3. Stay in a tower with a kitchenette (if you buy groceries, this is very convenient for some quick snacks or food)
We stayed at the Reef and our room had a kitchenette with an electric stove, a microwave, a sink, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, and even a dishwasher. They also provide dishes, pots, utensils, a bottle opener, dishwashing soap. sponge, and pretty much anything you need to make some quick food if needed. We only had cold breakfast, coffee and snacks in the room. We never really cooked in the room, other than making microwave pop corn but we used the plates, cups and utensils everyday.
4. Pack an empty bottle for water for the day (or use the empty bottle from the room since some water bottles are complementary per day).
The resort has water in all the lobbies and they also have refill stations throughout the resort.
5. Pack the essentials (plenty of sunblock!)
If you do not, you may need to buy items at the resort which is quite expensive. I have another blog post with a list of what to pack for this resort that will help you pack all the essentials.
6. If you are flexible with the dates, look for special offers from the resort. We had a $200 credit during our stay which was deducted at check-out.
7. You do not need to book expensive events to have fun. There is plenty to do that it is included, make sure you grab the daily agenda to know what is available that day.
Other tips: We did not order food from outside the hotel, but we saw delivery cars from pizza places like dominos pizza. You could take a long walk or a taxi to go outside the resort for food or drinks but we did not experienced this for our family. In one of the pool events, I personally volunteerEd to play some games with the kids and the volunteers got some Atlantis “schwag”. Not sure if that is the norm but maybe a way to score some Atlantis “stuff”.
We had an amazing time at the Resort and with these tips we never felt we were missing out.