What do to in Nassua w/out booked excursion questions

[Scott Av]

Hi! I'm a fairly new poster and have recently learned a lot from this site in preparation for my family's upcoming 4-day Feb 16 Wonder cruise. Based on many of the opinions I've read on this site thus far regarding excursions, it seems that it would be much less expensive for us to just take a taxi to visit certain sites on Nassua rather than book an excursion.

My wife and I have a 3 and 5 yr old and plan to have them with us while we're sight-seeing during our stop in Nassua. We thought it might be fun and inexpensive to take a taxi to Atlantis, just to visit and look around the resort. Can we do this? Does it cost anything to be a visitor at Atlantis? Any info would be much appreciated.

Lastly, can anyone recommend any other fun non-excursion places/things that they've seen/done while visiting Nassua?

Thanks!

 

[Scott Av]

Bump!

 

[CSX2]

Scott Av,

We have gone to Atlantis twice. First time we used the excursion that gives you a boat ride over to Paradise Is. and then takes you on a guided tour of The Dig. This seemed a little too rushed and involved a lot of walking, especially for our 4y/o DD.

The second time we rented a room from the Comfort Suites across the street which gives you access to all of the pools, slides, beaches, casino, and The Dig. We did this with a 5y/o and a 7y/o and they loved it. The adults had a blast on the big slides also. We had a large group which allowed some adults to visit the casino while the kids played. We caught a taxi right off the gang plank and paid a very reasonable fare for the short ride over to Paradise Island.

I believe there are other options where you can get a "day room" at the Atlantis which would give you full access or purchase an arm band that allows you access to The Dig only.

I think you can walk in to the shopping area and casino with no charge.

The Dig is definitely worth seeing but much more enjoyable on your own at your own pace.

The only other place we visited in Nassau was the straw market which was no big deal in my opinion but an easy walk from the ship.

Have a great trip!

 

[Hopkins]

You could do a carriage ride tour of the historic downtown area. As you exit the docking piers, the carriage rides are to your right. We had a nice gentleman approach us asking if we wanted a carriage tour, so we never even had to get to the area and see how what kind of queing was going on. At the time we went, they had lots of carriages and no line, so they were looking for customers. He was energetic, knowledgeable, spoke english well and was very respectful. A very nice man. I've heard that sometimes they quote $10-$15/person, but negotiate down to $10. This gentleman started at $10/person and quoted $5 for the 12 year old. The tip was extra. Which we took to $30 for the three of us for 20 minutes.

Welcome to the DIS Family!

Hope this helps.
Tina

 

[MarkRG]

Yes, you can go to Atlantis by yourselves. It's pretty easy. The excursion is too rushed. You do need to buy passes to get access to the Dig, which is a very impressive aquarium, and a lot of the resort. It's a very beautiful resort. I have a prewritten answer for on the how-to part that I'll paste up following. I reccomend it highly!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

• Leave the ship and go to the end of the dock.
• Take one of the numerous taxis for (right now, price partially depends on a bridge toll) $5 per person to Atlantis, much more pleasant than the overcrowded water taxi.
• Walk to the center of the casino upon arrival, to the kiosk with the blue globe over it (Temple of the Moon).
• Buy a wristband for $25 each(for adults, I don't remember what kids were) for access to all the resort except the water recreation(you can still walk out to the beach, just not on it).
• Walk the Dig at your own pace. It's long, at least a mile or more, but it is exceptional. And you basically walk about 2/3 of the property in doing so, they give you a map. You can go where you wish, at your own pace.
• Whenever you're done, just go back to where you were dropped off for another taxi ride back to the ship.