Family-friendly things to do in Nassau

[SylviaL]

What are some family-friendly things we can do in Nassau? Our family includes me, DH, DS8, DS6 and DD2. I had originally planned to go to Atlantis to see the Dig but after reading a thread about it, it doesn't sound like it would be worth the money. On our last cruise, we walked to the Pirate Museum and then went back to the ship. I am content to stay on the ship but DH wants to get off. It would be possible for DH to just take DS8 and DS6 on an excursion. We leave a week from Thursday! Thanks.

[Tab2Disney]

I don't have an answer but a question for you,
Did you like the Pirate museum? How long did it take?
We will have to 7yo's with us. We were probably
planning on staying onboard. Isn't it less crowded then, for the kids?
Sorry to hijack your question.

[andrewsmommy]

We have a 6 and 2 year old as well, and think we're going to do the Ardastra Gardens on our own (to skip the tour after). I was there with DH years ago and it is small but fun, and the flamingo show is unusual and you can feed the birds.

[Homemom]

Originally Posted by andrewsmommy

We have a 6 and 2 year old as well, and think we're going to do the Ardastra Gardens on our own (to skip the tour after). I was there with DH years ago and it is small but fun, and the flamingo show is unusual and you can feed the birds.

We were planning on doing the tour for this. Is there any particular reason you did it on your own? We will have a 9 and 1 year old. TIA

[stingmom]

they have the most beautiful lorrey birds to feed. We would take a cab next time. The bus stop is several blocks down the hill from the gardens. Very small and "low key" garden.

Originally Posted by andrewsmommy

We have a 6 and 2 year old as well, and think we're going to do the Ardastra Gardens on our own (to skip the tour after). I was there with DH years ago and it is small but fun, and the flamingo show is unusual and you can feed the birds.

[andrewsmommy]

We're not doing the excursion because we don't want to be tied to the times and to the tour of Nassau by bus afterward, which would bore my kids.

It will be cheaper as well - Someone told me it was $4/person each way by taxi, and the entrance is $15 each adult, $7.50 kids over 3, and free under 3.

[Elisa and Harris]

we will probably stay on board. I haven't heard the greatest things about Nassau anyway. (Me, my hubby and 3 y.o. daughter)

[SylviaL]

Thanks for the Ardastra Gardens. I like "low-key" so we might just do that. DH is considering the stingray excursion or maybe the glass-bottom boat. We are going to ask the kids.

We really enjoyed the pirate museum. My boys were 4 and 6 at the time. The walk took about 15 minutes. The rooms have different scenes--outside the ship/inside the ship. Beware, there was was a school group in front of us and one room had a scene where there were some gunshots fired (can't remember if the mannequins moved) and several (like 10) little kids came running back towards us screaming! It scared us and our kids. We spent about 45 minutes at the museum. Then we went back to the ship and had a nice, leisurely lunch at Triton's (mostly empty) while the boys did some cooking thing in the kids' club. Then, we went swimming but the pool was pretty crowded. Hope that helps.

[TraciM]

Originally Posted by SylviaL

What are some family-friendly things we can do in Nassau? Our family includes me, DH, DS8, DS6 and DD2. I had originally planned to go to Atlantis to see the Dig but after reading a thread about it, it doesn't sound like it would be worth the money. On our last cruise, we walked to the Pirate Museum and then went back to the ship. I am content to stay on the ship but DH wants to get off. It would be possible for DH to just take DS8 and DS6 on an excursion. We leave a week from Thursday! Thanks.

We were in a similar situation. We had 6 of us so spending the money for The Dig was out of the question. We took a cab to Atlantis and walked around and snapped some pictures. Then we went to town and walked to some shops and did The Pirate Museum. It did not take that long and was fairly inexpensive. It was enjoyable (with a/c) and we got some great pictures to show for it. All we did took less than an afternoon and we were back on the ship by lunch. I don’t feel I missed out by not doing something. I will be honest that I was not impressed with Nassau but I am glad I got to see it and experience the culture as did my kids(12 and 9).

[disney1990]

We plan on doing a carriage ride through the city at $10 a person on our next trip. Last time we walked up to Ft. Fincastle and the Queen's Stairs. The view looking back down at the boat is really nice.

[es45]

Originally Posted by disney1990

We plan on doing a carriage ride through the city at $10 a person on our next trip. Last time we walked up to Ft. Fincastle and the Queen's Stairs. The view looking back down at the boat is really nice.

Have you done a carriage ride before? We are thinking of this as we are traveling with two elderly people; we thought this would be the perfect excursion for them. However, I can't find any details.

[genmasjoy]

The carriages are lined up after you leave the port area. Not necessary to arrange in advance. Be sure you agree on the price with the driver in advance and be sure to have exact change. The ride is about a half hour and the driver will point out the sights.

[es45]

Originally Posted by genmasjoy

The carriages are lined up after you leave the port area. Not necessary to arrange in advance. Be sure you agree on the price with the driver in advance and be sure to have exact change. The ride is about a half hour and the driver will point out the sights.

Thanks; are the carriages large enough for 6 people (4 adults, 2 children)?

[disney1990]

From what I understand, the carriages only hold 4 people; we have 5 so we are going to have to get 2 that will agree to travel together.

[KSandbergFL]

Originally Posted by SylviaL

What are some family-friendly things we can do in Nassau? Our family includes me, DH, DS8, DS6 and DD2. I had originally planned to go to Atlantis to see the Dig but after reading a thread about it, it doesn't sound like it would be worth the money. On our last cruise, we walked to the Pirate Museum and then went back to the ship. I am content to stay on the ship but DH wants to get off. It would be possible for DH to just take DS8 and DS6 on an excursion. We leave a week from Thursday! Thanks.

Does your family enjoy the beach? If you're up for taking a cab ride to the beach, I can highly recommend Cabbage Beach - a free public beach on Paradise Island, about 3/4 mile down the beach from Atlantis. In Sept 2009, we took our DS7 there, and had an awesome time (but, we are beach bums to start with!).

It was super-easy to get there (you're in the same shuttle bus that drives people to Atlantis), and I wouldn't be afraid to take a 2yr-old.

I posted a thorough trip report here: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...79&postcount=4

And I posted a 30-second quick view of the beach here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1857236...7622417122892/

You'll see my DS7 in the water with his snorkel mask on -- he was literally in the water from 10:30am to 4:00pm -- we had to grab his hand and drag him out of the water... he had SO much fun playing in the warm water.