I received a
couple requests/PMs for this advice, so I decided to start a dedicated thread on ways to vacation at Atlantis-Paradise Island Bahamas, for less. My tips:
1.
Harborside timeshares....renting directly from owners, you can get a week at Atlantis for less. On places like
TUG or RedWeek, you can connect directly with an owner and get a deal...or book through an agent like
Family Fun at Atlantis, and have the security of a professional broker/business. Harborside units have cooking facilities so you don't have to eat out.
Atlantis access is included in a Harborside rental, so you don't have another $1,000 for park tickets once you get there. The downside of renting Harborside is you can only book in week long increments.
2.
Comfort Suites-Paradise Island...usually cheaper than the traditional Atlantis towers, but same access to facilities. Plus, includes breakfast and wifi, which can be a $100+ per day savings for families.
Since its part of the Comfort Suites chains, they sometimes run specials, and nightly rates can move around.
3.
Eat cheap...Atlantis is known for having expensive food. Very true, but the problem isn't so much everything's is expensive as it is that there are only a few places that are inexpensive. At dinner time, the only counter-service type place is the pizzeria...or the Quiznos. Yeah, its not glamorous to eat here, but it's decent quality taste and keeps you full.
Throw in a night at Johnny Rockets and you can feed your family for much less than the $75+ a person places that are the fine dining venues. Throw in a nicer family style meal at Carmines or Vergil's, and you can stretch one dinner into two.
4. And
don't do the meal plan. Its priced such that if you go light on a single meal on your trip, it offers no savings. Both the gourmet and value plans are not priced for value but for convenience. Pay as you go, have some pizza or burgers for dinner a few nights and save.
Now if the meal plan is thrown in for free for kids, it's worth evaluating, but you still have to consider how you plan to eat. For most people, the meal plan pre-locks you into paying for much more food than you'll actually eat. Meal plan could be a value with kids for free, but still consider whether you normally eat a full-Monty buffet every breakfast and dinner of a vacation.
5.
Your room pays for all the fun you really need. Unlike Disney or other theme parks, once you pay for your room, you *can be* done at Atlantis. Yes, there are excursions and dolphin experiences that cost extra....you don't have to do these to have a good time. I haven't been on an excursion in 10 years, and we've only done a dolphin experience once! And we go back annually and have enough fun that we want to go back again and again.
Plus there are lots of free activities: movie theater, trivia games, live music, touring the aquariums, and just a nice walk on the beach. Now people who need a snorkeling trip one day, jet skis the next, and a dolphin visit the next aren't going to find any place to vacation cheaply!
6. My traditional advice for people is to
book airfare separately from you hotel package. This is because Atlantis and the CS have a habit of putting out significant near-term discounts. If your airfare is included in a package, you can't rebook your hotel at lower rates, but a room-only package has pretty lenient cancellation policies. You then just re-book at the new rates.
I tell people to buy airfare when they find a good price, then book a room rate they are comfortable paying. Then keep an eye out for the discounts, sometime around three months before a trip. or if you live somewhere that has reasonable airfare to Nassau, do it on short notice.
7. Subscribe to
Travel Zoo newsletter (free). Occasionally, Atlantis offers discounts through codes they exclusively advertise on Travel Zoo. Pus, Travel Zoo keeps pretty good track of Atlantis' current general public discounts.
8. You a rated gambler? Atlantis will advance you comped rooms if you have an
elite card from certain casinos. Hit the required play and get your room for free.
9.
Go in the fall...aka hurricane season. Ocean water is warm, and the weather is nice, there's just the risk of a big storm. And rates are cheapest in September. Wife and I were actually at Atlantis once when a tropical storm (later grew to be a hurricane) passed through. Around noon, they closed own the outdoor activities and an secured loose stuff outside. Storm passed through late afternoon into the midnight hours. By 11 AM the next day, most pools were open for business and the skies were clear.
I'm happy to answer with questions.
ETA: And for a great set of Atlantis pictures, from Ricky Brigante the Inside the Magic pod-caster, click here.
