Luxury camping has arrived at Atlantis Paradise Island, the top-ranked resort in the Bahamas. The all-new Marine Life Camping experience includes a behind-the-scenes tour of Dolphin Cay, snorkeling The Ruins at night, kayaking with dolphins and camping in a luxury tent. It's a whole new way to experience the No. 1 family resort in the Bahamas. Here's what you need to know, from how to book to what type of family should.
The writer was hosted.
When we booked our vacation to Atlantis Paradise Island, we knew we were about to experience the ultimate vacation with our family. The resort and the Aquaventure water park are packed with fun.
But I was completely blown away during my first visit to Atlantis. I quickly came to the realization that it would be hard to top this vacation!
Then I learned there is a way to make this great vacation even better: upgrades!
There are several ways to upgrade an Atlantis Bahamas vacation; the full list of experiences is here.
However, there is a NEW experience at Atlantis Bahamas that allowed my family and me to enjoy several of the activities and experience luxury camping under the stars!
The Marine Life Camping is a unique way to upgrade an Atlantis vacation that my family will never forget.
Does your family love adventure? Do you enjoy VIP behind-the-scenes tours? Does snorkeling and kayaking excite your family? Do you love nature and the chance to sleep under the stars?
These are just some of the fun adventures that you get to experience when you book this new experience.
This was easily my favorite part of the whole night. I've loved dolphins since I was a kid and being able to kayak with them was an experience that I'll never forget.
My three daughters spent the entire time laughing and watching the dolphins swim around them. My husband and I were each in a double kayak with our youngest daughters while my 13-year-old had a kayak all to herself.
We all walked away from that experience with the best memories.
Get ready to learn a lot about The Royal Towers Fish Hospital, Rehab Center and Fish Kitchen! You will also get to meet a pod of rescued dolphins, a family of sea lions, baby sea turtles and a variety of other sea life.
We came away from this part of the program with a whole new appreciation for how much Atlantis does to help rescue and rehabilitate marine animals.
Dolphin Cay is one of the largest and most sophisticated marine-mammal habitats in the world. Getting a VIP tour was educational and very special to us.
This was the part of the night that my 13-year-old and 11-year-old enjoyed the most. Atlantis provides the snorkel gear, then takes you on a guided snorkeling tour of the ruins.
We snorkled among stingrays, fish, sharks and more. My 9-year-old did less snorkeling and more swimming with her head above water because she was a little scared of all the sea life surrounding her. You will want to make sure ahead of time that everyone is onboard.
Snorkeling The Ruins at night is special. We felt like explorers hunting treasure in the ruins of Atlantis. I would say this was a 10/10 part of the night!
We ended the night around the campfire, enjoying s'mores and watching outdoor movies. We even enjoyed a little karaoke with another family which was a lot of fun. My oldest daughter, who has never sung in public, jumped right on the microphone and sang her heart out.
These are the moments and memories that family vacations are all about.
I woke up extra early, made a cup of coffee in my tent and went outside on the beach to listen and watch the dolphins as they played right outside of our tents.
Everyone packed up and came outside to get into the water to learn more about the dolphins currently at Dolphin Cay.
This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was the cherry on top of our marine life camping night.
Yes, you will be tent camping but don't worry, you won't have to sacrifice your nice resort bed for a sleeping bag on the ground. You will be staying in either a 4- or 6-person luxury tent that is climate controlled and pitched atop an elevated deck. Inside, we found cushioned cots with hotel-comfy bedding.
Our entire family slept great, we found the cots to be comfortable and easy to sleep on.
These tents will spoil every future camping experience we have. They are furnished with everything you need to make your stay comfortable, including a coffee pot, tea kettle, mini fridge (stocked with water) and the best snacks and treats our kids loved. The bathrooms and showers are only a short walk from the tents.
Our family was completely pleased with the entire Atlantis Marine Life Camping experience. In fact, it exceeded our expectations and our favorite memories from our vacation to Atlantis came from this fun program.
It's worth mentioning that I have a super adventurous family. We love outdoor activities and camping, which I think played a big role in our appreciation for this upgrade.
Is this experience right for every family? I'd answer no, only because a lot of the activities are more adventurous and require a family that is ready to embrace that.
This is also an expensive upgrade, so be prepared for that. You have to have a reservation at the resort for the night to book this experience, so technically you'll be paying for two different accommodations on the same night.
There are a few things you need to know about booking this experience:
We hope you enjoy this Atlantis Marine Life camping upgrade to your vacation and come away from it with all the fun memories that we did.