From the iconic slide I use to see on Nickelodeon, to the marine life and open beaches, staying at the Atlantis Resort was a dream come true.

Here are five things I wish I knew before staying at Atlantis:

Don’t tip. There’s a 15% tip included in every purchase you make - even on a $4 cup of starbucks coffee.

Plan ahead with snacks and drinks. That added 15% tip racks up money pretty quickly, especially when everything on Paradise Island is already expensive as is. I noticed many others that packed their own water bottles and snacks to bring to the beach in between larger meals. Unless you’ve got money to blow, this is definitely the way to go.

Get up early. The resort is huge, and there’s plenty of places to sit, but if you want to grab a spot by the slides, it’s best to go earlier rather than later. This isn’t always necessary, but on a few days out of the week there may be 3-4 cruise ships docked in Nassau. Once they get off the ship, a decent chunk of them show up to experience Atlantis - it’s like cruise takeover. This isn’t everyday, there’s not always 4 ships, and there’s usually no need to be down earlier than 9, but I do recommend checking the cruise schedule so you can gauge what you want to do and when.

Don’t pay to touch the dolphins. In the mornings, my family and I would sit in a little shaded area at high top tables and watch the dolphins with their trainers - this was really cool, secluded and never busy. However, we would also watch people (typically from the cruise ships) come in and do their “dolphin excursion.” This would consist of changing into a wet-suit, standing waist deep in the water, then getting a photo with the dolphin. That’s it. On the rare occasion that someone paid an even greater amount, they would get to hold onto the fin while the dolphin pulled them in a short straight line. It appeared to be a huge waste of money for an underwhelming experience, but to each their own (plus, watching was free and probably more fun).

Explore each hotel in the resort. Atlantis is home to one of the largest marine sanctuaries. Because of this, there are several different areas with different species. The main hotel has a Lost City themed aquarium, while others have hammerhead sharks, lobsters and baby sea turtles.  

Bonus tip:

Don’t flaunt your food around the seagulls. They will dive bomb you.