Visiting Atlantis on a Budget: Saving Money Atlantis Bahamas

Atlantis is a great place. But let’s be honest, if you’ve done any research on Atlantis, one of the first things you’ll probably learn is that it’s not exactly a budget-friendly destination.

Here are my tips on how to save money at Atlantis so that you can visit Atlantis Paradise Island on a budget:

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Accommodations

Let’s start with the very first step of booking your vacation at Atlantis – your hotel room. There are actually a number of ways to save money on just your room.

There are Multiple Accommodation Options at Atlantis

Atlantis is huge and one benefit of that is that there are various different options for lodging. Each option has a different price point. Here is a quick overview:

• The Coral tower is the most affordable. They’re less luxurious but still provide access to all of the amenities.
• Royal is more mid-range. It has the best location of all of the accommodation options if you want to be close to the pools, the water slides, and all there is to do at Atlantis. The Royal Towers are kind of the main attraction – they make up the infamous buildings you see in all of the Atlantis pictures/advertising.
• The Reef isn’t the most affordable option but rooms come with a kitchen, so you can cook in your room
• Cove is the most luxurious and upscale option (and of course, that also comes with a higher price tag)
• Harborside Resort is technically outside of the actual Atlantis resort. It has villas (including full kitchens) and are great for families or larger groups. This is also a more expensive option but can make sense financially if you have a larger group and want the full kitchen!

Book Your Hotel on Points

Atlantis is part of the Marriott Autograph Collection Hotels, so you can use points for your stay. Do note that you can only use your points for the Royal Towers, though.

The best way I accrue points for travel is by opening new credit cards for the sign up bonus. With Marriott, if you stay 4 nights on points, the 5th night is free (this is not true for cash, only on points).

Avoid Peak Season

Room rates vary at Atlantis but peak season generally means peak prices, so booking when it’s less busy will save you money on your hotel!

Generally, Atlantis is going to be more popular during holidays, things like spring break, and on the weekends. Peak season is typically December to April because that time of year typically has warm temperatures without being overly hot. If I’m being completely honest, sometimes it’s a little chilly for me during these months (Florida problems).

Hurricane season is also June through November, so you’ll want to keep that in mind. I never let that keep me from booking a trip, but I make sure that my travel insurance is good to go. This risk is totally up to your personal preference, though!

Sign up for their Emails

If you have some time before you need to book your trip, make sure you sign up for their emails because they send out some great deals.

I was able to book a deal for Florida residents which gave us 30% off of our booking plus $250 in resort credit.

Consider Nearby Hotels with Perks

This option is a little less convenient but can save you a lot of money. If you stay at Comfort Suites Paradise Island, you’ll get access to Atlantis facilities (the Aquaventure water park, pools, and beaches).

It is within walking distance to Atlantis. Comfort Suites also offers daily breakfast. There’s definitely no free breakfast at Atlantis, so this is another added benefit!

It’s just up to you whether it’s worth it to have to walk back and forth.

Saving Money on Food at Atlantis

Once you figure out where you’re staying, the next most expensive thing is probably going to be the food. The food prices at Atlantis can be shocking. Here are my tips on saving money on food at Atlantis, Bahamas:

Bring Your Own Snacks and Drinks

Some of the rooms do come with a kitchen, but these rooms are going to be more expensive.

You can bring your own food from home depending on how much space you have in your luggage. Things like granola or protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, and jerky travel well and can save you money on breakfast or snacks.

If you don’t want to deal with packing food, the local taxis and shuttles are used to stopping at the grocery store on the way to the resort. They will do this for an extra, but affordable, fee (usually around $10 or so).

There is also a grocery store in walking distance to Marina Village (near the Harborside Resort). Atlantis has a free shuttle service on the property, which you can take to the Marina Village, then there is a grocery store within walking distance of Marina Village. Just note that some of the Atlantis shuttles don’t go to Marina Village. The shuttle will say right on it where it goes, so if it isn’t listed, then it doesn’t go there. No big deal, you’ll just wait for the next one that does!

Stopping on your way home from the airport or walking to the grocery store near Marina Village are your cheapest options. It’s also worth noting that they used to give two single-use water bottles per day but now you get a reusable tumbler instead. There are refill stations around the resort.

Grocery delivery is another great option. We had planned to do this on our trip, but our flight was delayed so it ended up getting too late. We were going to use InstaGopher, which is highly recommended.

We never ended up getting grocery delivery because we found the Sundries shops to be around the same price as what the grocery delivery was going to be.

At Atlantis, there are a few Sundries shops. They don’t have everything you’d need if you’re wanting to cook a lot but they had breakfast staples (bacon, eggs, bread), tons of snack options, protein bars, and definitely more than enough to get by.

We cooked breakfast in our room every day (we stayed at the Reef), ate a late lunch every day in the late afternoon, and just snacked in between. Only needing to eat one meal out saved us a lot of money.

Explore Off-Site Dining

Eating at local, off-site restaurants is significantly cheaper than eating at Atlantis. It’s also good food. We were traveling with a 1.5 year old and a 2.5 year old and didn’t feel like loading everyone up in a taxi to go, so we didn’t do this but definitely will next time. Here are the places I researched that I wanted to try:

• Fish Fry
• Viola’s
• Blue Sail (this is pretty close to Baha Mar, so we’ll probably go here on a return trip to Baha Mar)
• Poop Deck
• Mckenzie’s Fresh Fish & Conch

Know the Cheapest Options On-Site

If you don’t want to leave Atlantis, here are some of the most affordable options on the resort’s property:

• Anthony’s Seafood and Ribs
• Murray’s Deli
• Shake Shack
• Marina Pizzeria
• The various poolside restaurants tend to be more affordable but close early, around 5 pm.

Time Your Meals Wisely

If you’re a buffet person, eating at the buffet for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner will save you a lot of money. Also, we usually don’t need lunch if we eat a buffet breakfast or don’t need dinner if we eat a later buffet lunch.

Coffee

The rooms come with coffee makers (a Keurig) and pods. There are also multiple Starbucks on site. The lines at Starbucks can get pretty long.

Resort Amenities

This will probably come very naturally to you because it’s why you booked Atlantis in the first place! Yes, Atlantis charges a lot for what they consider extras, so take advantage of what comes included in your stay.

Water Park

Your stay comes with access to a 141-acre water park, which is one of the best things to do in Atlantis! The water park is massive with tons of slides for big kids and adults, slides for little kids, a mile-long rapid river (it’s definitely not a lazy river), and 12 pools.

Beaches

Given that it’s a beach resort, there are are also multiple beaches.

The two main ones are Royal Beach, which is the largest beach in front of the Royal Towers and Cove Beach, in front of the Reef and the Cove towers.

You can also visit two Paradise Lagoon Beaches. These are great for kids/families. The South Paradise Lagoon Beach is great for snorkeling, paddle boats, and other water sports. North Paradise Lagoon Beach offers calm, blue waters in a protected cove with gradual beach entry.

Marine Life

One of our family’s favorite things to do was wander around the various aquariums. They were huge and definitely rivaled our local aquariums (we are pass holders at both the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater Beach). We walked them every single day and never got sick of it. We also noticed new sea creatures every time!

The Dig was the easiest to access because it’s right by the Royal Towers. The Predator Lagoon and Tunnel was amazing – this is where you can walk through a tunnel with the sharks.

There are also various lagoons throughout the property where you can see sea turtles, starfish, rays, and more.

Activities

Atlantis has some free events throughout the week as well. On Tuesday and Friday nights, you can head to Marina Village for the Junkanoo Parade. There is a parade with music, dancing, and elaborate costumes. It’s a cultural tradition and a form of celebration and protest with roots in the African diaspora in The Bahamas. 

You can also see daily marine life feedings and they often host movie nights.

Additional Money-Saving Tips and Things to Know About Saving Money at Atlantis

Don’t Forget Sunscreen!

I have an entire packing list for Atlantis for you, but it’s worth mentioning here that you definitely do not want to forget sunscreen. And it’s a good idea to bring more than you think you need. A sunburn is a great way to put a damper on your trip and if you don’t bring enough, you’ll be spending upwards of $25 per bottle of sunscreen at the resort.

Transportation

We don’t book transportation through the resort and felt completely safe. The resort charges more than local taxis and there are always taxis waiting when you arrive at the airport.

Additional Fees

This won’t necessarily save you money since there’s not a lot you can do about it, but it is extremely helpful to know ahead of time so you can budget for it and so that you’re not surprised.

There is a VAT (aka taxes) that’s automatically added to all purchases, the resort fee, meals, etc. Gratuity is also automatically added to meals and to your nightly rate (my understanding is that this is for housekeeping).

Like many resorts, there is a daily resort fee. How much depends on where you stay (the more luxurious resorts have a higher rate):

• The Coral is $64.90 per night ($59 plus $5.90 VAT)
• The Royal is $71.50 ($65 plus $6.50 VAT)
• The Reef and The Cove is $77 ($70 plus $7 VAT)

It’s OK if You Can’t Do it All

It’s totally natural to want to do it all, but not only is that really difficult to do at such a big resort, it also tends to cost more money. There is so much to do at Atlantis – you can dolphin encounters, boat excursions, tons of restaurants, and so much more. Many of these activities are an extra cost, which can add up quickly.

Just getting to know the resort, explore the grounds, enjoy the many pools and the beach will help you get acquainted while saving some money. And even doing this, you’ll still have things you haven’t discovered yet.

Final Thoughts

Visiting the Atlantis Bahamas Resort doesn’t have to break the bank — with a little planning and a few insider tips, you can have THE best time exploring the magic of this iconic resort while sticking to your budget.

From choosing the right accommodations to finding free activities and dining smart, there are plenty of ways to make your trip unforgettable and affordable (well, somewhat affordable anyways).

Whether you’re planning a family vacation, couples getaway, or solo escape, saving money at Atlantis means more room in your budget for memories that last a lifetime.