Cheap nonstop flights to Nassau during Max’s first spring break made it an obvious choice for a week-long beach getaway. 

With a toddler, gone are the days of lounging all day at the beach and pool with no agenda, or adventurous full-day excursions. Instead, our day is broken up into morning (before nap) and afternoon (after nap), with an alternating parent on duty during nap time. But it was a solid vacation setup and all worth seeing Max enjoying himself.

Grand Hyatt Baha Mar

The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar along Cable Beach was an obvious resort choice. Not only was it a large and popular resort on Nassau, I also had Hyatt points for a free stay and temporary hotel status for free daily breakfast and two drinks. This helped alleviate food costs because it is not all-inclusive and food is ill-rationally expensive… $13 for a large bag of chips and $6-10 for a single can of Coke. 

We were upgraded to an oceanview room with a full balcony but the view was average. The room was nice, but I expected a tad larger given the price and its luxury look.

The resort looked and felt like a Las Vegas hotel given the casino in the lobby and its grand appearance —even the wayfinding signage looked like the Bellagio! There were many onsite activities and fine dining options. It was very impressive and unlike any other resort I’ve stayed at in the Caribbean. 

The hotel grounds were lush and beautiful with animal encounters like flamingos, tortoises, and parrots. Perfect for our little toddler. 

The beach was calm and the water was turquoise, crystal clear. It was very inviting, except that it was colder than comfortable. However, temperatures outside of the water was very comfortable (especially compared to our trip last year to sweltering hot Jamaica). 

There were endless pools everywhere, as well as a large water park. The most unique pool was “Dean’s Blue Hole,” which had an aquarium viewing area.

Max loved the toddler-friendly water park, which consisted of a shallow pool with waterfalls, easy water slides, and a splash pad. He had so much fun there, and we even took him on the action river (which has more waves than a typical lazy river). 

The food was good but very expensive. Our lunches ranged from $60 to $100, and dinners averaged $200. There was a lot of variety, though, including a Japanese and Chinese restaurant, which we went to since Max loves rice and noodles. The food was good but nothing to write home about. 

We also enjoyed the complimentary water fountain show a few times with Max. He was in awe watching the colors and water bursts to music.

Overall, it is a fantastic family resort with endless children’s activities from its expansive water park to board games, bocce and croquet. I would consider coming back again.

Rose Island, Day Excursion

We took a short excursion to Rose Island via Sand Dollar Resort to see swimming pigs and enjoy a change of scenery. Given the fast pace, crowds and short time on the Island, it wasn’t my favourite excursion. We didn’t even get a chance to relax and play in the sand or water before we had to depart. But we did see the pigs briefly.

Atlantis, Paradise Island

Chi was already impressed with our new room at The Reef, Atlantis. It was a larger studio with a small kitchenette and a beautiful ocean and pool view. The resort had many pools tied to each hotel building. They were pretty chilly but you could still swim in it. 

There were four main beaches, and the waves varied. The beach closest to us was stunning, with soft white sand and clear turquoise waters. But it was cold and also jellyfish season. On our first afternoon, there were so many thimble jellyfish, which freaked me out, being waist-deep in them! They are teeny tiny and apparently don’t sting, but could leave rashes. Luckily, the next day, they were gone. 

Atlantis is famous for being the largest water park in the Caribbean and it lived up to its reputation. It was expansive with unique water attractions. The rapid river was my favorite, given it had comfortable water temperatures compared to the pools and threw you into rapids a few times (not suitable for toddlers). It also connects to the Power tower tube slides (Surge, The Falls and The Drop), which all shoot you along a short water coaster. 

I also went on the serpent slide in the Mayan Temple. This slide was unique in that it drops you into a clear tube around large nurse sharks. I definitely want to come back when Max is older to enjoy the more thrilling rides with him.  

We were very impressed with all the aquatic animals we saw around the resort. The predator tunnel housed many large sharks and stingrays, which was epic. 

The famous aquarium under the main Royal towers, The Dig was impressive and themed like the hidden underwater city, Atlantis. Compared to The Grand Hyatt, which felt like the Bellagio or Wynn in Vegas, Atlantis felt like a well-themed Las Vegas resort (like Luxor or Venetian) or a Disneyland ride. 

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Without a doubt, I’ll be back to the Bahamas and hopefully during a warmer season. I still want to visit quiet islands like Exumas as well. 

Vacations with Max is getting more fun given his playful and opinionated nature. We will ask him what he wants to do and he will respond inaccurately, like “pick apples”. But we will give him more realistic choices like “Want to go swimming?” and he will respond with an enthusiastic “YAH!” While he won’t remember these trips, I will remember them with him and his smiles will always be captured in our family photos.