If you have been dreaming of a tropical vacation, but not sure where to go, take a look at the Bahamas. Eight years after my first visit, I am dreaming of going back. The funny thing is, I want to go somewhere different and that is the best part about the Bahamas. My first stay was at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. If you are not familiar with the Bahamas, the major airport is in Nassau and Paradise Island is connected to Nassau by a bridge. I think it was about a 20 minute ride from the airport if I remember correctly. The thing I remember most though was leaving from Kansas City at 6am CST and being on a beautiful white sand beach looking at the gorgeous green water by 2pm EST (look closely as that was 7 hours because I lost an hour crossing time zones). Being my first experience seeing tropical green water, I was amazed at the vivid colors.

As for the Atlantis Hotel and Resort, my experience was first rate. I found everyone friendly and willing to help. If you don’t travel outside the U.S. very often, remember you are in a different country. Everything moves at a slower pace. It took me a few days to adjust that when you asked for something, the help always responded positively, but not always with the urgency we are accustomed to in the U.S. (My east coast friends are probably laughing because they think the same about KC.) Anyway, it served as a reminder to me that sometimes we need to slow down a little bit and enjoy life. With the fantastic surroundings and all the amenities of the resort, this really was paradise.

The Bahamas is not all resorts though. There are over 700 islands in the Bahamas, though there are many which are very small. Also, stepping away from the resort puts you closer to real life in the islands. I highly suggest you get out and see the area. It was enjoyable to visit the local markets and get more of the experience of everyday life. The people were very friendly and I always felt welcome. Tourism is a very large piece of the economy in the Bahamas. As such, everyone I encountered truly wanted me to enjoy my time there. While they may have considered me a customer or potential customer, the important part was I always felt it was sincere and not just their job.

For my next trip, as I stated earlier, I want to try something different. We had a trip scheduled a few years ago and we were going to stay in a different resort in Freeport. That unfortunately didn’t happen because a hurricane caused major damage to the resort two weeks before our trip. We had planned that because it still offered great amenities with the resort, but was a little more off the beaten path. Bigger yet was our chance to get out and see some of the other “outer islands”. This was going to be my chance to see some places most people will never see. That trip will definitely be rescheduled in the near future.

While you may be sold on the beauty and experience of traveling to the Bahamas, for most of us it is not the desire to go, but often the cost. The key to a successful vacation is to try to identify the things you want to do or see prior to going. As simple as it sounds, a little planning can save you a lot of money. Airfare is typically reasonable when traveling from the U.S. due to the proximity (Nassau is about 180 miles from Miami, FL.) The biggest factor is lodging. Depending on your activities and plans, a resort may be in order. If you do the resort, I suggest considering the meal plans. On our first trip, the meal plan was around $75 per person per day. Had we not done that plan and eaten all our meals at the resort, we would have easily spent $100 to $125 per day. At that time and I assume it holds true today, the cost of food is significantly higher because most items are imported from the U.S. Just be aware. Another option may be to look at a rental property such as a condominium or a vacation home. These can often be found at a fraction of the cost of a resort. While you will have to find different local places to eat, the pricing most likely would be better than a resort saving you money again overall.

As you can see, a little planning can take you a long way and still keep within your budget. By knowing where to look for the best accommodations, you can save significantly on the biggest cost item of your vacation.

Check out some of our more in depth information on specifics in the Bahamas as well as other great travel destinations by visiting our “Destinations” section on our website. Also, we suggest you look at the official site at http://www.bahamas.com.

Before you take your next vacation, look closely at http://www.travelsmartsoftware.com. The site features the Travel Smart software which gives you access to discounts often only reserved for members of travel clubs or other exclusive groups. The software often more than pays for itself in savings in one trip.

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by Bob Scheller

Of all the resorts and hotels in the Bahamas, the Atlantis Hotel and Resort is probably the most well-known destination. Based on the sheer size with nearly 3,500 rooms, it is no wonder many people are fascinated with the resort. During my stay, all the amenities of the resort were easily accessed and seldom required more than a short walk. The fact we were no more than a few hundred feet from the beach was a huge attraction in itself.

Restaurants are a huge benefit of a resort. Rather than always trying to figure out where to go eat for something different, Atlantis offers some great options with 21 restaurants and 19 bars on the property. Chances are you can find something that pleases you. I personally never had a bad meal and we visited most of the restaurants during our week long stay.

The resort does a great job in classifying the restaurants so you know what you are getting before you show up. Atlantis offers fine dining, relaxed dining, buffet and express options. The fine dining and relaxed dining gave a great diversity of choice for evening meals. Top rated restaurants such as Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s Nobu headlining the list let you know you can expect great food. The buffet and express options suited me perfectly for breakfast and lunch. With the dining plans, they usually include a breakfast buffet and a dinner. However, the meals are large and by eating a later breakfast and a relatively early dinner, I only would require a snack during the afternoon to get me between meals.

While not a big gambler myself, I do enjoy an occasional trip to a casino. Based on everything else I encountered at Atlantis, I had high expectations for the casino and I was not disappointed. Like the rest of the resort, everything was top-notch, though you expect that at casinos because they want your money to flow freely. The glass sculptures, combined with the fact that you are in the room spanning the two towers several floors up, means the view is phenomenal.

For the casino oriented crowd, you may be interested more in the details (pulled from their website at atlantis.com):

• The Casino hosts Pegasus Race & Sports Book, over 1,000 slot machines and 100 table games including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker and Let it Ride.
• The Temple of the Moon and the Temple of the Sun, located on the casino floor, are each worth $1,000,000.
• The Atlantis Casino is 50,000 square feet, making it the largest casino in the Caribbean.
• The Atlantis Casino brings the outside in with its innovative design and allows you to view the breathtaking waterscape.
• Gaming lessons are held daily at 3pm in the Casino.
• The Crystal Gate at the entrance to the Atlantis Casino, designed by Dale Chihuly, is 30,000 pounds and is made of 2,000 pieces of hand blown glass.

In addition to the magnificence of the casino, one of the highlights of the whole trip for me was the ability to be close to the marine life. I am land-locked smack in the middle of the U.S., so marine life is interesting, but not even an option to be as much as a hobby. I guess what I am trying to say is I didn’t pick the destination because of a fascination with marine life, but the marine displays are definitely a reason I want to go back. The aquariums are phenomenal, and according to the hotel, contain more than 50,000 animals and over 200 species. At the time we were there, one of the large aquariums had a Manta Ray with about a 12 foot wingspan. Seeing that from one of the tunnels left me in complete awe. The other marine display that impressed me were the several ponds with Stingrays scattered throughout…that you could feed and pet. These are not an overly monitored displays, but rather simple ponds about 1 foot deep along walking paths where you can have direct interaction. The impressive part was that all the marine displays appeared to be kept in impeccable shape and should be impressive for years to come.

The water activities were nothing but extraordinary. Start with being only a few hundred feet from the ocean washing against a beautiful white sand beach. How often do most of us get to experience a beach outside our door? However, the man made facilities were impressive as well. Start with 6 standard swimming pools spread across the resort so you are always close to a pool no matter which tower you stay. As you tour the resort, you also get the chance to experience full water park activities such as the Mayan temple water slides and my personal favorite, the lazy river. I think almost every day after breakfast included about 45 minutes on the lazy river sipping a drink…but I digress.

Atlantis is the most well-known destination, but it is not the only resort on Paradise Island. Additionally, there are several other resorts worth checking out. Because of the pricing in the Travel Smart software, I would consider the Harborside at Atlantis just because of the amenities provided in a villa may give a different atmosphere for the next visit. Additionally, other available resorts include: Best Western Bay View Suites, Comfort Suites Paradise Island, The Cove Atlantis, One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise Harbour Club & Marina, Paradise Island Beach Club, Paradise Island Harbour Resort All Inclusive, and The Reef Atlantis. Many options for all inclusive or standard hotels also exist just across the bridge in Nassau as well. With all the options, there is likely a solution to fit your needs on Paradise Island.

I hope this gives a brief insight into my personal experience in the Bahamas and why I plan to go back. I highly recommend this destination if you are looking for an exotic vacation destination that is reasonably priced as well as a short flight from the U.S. If you are looking for the best deal on a vacation to the Bahamas or any other destination, I recommend you take a look at the Travel Smart software featured on this site. If you have questions or would like to request a sample comparison, please contact me via email at orders@travelsmartsoftware.com.

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