Bahamas: Take Me Back {Part 1}

Where to start? Where to start?!

I usually protest writing lengthy vacation recap posts because lets be foreal...who wants to read all about someone else's lavish vacation to a tropical island while you're sitting behind a computer screen on a Tuesday morning? That's right...no one. But...BUT...I feel you need to know every little detail of our trip to Atlantis in case you ever think you might want to go.

Scratch that. Don't think. Just GO.

A few things first...

Beau and I decided Atlantis, as a whole, is pretty much a combination of every kind of vacation you could dream of, besides an African safari. It's a casino, water park, Disneyworld, aquarium and beach getaway all conveniently rolled up into one. You could honestly go for an entire week and never leave the resort, if you didn't want to.

I should also say that I have very high standards when it comes to beaches. If it's not crystal clear like the water in Cozumel or Cancun, I usually don't want anything to do with it. (Yes-I wholeheartedly believe the water in Mexico is some of the absolute prettiest!) Even some beaches in Hawaii didn't necessary meet my standards. (Beach snob much?) 

Let's just say I was at a different beach every single day in the Bahamas and never met a single one I didn't like.

Most of our days ran into one another. (Good GOD I love not having to work around a schedule when you're on vacation for a week!) We usually went down to Dunkin' Donuts every morning to get coffee, ventured around the hotel and then headed to a beach or pool somewhere. Some days we took a taxi over to the city, some days we never left the resort. 

Finally-the Bahamians are some of the nicest people I've ever met. From the staff at the resort, to the taxi drivers to the wait staff at the restaurants...seriously SO incredibly nice and helpful. We asked for several types of recommendations and not one time did they steer us in the wrong direction! That and they are just so gracious. It's nice to visit a foreign country and have their people treat you nicely!

Ok. Now that we've got all that out of the way, I'll let the eleventy billion and one photos do most of the talking.

Night 1:

We got in around 6pm, checked in, changed clothes and were off! This would be the hotel lobby at the Royal Towers. The entire Atlantis hotel is so incredibly ornate and detailed! It's amazing the work that went into building this place!

We stopped at the marina on our way to dinner at the Poop Deck. (Delicious, authentic Bahamian food and reasonable prices. Can't beat the view from their top deck, either!) The boats that rolled into the marina everyday were totally drool worthy. We're talking 150' yachts complete with an entire cleaning and cooking staff. It was unreal!

Day 2:

Day 2 we took a cab over the bridge into downtown Nassau and wouldn't you know it? They were celebrating 40 years of independence and the entire city was decked out for the occasion!

This was also the only day I ran on vacation, hence my awesome getup...

We decided to take a water taxi back to Atlantis because A) it was cheaper and B) the views were much better. Did I mention the views?!

Talk about a nice place to sit and have a glass of wine?! 

A famous set from some famous movie. I obviously wasn't listening enough to know but I do know that it was in a movie so there's that. 

Oh you know...just one of the gazillion turtle tanks they have on property! 

The beach directly behind the Atlantis resort 

View from our balcony 

Heading out to dinner and to the hotel casino.

Dinner this night was in downtown Nassau at "Conch N' Kalik". Conch is a delicacy in the Bahamas. Remember Bubba from Forest Gump? Fried shimp...grilled shrimp...stuffed shrimp...shrimp scampi...? That's basically how I felt the Bahamians are with their conch. They cook it in every way possible and there's not a restaurant on the island that doesn't serve it. We only had the conch fritters (think of a hush puppy but stuffed with conch). Definitely worth trying, if you've never had conch before. "Kalik" comes from the name of the island beer "Kalik". Very original, those Bahamians...

Day 3:

More hotel touring. I swear-there's no way anyone could see everything Atlantis has to offer in a 24 hour period! The above photo is the stink ray tank. Below are more aquariums...

For dinner this night we headed to The Dune restaurant at The Ocean Club, but not before we stopped off at the marina again to check out all the new yachts that had pulled in. We became pretty obsessed with the marina in no time.

The Dune had absolutely breathtaking views and incredible food! The sunset there is one that cannot be beat! Definitely somewhere I'd recommend going if you ever find yourself in the Bahamas.

For the record, none of my photos from this trip have been/will be edited. (#nofilter lol) I want to make sure you see every part of the island in it's pure and natural state and I promise you will not believe the gorgeousness this Bahamas has to offer! I still can't!

Coming up next: the rest of our trip & some of THE bluest water you ever did see! Kid. You. Not.