Aquaventure Bahamas Ultimate How To Guide - The Water Park at Atlantis Resort

By Angie & Jeff

October 10, 2023

This guide is written to help you get the maximum value for your time spent at Aquaventure Bahamas water park. The guide is very long so we’ve provided a table of contents so you can jump directly to the sections which interest you.

Passes to Aquaventure are included with the cost of a nearly free stay at Atlantis. This is a very valuable thing as the current daily entrance pass to Aquaventure will set you back $190 for each adult and $95 for each child ages 4 to 12.

The water park is definitely a fun experience and it’s so much more than just pools and water slides. When you want to switch things up a bit you also always have the option of going to any of the several beaches that are very near to the water park and enjoying a swim in the warm ocean waters. In addition, there are aquariums to see that are unlike any we’ve ever seen before.

While we greatly enjoyed the ability to have access to the waterpark for our visit at a significantly reduced cost, the first day obtaining our wristbands for that access was a bit frustrating. Upon check in, we were told we would pick them up in the water park as if it was self-explanatory where in the massive water park to get them.

That was definitely not the case. We asked an employee of the park when we exited the Coral building where to get the waterpark wristbands and were sent to the towel kiosk at the pool nearest our building only to find out the wristbands were not being distributed there. Upon check in at this towel kiosk we were then asked to proceed to another location to get the wristbands.

This was repeated several times with us being redirected on a seemingly made up as we went along scavenger hunt around the massive water park until we were sent to a booth near the Poseidon’s Playzone area for kids which had the wristbands we needed. We were greeted by a line of about 50 people who were all as frustrated and hot as we were after being sent on their own random scavenger hunt around the park as well. 

We were very thankful that the wristbands were good for our entire stay and we didn’t have to repeat this process each morning. We are not sure if this chaos was normal operating procedure or if all the other locations we were sent to, before arriving at the location that actually had the wristbands, were having some type of technical wristband printing issue. Though we can say that staff not well trained or able to answer questions beyond their immediate area or assigned duty was a theme we experienced repeatedly during our stay.

There are 11 to 14 different pools here at Atlantis depending which page on the Atlantis Bahamas resort website you are gathering information from so there is no shortage of swimming options. A local told us Atlantis owners recently sold off a large portion of the resort, formerly called The Beach, near the Coral Tower to musician and producer Pharrell Williams so that may account for the difference in reported number of swimming pools.

We were only told this after repeatedly trying to find the path to that portion of the resort, formerly called The Beach, because no maps online or on the grounds had been updated to show this is no longer a part of the resort and we kept running into locked gates or impromptu walls. After this, we asked an employee and they explained the Pharrell sale to us. During our stay we visited four pools at the resort and, in the end, found those pools were already plenty enough options for our needs.

The Coral Pool and Swim Up Bar is the easiest pool to get to if you are staying in the Coral Tower, about a 3 minute walk from your room. It can be a lot of fun to experience sitting on a barstool in the water in your swimming suit with a normal height bar and a bartender standing dressed in perfectly dry clothes serving you if you’ve never experienced this before. Atlantis resort is a great place, although pricey, to try it.

There is also water volleyball with nets available in this pool. And there is plenty of tiered seating and lounge chairs around the pool to relax and enjoy the sun. Our photos from this area and several areas of Aquaventure are from the evening because we found it easier to leave our phones in the rooms instead of worrying about security while playing at the waterpark most days.

There are lockers to rent, but we avoided this expense by taking our photos after our water park play most of the time.

Royal Baths Pool has two brilliant colored suns adorning the bottom of the pool. We thought it was really quiet when we arrived to try it and then learned when the lifeguard wouldn’t allow us to enter the empty pool that someone had recently thrown up in the pool and they had just evacuated it for cleaning. Yikes!

The pool is quite shallow and stays the same depth the whole way across. This might be best described as a wading pool so this could be a good option if you have small children or just want the view of a pool but don’t want to do much swimming. This pool is also quite close to the Royal Hotel and from the pool you have stunning views of the expansive hotel. The lighting on this pool is especially nice at night.

Mayan Temple Pool was always quite busy when we passed by it and most lounge chairs surrounding the pool were full here during times we visited. This pool area always seemed to have the most children too, possibly because it also has a water slide, the Jungle Slide, exiting into it.

Bath Colonnades Pool was our favorite. The spires out in the water of the Bath Colonnades Pool provide shady places to sit out of the direct sun while still enjoying being in the water for an extended period of time. There are also three waterfall caves at this pool which can be fun to sit in and watch the outside world through a watery wall.

The waterfalls were not operating on some days of our visit. We’re not certain why the waterfalls were on some days and not others. When the staff was asked, they didn’t seem to know either. Bath Colonnades Pool is also larger than the other pools we visited which may be the reason it felt the least crowded as it can accommodate more people.

We spoke with several people throughout our stay at Atlantis and asked what was the longest they waited to get on a water slide. The longest was 30 minutes and many people reported about 15 minutes so even during a busy day here things move pretty quickly.

This is an important detail because a day excursion to Aquaventure is a popular cruise ship tour and we saw multiple cruise ships docked in downtown Nassau from our room balcony during our stay but didn’t notice the impact on increased wait times for slides. Lines were definitely shorter at Baha Bay water park which we will talk about in a separate article.

The main water slides are in the Mayan Temple and the Power Tower. For fun, we renamed the Power Tower the “Flower Tower” during our stay because it looks like four giant metal yellow tulips on the corners of the large square three-story building.  There is also a whole separate area of smaller slides in a kids fun park area, Poseidon’s Playzone, of the resort which Angie and Jeff did not visit.

The Mayan Temple houses 3 body slides and 1 tube slide. Each of the Mayan temple slides is described below.

This open top body slide starts about half way up the Mayan Temple. Enjoy looking at the palm trees as you twist and turn toward the splash down area. The Jungle slide exits into the Mayan Temple Pool.

These open top straight body slides are at the top of the Mayan Temple. There is a right side slide and a left side slide. They are very similar to one another. You can race against your opponent and the timers at the bottom record your elapsed time so you can see who made it down the quickest.

Pro Tip: The line on the stairs for the Challenger slides and the Leap of Faith slide tends to mix together on the stairs. If you are wanting to go on the Challenger slides make sure to stay to the right of the line queuing on the stairs for the Leap of Faith slide. Politely ask those in front of you on the stairs which slide they are queuing for.

If they are not queuing for the Challenger slides, politely go around them on their right explaining that you are going up to the Challenger Slides and will not affect their queue. You will waste valuable time waiting for no reason in the left-side queue (the Leap of Faith queue) if you do not ask those in front of you which slide they are waiting for.

This can save you at least 20 minutes of standing in line for extra time for no reason each time you go on the Challenger slides. The line for the Challenger slides moves roughly twice as fast as the line for the Leap of Faith slide because there are two slides for Challenger and can handle twice the capacity. The Challenger slides often have no queue at all and you can go on them over and over again without a wait.

This mostly enclosed body slide has a steep drop at the beginning that gives quite a thrill as you shoot through a tube submerged in a pool of sharks near the end of the run. There is quite a bit of water spray on this slide so it’s difficult to see and you’ll likely see more water spray than sharks but it is definitely worth doing at least once. Where else can you say you went on a water slide through a pool of sharks?!

This is the only tube slide at Mayan Temple. This slide starts about three-fourths of the way up the Temple. Use a double tube for two riders or a single tube for single riders. Make sure to grab a tube before heading up the stairs.

This enclosed tube slide has some moments of alternating darkness and light, twisting and turning until you reach the splash area which then begins a 2nd portion of the ride into a square, enclosed, submerged tunnel of clear glass where you will then float within this glass tunnel through the same large pool of sharks as the Leap of Faith slide.

The water in this tunnel moves quite a lot slower than the Leap of Faith slide tunnel and you’ll have about 2 minutes or so to gaze at the sharks swimming all around you as you continue to float towards the final splash down pool. The final splash down pool is the same one as used for the Leap of Faith slide but there is distance between the exits of the two slides so there’s no need to worry about cross-traffic between the two.

We like the Serpent tube slide a lot because you get a chance to really see and experience the sharks and fish in the pool. We highly recommend you try this tube slide.

On to the Power Tower. Or as we previously shared, we like to call it, the “Flower Tower”, because it looks like four giant metal yellow tulips on the corners of this three-story building. The Power Tower has 1 body slide and 3 tube slides. (Which is the exact opposite of the Mayan Temple which has 3 body slides and 1 tube slide.)

Head up the stairs to the top of the Power Tower to get to this enclosed-tube body slide. The slide has a steep drop into complete darkness, but it only takes a few seconds to reach the large splash pool and you will find yourself inside the “secret” cenote.

In case you don’t know, a cenote (pronounced “se-no-te”) is a Spanish word describing a natural pit or sinkhole resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The Secret Cenote is what you splash down into after zooming through the Abyss body slide.

As you stand up and wade through the waist deep water in the cenote, make sure to spend a few moments looking at so many different kinds of fish in the enormous aquarium tanks that surround you as you make your way through the splash pool. This is another slide we highly recommend trying because it is such a unique experience to be inside the underground cave.

As another secret, if careening through a dark, enclosed tube slide isn’t your thing on the Abyss body slide, you can still have a look at the secret cenote from dry land. From the sidewalk entrance to the Power Tower, instead of heading into the Power Tower, walk on the sidewalk back toward the Bath Colonnades Pool.

About 15 feet back on your left you will see a set of concrete stairs leading to a lower level. Go down those stairs. At the bottom of the stairs you will start to notice it looks like a cave. As you enter this space you will see large aquarium tanks with fish on your right and continuing further in, you will see the cenote on your left.

This is a great spot to get photos of people coming out of the Abyss body slide and landing into the Secret Cenote. Once in the cave, this path continues as a loop and you can walk up a separate set of stairs on the other side.

Each of the 3 tube slides in the Power Tower use water jets in sections of the course to push your tube back uphill during the course resulting in more of a roller coaster type of experience. We also learned that all of these slides flow into the Rapids River.

PRO TIP: Stay on your tube and continue on the Rapids River to Rapids River Stop # 7. The Rapid River stops are clearly marked with large colorful signs Stop # 1 through Stop # 9. Exit at Stop # 7. This sets you up for the shortest walking path back to the Power Tower to continue your remaining tube slides.

Both of these tube slides are accessed from the same mid-level of the Power Tower. If you are here before 11am in the morning each day chances are good there will still be a pile of tubes available to pick up against the wall up where you start the rides.

If you are here in the afternoon, you’ll have better luck getting a tube at Rapids River Stop #1. Riders on the Rapids River must exit at Stop # 9 and their empty tubes float a bit further and pile up behind a large net at Rapids River Stop # 1. You should easily be able to get a tube at Rapids River Stop # 1.

This slide is accessed from the top of the Power Tower to the left of The Abyss body slide. Make sure to take a few minutes to look around while at the top of the tower to take in some great views of the ocean and the entire Atlantis property.

The rapids river is no ordinary lazy river ride. There are some sections of glass smooth water but there are also numerous sections where the water moves much faster.

PRO TIP: Make sure to sit up on top of your tube especially through the rapids sections so that you don’t end up bumping your bottom and ending up with a sore tailbone. Similarly be aware of your head placement to avoid hitting it on the rock walls surrounding the river.

There are several beaches at Atlantis Resort. Some beaches are private and can only be accessed depending on which hotel you are staying at on the property. For example The Reef Hotel has its own private beach, but it was just down from a beach where we were able to spend time and we didn’t feel deprived of access. We spent time on three beaches on the property and each had its own winning features.

Atlantis Beach is the closest to Coral Tower. This beach has rolling waves and is really nice for a walk with shoes off letting the water run over your feet as you walk along the sandy edge of where the water rushes up to meet the sand with each passing wave.

The sound of the ocean and the seabirds here also provide a calming connection back to nature. There are plenty of people swimming here too. We only swam here briefly because we spent most of our time near the Bath Colonnades Pool and nearby Cove Beach.

Paradise Lagoon Beach is split into two parts, North and South. The North side is easily accessible and just a short walk from Atlantis Beach. The water at Paradise Lagoon Beach is flat and calm. There are some large trees on this beach which provide shade if you are looking for a place to set up and stay a while but don’t want to be out in the full sun.

We swam here on one day of our stay and enjoyed that time. However, we did read of a fairly recent jellyfish sting incident there so it is important to be aware of surroundings in the lagoon. We saw people trying out riding water bikes on the lagoon and also kayaks. We determined that Atlantis charges additional fees for use of these items, but we are not sure how much as we found plenty of items included in our stay to entertain us without having to add activities for an upcharge.

Cove Beach was our favorite beach and we spent the majority of our beach time here. Cove Beach is shaped a bit like a horseshoe and has more gentle waves than Atlantis Beach due in part to its shape.

The water is bathwater warm and because it is salt water, also super buoyant and very enjoyable to float in. The water also has that amazing Caribbean blue-green color to it and so clear you can see about 6 feet deep to the sandy bottom. This is a great place to play in the water or put out a beach towel on the sand and simply take in the views. We floated here for a few hours on most days of our stay and didn’t tire of it.

Another favorite feature of the Cove Beach area were the hammocks to enjoy. They are not quite on the beach directly, but if you take the path closest to the ocean back towards the Coral Tower, you will see them on the left side for a rest to enjoy the view. A bonus is the hammocks are big enough to snuggle up and enjoy as a couple.

Your Aquaventure pass also allows you access to more than just the water slides and beaches. There are also impressive  aquariums and marine life exhibits to see.

Just outside the Coral Tower on the way to the Coral Pool and Swim Up Bar you can stop and view numerous stingrays and a few small sharks going about their daily routine. For an additional fee you can also have a swim with the stingrays experience. We didn’t pay to do this but were able to watch others do so from our room balcony.

Also, just outside the Coral Tower on the way to the Coral Pool and Swim Up Bar you can stop and watch many, many small turtles swim around and climb on their own small island just outside the doors into the Coral Tower portion of the resort.

As you walk through the Coral Pool area continue through and on toward the rope bridge tunnel. Before getting to the rope bridge, near the now closed off portion of the resort that was known as The Beach,  you’ll have the opportunity to see a few giant sea turtles swimming and poking their heads up above water.

After seeing the sea turtles, continue on the path towards the rope bridge tunnel. This rope bridge sways to and fro as you go across it. It’s a popular place for that perfect Instagram shot, so you may need to wait a bit if you, too, want a photo with just you on the bridge. We had fun walking across this bridge each day out to the fun of the water park and beaches and back each late afternoon to rest from the strong Bahamas sun and escape from the common late day thunderstorm.

The Dig looks like an archaeology find with all sorts of relics combined with more amazing aquariums. You can find The Dig near the Royal Baths Pool (the pool with two brilliant colored suns painted on the bottom). Continue past the Royal Baths Pool and head left as you approach the Royal Hotel. The Dig is in the building to the left before you get to the Royal Hotel.

The Predator Lagoon and Tunnel is another really neat area to visit beyond the thrilling water rides and relaxing pools. We entered this under the Lagoon Bar & Grill each day as we walked from the Coral Tower to the side of the water park with the water slides and the Bath Colonnades Pool and Cove Beach. It was a nice respite from the hot sun as we wandered underground through the aquariums and through the very cool predator tunnel where sharks swim around you on three sides.

There were several items we found were extremely critical to enjoying our stay at the Bahamas resorts we visited, particularly our time at the water parks and beaches. And, there were some items we didn’t bring along that we wished we had. This prompted us to create a list of items that really are essential to ensure you have a fantastic stay at a beach resort.

There is shuttle service available at Atlantis resort included with the price of your stay that will take you between the different points on the property. We did not end up using the shuttle service and instead chose to walk to the places we needed to get to. When we were wet, we didn’t want to squeeze on a shuttle with people who were dry and vice versa.

Also, the furthest point we went from the Coral Tower where we were staying was The Cove Beach and walking straight between those two points only took us about 15 minutes, once we learned the way, as the resort and water park can be a bit maze-like at first. Atlantis seems to have recently updated the maps and made them much more user-friendly and the Atlantis Mobile App is especially useful now.

The Atlantis Bahamas mobile app can be downloaded here. Immediately, the app allows you to search by keyword to find what you are looking for. For example, let’s say we are trying to get to Cove Beach. Typing Cove Beach into the search field generates a list of places. Atlantis has Cove Beach listed as “The Cove Beach” so it’s a little tricky to find in the list, but it is there. Click on “The Cove Beach” and you will then be taken to a page with a route button. Click the route button.

You will see we are next taken to a page which has The Cove Beach entered as the end destination. However, we still need to give the app a starting destination before we can proceed. If you are on site at Atlantis Bahamas you can simply use your current GPS location as your starting location.

If you are not currently on site at Atlantis Bahamas, don’t worry, the map can still be very useful to you and can help with planning long before you arrive at beautiful Atlantis. Simply type in a starting location that is on site at the Atlantis Bahamas Resort. For example, you could use the Coral Swim Up Bar as a starting point because it is close to the Coral Tower where we stayed. Typing “Coral Swim Up Bar” works in search to bring up a list and we find that Atlantis wrote the description as “The Coral Pool Swim Up Bar”. Clicking on “The Coral Pool Swim Up Bar” sets this as our starting point.

Now we can click on the Start Route button. The app has voice navigation as well as written directions. You can zoom in on the map to get more detail or zoom out to get an overall view of the walking route you will be taking.

Another reason to use “The Coral Pool Swim Up Bar” as a starting point is that it will drive the app to often route you through the rope bridge where you will have beautiful views across the Predator Pool which, in our opinion, is much more fun than taking a route through the casino. Going through the casino is the other option to get to many destinations.

Beyond typing in your search choice, Atlantis has also set up several clickable categories including Hotel Lobbies, Aquaventure, Beaches, and Casino to name a few. Each of these categories has sub-categories which can also be clicked and then set as destinations to walk to.

Aquaventure has some unique water slides that we’ve not seen anywhere else we’ve ever visited. In particular the Leap of Faith body slide and the Serpent tube slide offer the amazing experience of traveling through a pool of sharks.

The aquariums at the resort are also very impressive and we’ve never seen aquariums of this size built into and a part of a resort hotel as an included experience.

There is a dolphin encounter area of the resort that you can pay extra for as well, that we never visited. It’s also amazing to have a water park so close to the ocean where you can also have an ocean experience.

The cost is very high without the casino matching program but for the casino match prices we paid to stay at Atlantis Resort we’d consider doing it again.