Nassau and Paradise Island, Bahamas Atlantis

Yes, the water is as good as it looks (maybe better, if that's possible). The Bahamas claims to have the clearest water in the Caribbean, and you won't find any argument here. Atlantis is situated on fabulous Cabbage Beach, along with the One and Only Ocean Club. When we visited, the waves were gentle, the water was crystal clear and warm, and the ocean floor had no rocks, just powder soft sand. So good, it defies description.

Atlantis has many pools, waterslides, waterfalls, restaurants, a casino and.....just about everything else you can imagine, including the world's largest man-made marine habitat: 50,000 animals, 200 species, 11 million gallons of water. There is an incredible assortment of sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, tropical fish, and the only manta ray in captivity in the western hemisphere.

Downtown Nassau is very historic, and you'll find lots of shopping, the cruise ship docks, an old fort, and lots to do. If you want to stay downtown, check out the British Colonial Hilton, and the Nassau Palm Resort and Conference Center.

A few minutes west from downtown, Cable Beach (also known as the Bahamas Riviera) is the other major resort area in Nassau, and includes the Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino, and the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort. Between Paradise Island and Cable Beach you can find the lovely public beach pictured below, which is called Saunders Beach.

On the other side of Cable Beach the beaches get a lot less crowded. Here's a pano of Orange Hill Beach.......

If you've never been in the tropics when a storm blows up, this pano from near Love Beach will give you an idea of what it looks like as the rain comes in.....(yes, we got wet, but it was fun).

Nassau and Paradise Island, Bahamas Links