Your Complete Aquaventure Slide Guide (The Bahamas)

I had so much fun during my stay at Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. The Aquaventure Water Park was a major part of that. Covering 141 acres, this water playground is the signature attraction on Paradise Island (and the largest water park in the Caribbean, by a considerable margin). With over 11 swimming pools and 8 waterslides, you can easily spend a whole day, if not more, of your Bahamas vacation here. The best part is that if you’re staying at Atlantis (or at the Comfort Suites partner hotel), admission to the water park is completely free. It makes staying on Paradise Island a no-brainer if you can afford to splurge on your stay! There’s a lot of fun to be had at Aquaventure, and in this post I’m going to focus on the thrills that can be had at the resort.

• Aquaventure is tons of fun, but not leaving Paradise Island to see the rest of New Providence is a mistake. Check out my first-time guide to The Bahamas HERE.

Aquaventure Water Park – The Basics

• Where? One Casino Drive, Paradise Island.
• When? The Aquaventure Water Park is open daily from 10.00am to 7.00pm (though check times when visiting as it changes seasonally).
• How much? If you’re staying at the Atlantis Resort, or the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island, admission to Aquaventure is included in your stay. If you’re not a resort guest, then you’ll be paying $250.00 USD for adults and $125.00 USD for children (12 and under, though infants 3 years and under are free).
• How to get there: Aquaventure is part of the Atlantis Resort, which makes up most of Paradise Island. A 30 minute walk from downtown Nassau across one of the two bridges will get you there. To enter the park, you’ll need to enter the resort, past the Marina Village. Its behind the main Royal Towers of Atlantis (and is well signed).
• Website: https://www.atlantisbahamas.com/things-to-do/aquaventure-water-park

Visiting Aquaventure

As you can tell, Aquaventure is extremely expensive if you’re not staying at Atlantis. Considering The Bahamas is already a fairly expensive country to visit, the complimentary access to the water park is one of the resort’s biggest perks. While you can wander freely around most of Atlantis, you’ll find staff members standing at all entrances to Aquaventure making sure you’re allowed to enter the park. If you’re staying on site, you’ll just need to show your room key or wrist band to be waved through.

If you’re not staying at Atlantis (or the Comfort Suites, which for the purposes of Aquaventure is a resort property), the ONLY way you can access Aquaventure is by purchasing a day pass. These need to be booked in advance and are available from the resort’s official website. You redeem your booking at the Discover Atlantis desk in the Coral Tower lobby.

If you’re traveling with children, you should be aware that they’ll need to be at least 48 inches tall to ride the slides. Considering how expensive admission to the park is, that’s something to factor in when deciding whether to go to Aquaventure as a day guest.

The Mayan Temple Slides

Outside of the Atlantis Royal Towers, the most famous landmark on Paradise Island may very well be Aquaventure’s Mayan Temple. Standing six stories tall, this impressive recreation (think Chichen Itza with slides attached) is where you’ll find Aquaventure’s most beloved water slides. Most thrilling of the bunch is the Leap of Faith, a 60 foot near free-fall that drops through a literal shark tank. While you won’t see much of the sharks (both due to the speed you’ll be travelling and the water in your eyes), that added detail makes this so much more memorable than your ordinary free fall!

While the Leap of Faith is fun, if you want to actually be able to see the sharks on your slide, you need to ride the Serpent Slide. Sitting in an inner-tube, this one twists and turns you through a track contained within the temple before emptying you out into another clear tunnel. Having braved the thrills, you now cruise along gently underneath the sharks for a minute or so until you emerge on the other end. I really enjoyed this, and it was probably my favourite of the Mayan slides.

In addition to the shark slides, you’ve got the Challenger Slides on the temple’s other side. Here, two sliders can race against one another on twin slides. After splashing down at the bottom, you can check who won and your times, making this very popular for groups.

Finally, the Jungle Slide branches off from the Temple. Its designed for younger riders, as its all open air, winding through the foliage in the area. It doesn’t contain any unexpected drops, making it a good choice for those who aren’t ready for the more intense slides.

The Power Tower

Someone say intense? You must be thinking about the water-coasters of the Power Tower. A newer addition to Aquaventure, this 121 foot tall tower is themed to be a structure used by the Atlanteans to derive electricity for their Lost City. In practice, its the launch point for the water park’s most thrilling slides.

First up, you’ve got the two that start midway up the tower – The Falls (left) and The Drop (right). The Falls is the tamest of the Power Tower’s slides, with relatively minor drops. You’re in the open air for the first fall before being blasted up two uphill sections into the final splashdown. The Drop starts in the dark, and begins with a 50 foot plunge before levelling out with more water jets. You ride both slides in a tube, and they shoot you out into the park’s Rapid River.

Further up the tower, you’ve got Atlantis’ most thrilling rides. You also ride a tube on The Surge. After leaving the picturesque views across the property at the top, this one starts with a fairly large initial drop before you’re ‘surged’ back uphill into a tunnel. A few twists later, you’re passing through a waterfall and in the Rapid River.

Then there’s The Abyss. One of the best slides in Atlantis, this is the only Power Tower ride that doesn’t involve a raft tube. Plunging into the initial 50 foot vertical drop, you’ll understand the screams that break out each time someone begins this one. Twirling around in the dark with only glimpses of light is so much fun, but it gets even better at the end. Emerging through a waterfall, you end up in a recreated Cenote, complete with tanks of prehistoric fish.

Rivers and Rapids

While I loved Aquaventure’s slides, the highlight for me was actually its Rapid River. I’ve mentioned that a few of the slides from the Power Tower end here, but its a standalone attraction on its own. Make sure you go right to the beginning and ride the river all the way through at least once. It spans over a mile, making it one of the longest in the world. With rapids, waves, and even escalators that take your raft from one section to another, it honestly feels like its never going to end. There were so many times that I thought the ride was winding up only to enter a new section!

If the Rapid River is too much for you (but really, its not intense at all), try the Lazy River. Located on the other side of the park, this quarter mile river takes you on a calm flowing water journey. I actually didn’t get to the Lazy River during my stay, but it sounds like the perfect option when you want to relax!

The Rest of Aquaventure

There’s plenty of time to relax by the pool at Aquaventure. With 11 swimming pools, you’ll quickly find a spot to take a dip. If you’re staying at the Cove (the most exclusive of the Atlantis hotels), you’ll even have access to two private pools for Cove guests only. There’s also a splash area by the Lazy River for younger children, which is away from the busy centre of the water park. All the pools are monitored by lifeguards, but obviously you need to make sure any youngsters are supervised.

Just want to relax on the beach? Aquaventure has you covered there as well. There’s 5 miles of white sandy beaches at Aquaventure. The most readily accessible is Cove Beach, a tranquil stretch of sand by the blue ocean waters. There’s also a number of protected beaches around the seven acre Paradise Lagoon.

• Want more Atlantis content? Check out my post about the marine habitats throughout the resort HERE.

Aquaventure is a blast! I had so much fun here during my stay in The Bahamas. While I don’t recommend buying a day pass, that should be more incentive to stay at Atlantis. Have you been to this amazing water park? What was your favourite thing to do on your visit?