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Holiday fun for youngsters
The Bahamas is for children of all ages
The Bahamas is a holiday playground for everyone, children included. While there are many activities for the whole family, there are also lots of choices for kids only.
For example, Atlantis on Paradise has a plenitude of things to keep youngsters entertained, including Atlantis Kids Adventures (AKA), which allows guests aged 3-12 to create a customized holiday. They can choose from a long list, including games, beach parties, fancy dress and even slumber parties.
For moms and dads, there are culinary classes, theatre and arts and crafts lessons. The programme is divided into morning, afternoon and evening sessions so play dates can be arranged throughout the day.
Older kids can hang out at the teens-only Club Rush, where they can play computer games, watch movies, log on to the Internet or dance to music played by a DJ. At Gamers Reef, the latest video and arcade games await. Club Rush is open from 4-7pm for ages 6-12 and from 8:30pm to midnight for 13-17 year olds. At press time, Atlantis was finishing work on a new teen’s club that will include state-of-the-art gaming technology.
All ages can explore Dolphin Cay, which gives the whole family a chance to meet friendly sea lions and dolphins.
Programmes include a shallow-water interaction with either dolphins or sea lions, a hands-on stingray experience for children 10 or older and a “trainer for a day” package conducted by Dolphin Cay’s professional trainers.
Zoo fun
Animal-lovers can head to Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Center, where more than 200 birds, mammals and reptiles are housed in a beautiful 5.5-acre botanic gardens just a mile west of downtown, near the Fish Fry–a great place to stop and enjoy authentic and delicious Bahamian food.
Lemurs, jaguars, meerkats and Bahamian boa constrictors are just some of the wildlife to be found in Ardastra’s tropical oasis. It’s fun to watch the twice daily March of the Flamingos, where the zoo’s birds strut their stuff to commands from a drill sergeant.
The zoo’s family of lory parrots is a popular attraction for kids. These colourful birds are so friendly, they will perch on your hand to eat apple pieces.
In addition to its year-round attractions, Ardastra periodically hosts special events and kid’s workshops, with an emphasis on learning about conservation and animal life in general.
If you happen to be in town over the holidays, it is well worth checking out Junkanoo, a street parade held on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, when downtown Nassau comes alive with colourful costumes, dancing and live music.
If the timing isn’t right, you can still get an early taste of the festivities at Arawak Cay in June. Rush-outs and live performances are held at the Fish Fry every weekend throughout the month.
Yo ho ho
Downtown Nassau also has lots of activities to keep tiny visitors entranced. The Pirates of Nassau interactive museum just off Bay St transports guests back in time to the islands’ swashbuckling past.
Time travellers gather at dockside to explore The Revenge, the replica of a pirate ship, and meet some of its fearsome pirate crew. Kids will love the opportunity to see the legendary Blackbeard in action amidst a raging battle on the high seas and learn about pirate lore in the exhibition attached to the museum, which houses cutlasses, pistols and other pirate gear.
Blue Lagoon Island
Seaventure Summer Camps by Dolphin Encounters runs weekly day camps on Blue Lagoon Island that are specially designed to educate while also delivering a lot of fun. There’s a different theme every week for youngsters 4-8 and another for 9-14 year olds. A typical day at camp involves learning about an aspect of marine life in the morning followed by games, arts and crafts and animal interactions later in the day.
Education supervisor at Dolphin Encounters at Blue Lagoon Ranaldo Smith says, “We have classes in the morning but it is fun, active and informal–it’s not a school room. Then we have organized games and activities like scavenger hunts that build on the content they learned that morning.”
The highlight is animal interactions. “Each week the kids get a chance to meet the stars of our facility, the dolphins,” says Smith, who explains that the older group of 9-14 year olds can choose between meeting dolphins or sea lions. “The kids get to hug, kiss and take photographs with the animals.”
The camps run on specific weeks during the summer, so parents are advised to call ahead for times and dates–the camp is a favourite with returning holidaymakers. “Seventy per cent of our business is repeat business. We keep the kids entertained all day, and parents love the convenience of that,” says Smith.
In 2010, the Dolphin Encounters team introduced a new camp for 12 to 17-year-olds, in partnership with Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas. At the SCUBA programme, youngsters can be certified as full-fledged divers. The package includes 21⁄2 days of classes followed by 21⁄2 days of pool sessions and actual reef diving.
“It was wildly successful last year, so we are looking to do something similar. We are expanding our facilities for the older kids,” says Smith. The format may change in 2011, but Smith says the camp will build on the success it has already achieved.
Stingrays
At Stingray Adventures, children five and older visit Blackbeard’s Cay, a private island just a 30-minute boat ride from downtown Nassau. There they can see and mingle with stingrays in their natural environment.
The full-day adventure includes lunch at the beach’s outdoor grill and bar, snorkelling with the rays and then feeding them. The fish glide in and gently take food from the visitors’ hands.
“The kids love it,” says sales manager Wanda Harris. “They get into the water with the rays to feed them and pet them–it’s very exciting.”
If it’s a special occasion, the company will organize a beach day at Blackbeard’s Cay. The birthday package could include beach volleyball, water sports and basketball. Younger guests can enjoy sand castle building competitions and games. The birthday programme is customized for all ages.
Learn to dive
Dive companies offering services for children include Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas, which also runs a pick-up and drop-off service from most hotels.
This company has assisted in the production of several Hollywood films, including Flipper, Splash and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3. They call upon this experience when introducing younger guests to the wonders of undersea life.
Kids over four may participate in the company’s popular half-day snorkelling excursions, beginning every day at 9am and 1pm.
Monique Bridgewater of Stuart Cove’s says the response to these programmes “has been wonderful. The kids love it. They see different coral formations, different types of fish” and even Caribbean reef sharks.
There is something to amaze kids of all ages in The Bahamas, leaving the whole family clamouring for a return visit.
Sidebar:
Kids enjoy The Bahamas
Letters to “Auntie Jenn” in The Bahamas from her Canadian nephews and niece after a recent visit..They were asked what they liked about The Bahamas. Here are their replies:
Ethan, aged 5:
I like The Bahamas. I like to play in the sand. I love swimming in the water. I love Shawn the dolphin. I fed some birds at the zoo. Maybe we can go to The Bahamas tomorrow?
Rebecca, aged 6:
I like the beach. I like The Bahamas. It is hot. I fed the birds. They were on my arm, my head and my other arm. I went to (Camperdown) horse ranch and touched a pony.
Connor, aged 8:
The Bahamas is cool because of Blackbeard’s Cay. It is a mystery because of Blackbeard the pirate. The Bahamas is surrounded by other islands. We swam with stingrays and I fed them.
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Feature_HolidayFun_WBN11
Holiday fun for youngsters
The Bahamas is for children of all ages
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