Families

Fun Things to Do with 'Tweens and Teens

By Janet Fusco

Though your hotel will have plenty of ways to keep the whole family busy, let yourselves be lured off property for some island-style fun and adventure. With action-packed water sports, underwater exploration and the all-important suntan quotient, Nassau Paradise Island is tops with older kids and teens. Here’s how to maximize the fun:

If you have half a day, try one of these options:

‘Tween and teen girls will enjoy exploring the Straw Market for souvenirs and having their hair braided.

If you’ve managed to instill a love of history in your offspring (or if Hollywood’s marketing geniuses have made a pirate’s life seem oh-so-glam), Pirates of Nassau is a great place to spend a couple of hours. Not far away is Fort Charlotte, where you can see where the law-abiding side of the equation lived.

For an inexpensive but amazing vantage point, take the kids to the top of the Water Tower near Fort Fincastle.

If you have a full day or more, don’t miss:

Horseback riding on a pretty beach in the morning – it doesn’t get much better than this. Try Happy Trails Stables. Just a couple of caveats – kids should be ages 12 and up, and riders can’t weigh more than 200 pounds.

In the evening, encounter the warmth and generosity of a Bahamian family first-hand as they welcome you and yours to their home for dinner as part of the People-to-People Program (make arrangements prior to your trip).

The waters around Nassau Paradise Island offer great snorkeling and diving. If you want to take the laid-back, low-tech route, snorkeling is the way to go – basically anyone who feels comfortable in the water can be taught to do it in a few minutes. Alternately, for those who want to dive deeper, area resorts and dive shops feature speedy certification courses for teens and adults.

For a different type of wildlife experience, spend some time at Dolphin Cay Atlantis, an extraordinary 14-acre dolphin habitat, one of the largest of it's kind in the world. A place where swimming with dolphins has been redefined. Whether you share in their playful shallow water antics or experience their speed and agility first-hand in deeper waters, the dolphins of Atlantis welcome you to share in their fun. With 6 interactive programs, you'll have a lot to choose from including Sea Lions - Behind the Scenes, Trainer for a Day, Sea Keeper and more.

Also enjoy Dolphin Encounters at Blue Lagoon Island for award-winning, educational dolphin and sea lion interactive programs suited for kids of all ages. Children six and older can participate in the exciting Dolphin Swim program and youngsters of any age can meet dolphins in the Close Encounter. The highly popular Sea Lion Encounter lets kids hug, kiss and feed these affectionate mammals from a waist-deep water platform. Spend the day having fun with your family on the private beaches of Blue Lagoon Island and enjoy water sports, lunch, games or just lazing in a hammock.

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