One of my favorite places in the entire world to visit with the family is the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is the perfect getaway for the family who loves luxury, but also needs nonstop activities and fun to occupy the children. The only time I ever go to Atlantis is on Passover with Kosherica. Any other time of the year it’s impossible to actually get kosher food. Kosherica has one of the most well-known Passover programs in the United States and abroad. They bring celebrity chefs from all over the world and create lavish buffets, deluxe sit-down dinners, nonstop tearooms, afternoon BBQs/Chinese stations, and pre and post breakfast tea rooms. This is the closest thing to heaven for a person who keeps kosher and is a Jewish traveler.
Many people ask me what to do at a Bahamas Kosher Passover vacation. The obvious answer would be send your kids to Kosherica‘s day camp. Seriously!! I don’t mean to sound callous, but they love it and I LOVE IT. It’s one of the highest rated day camps around. Every day the kids explore the aquariums, shark feedings, the beaches, the pottery places, incredible sports activities and just hanging out with the best Jewish counselors ever.
Adults can always take part of the stimulating lectures that are held throughout the day, every day. In addition, the shiurim and the minyanim all take place in Paradise. Can you ask for anything better?
If you just want to take advantage of the Atlantis facilities, you can go and play a round of seaside golf on their championship golf courses, you can play tennis matches on the harbor or you can go swim with the sharks.
Atlantis has a 141-acre water park filled with an assortment of incredible waterslides and a stunning long lazy river. I literally spent two days going back and forth on this lazy river. It’s the most relaxing experience. You jump in a flotation device and just lounge as the water takes you from place to place. When I was tired of the lazy river, I chose between 11 incredible pools and miles and miles of gorgeous white sandy beaches. Atlantis is also the home of the largest open air marine habitat. It has over 50,000 marine animals and 15 exhibit lagoons. It’s incredibly interactive – you can go snorkeling, scuba diving or dive and walk with sharks. If you’re in the mood for a more meditative experience you can enjoy yoga or Pilates on the beaches which are available daily. I personally prefer going to the fitness center.
One of the things that my kids love doing the most was visiting the world famous Dolphin Cay. It’s the largest and most sophisticated marine animal habitat in the world. It was created because 17 stranded dolphins and Tennessee lions were left homeless because of hurricane Katrina. Atlantis took care of this marine life and slowly rehabilitated these animals. They offer a great experience that provide a close look at animal care husbandry and daily interactions with animals. All interactions are considered educational and they teach the guests about these incredible animals.
At night, Kosherica provides all sorts of entertainment. Some nights we had incredible comedians like Avi Lieberman and Steve Marshall. Last year we had a surprise concert from Gad Elbaz. It was insane! Suddenly, he popped up out of nowhere. Nobody even knew he was joining! We had a crazy Junkanoo band that was so much fun! A Hypnotist that literally had our guests 1000% hypnotized. Our jaws dropped. We had magic, music, carnivals, jugglers and the list went on. My only regret is that I couldn’t fit it all in. Sometimes, during Chol Hamoed, we wanted to escape the crowd and go to the Atlantis casino (one of largest) or the Aura nightclub or the comedy clubs. So much to choose from.
I had a blast at the Kosherica Passover program. It’s really the coolest Passover hotel and resort for a Jewish traveler.
-Sarah Strauss
To see more about Atlantis and the other Passover programs, click here.