Discover Atlantis or Atlantis Beach Day & Discover Atlantis

My family and I are going to Atlantis in June, I see one of the excursions is Discover Atlantis, but says it is only a 2 1/2 hour excursion.

My question is, can you stay longer or do you have to leave after 2 1/2 hours., I understand this does not include the beach or water park, not really interested in that just want go and see it. This is $70 per person.

Or they have Atlantis Beach Day & Discover Atlantis that is $100/per person, besides lunch and the meal, can someone tell me the difference in these 2 excursions??? Thanks in advance!

We did the discover atlantis tour in january. I don't remember what time the tour left, but i want to say it was around 9:30 or 10:00. We took a very short, but frightening bus ride to atlantis where we received headphones to listen to the tour guide on the guided tour. There were a lot of people on our tour, but our tour guide was great. The guided tour is about an hour or so, then you turn in the headsets and are free to explore. You cant go to the breach or water park or some other areas, but there is a lot to explore, and it is beautiful. Buses leave every 30 minutes, so you can stay as long as you want. We had to be back on the ship for 3:30 i think, but by about 2:00, we felt like we had walked around enough, and were starving and didn't want to spend $20 each for a hamburger, so we headed back to the ship. We thought it was a beautiful place and would go back again, either with the same tour or the beach day.

So, I have a very different take on Atlantis.

In 2010, our first cruise, we went to the Bahamas. We asked a cab to take us to a beach where we were hassled by people selling us things - from water sports to hair braiding to jewelry. We politely said no each time a new vendor approached us, however, it was literally nonstop for 1 hours and 45 minutes. We were hassled on the sand, in the water...We tried to move further and further down the beach to no avail. Until we reached the coveted Atlantis but were rejected because we didn't buy our way in first. By that time, we were nervous about getting back in time so we packed up and left, but vowed one day to get back to that beautiful water, hassel-free.

Fast forward 2 years to 2012. We booked the Atlantis Dolphin Encounter and Aquaventure. Best $200 I ever spent though, I wouldn't do the dolphin part again. While we spent a ton more time one on one with the two dolphins, it made me sad to participate in the capture and holding of a wild animal (#catholicguilt).

My MIL did just the Aquaventure and when we return this August, that is again what we will do. Worth the $100 to us to spend time on a pristine resort lot! We had the beach, your choice of pools, the waterpark - and we did it all in rush-rush fashion. We're total water babies and when this peaceful, serene scene is calling out to you, how can you say no?

We didn't even explore the inside! So, that's why we'll be back. We felt it was worth the money to just enjoy the beach, or the pool, or the water coaster (the rapids are a ton of fun!) without fodder.

Hope this helps and gives you another point of view!