Have a great family day out at the Aquapolis Water Park, Salou
The Aquapolis Water Park at Salou is a great place for a family day out. Easily accessed by train and bus from Barcelona or Sitges it sits on the Costa Dorada about halfway along the parade at la Pineda. If you have hired a car for your holiday there is no need to worry about being able to park at Aquapolis because the attraction has customer parking spaces for literally hundreds of cars.
Search ‘water park holidays Spain’ and Aquapolis Water Park will almost certainly show in the list. Unlike some water parks tremendous thought has gone into ensuring that all the family are catered for and this is the secret to its success. There is a good selection of children’s rides moderate intensity rides for the older kids and grown-ups and high excitement rides that include the Gran Kahuna – which will thrill even the more experienced surfers amongst you. Younger children will love the Adventure Turtle Mini Park and Treasure Island areas. Older children will more likely be drawn to the Zig Zag and Speed Race.
Unique attractions at Aquapolis Water Park include a show that the dolphins and sea lions put on for you at the Dolphinarium. The show is included in your entry fee and is guaranteed to win over the children. Spend some time after the show at the exhibition where you will all learn something new about these loveable animals. If you want to be a super-hero mum or dad you can arrange an opportunity for close-up encounters with the dolphins or to go swimming with the sea lions – these experiences will cost extra but you will certainly score ‘cool parent’ points with the kids. These special events are supervised by fully qualified trainers last about 30 minutes but do have minimum age and height restrictions.
The park has seven restaurants across the site – all have family friendly menus with food offerings that range from burgers to paella – the grown-ups can even enjoy a cocktail or two at the Mini Golf Bar. You can also take your own food into the park – although glass jars and cans are not allowed. You are able to leave the park and re-enter but you only have 20 minutes before you’d have to pay again (plenty of time if you’ve left something you need in the car). You can hire sun beds when the children are still full of energy but you need to recharge your batteries. You can also hire a cloakroom to store those non-water park compatible essentials like keys mobile phones etc. Sun beds and lockers are not included in the entry fee but are fairly inexpensive.
Ticket prices are based on height with adults and children that are taller than 140cm paying the same price children between 90 and 140 cm paying the children’s rate and little ones under 90cm being allowed in for free. Ticket prices are reasonable and the website allows you to save money by booking in advance online – there are often other deals on the website too so it is worth checking it out ahead of your visit. Opening times vary throughout the year but during the high-season the water park is open seven days a week from as early as 10:30 to as late as 19:00. July and August also have a twice-weekly night show with dances and even more dolphin displays.
