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PortAventura: General Discussion

If I visited PA again I would have no plans to visit Ferrari land (unless it was included in my ticket or stay), there really isn’t much in there, and what they do have isn't much to write home about. The park was fairly quiet when we went in it’s opening year and by lunch time we were struggling to find things to do.
 
We're planning on going to Port Aventura next May for 7 to 10 days. Been to the parks a few times in my life but never stayed on site before.

Which are the best on site hotels to stay in? Not bothered about the really high end one as we will have some sort of budget but we are flexible. Or is it worth staying offsite do you think? We're planning 4 days in the parks and 4 to 5 days chilling really in the pool at hotel. We don't want to be in the parks every single day.

Any advice would be welcome.
 
Whilst I couldn't imagine anything like spending such a high amount of time in those parks, I would suggest Hotel PortAventura to be your best option. Mainly as it's closer to Salou and, therefore, other life. I recommend taking a trip to the roman ruins in Tarragona, too - and possibly the train to Barcelona for a day.

Gold River and its complex is probably the nicest themed of all the resorts at PA, but it's in the middle of nowhere and you will feel isolated from the other hotels. If money is no object, though, Callaghan's at Gold River *are* the best rooms in terms of value vs. quality, and the breakfast in the Callaghan's is one of the strongest points about the whole resort.

I can't say I have a particularly strong impression of PA's general operation, the buffets were not great and the bars brightly lit with young children running round till an early hour. The saunas were closed and some of the bars were, too.

I have no idea what Salou is like - I stayed in Tarragona once as Salou looked like it was all irish pubs and chip shops.

Sorry to be less than positive :p
 
I'm going myself next month for the first time in about 6 years because Sunshine + Estrella + Paella. I've always been quite lucky with previous visits, most I've ever queued was an hour for Furious Bacon and that was when it was relatively new. Used to go nearly every year in September/October and crowd levels were fine so hopefully same again this time around.

Salou is fine. It's fairly tacky in places but nothing like Benidorm for example. Lots of Spaniards holiday there so there's plenty of good food and drink options about.

For a more cultured experience get the bus down to Cambrils. Some lovely bars and restaurants there.

Can't comment on Tarragonna, didn't have it down as a tourist friendly place as it looks so industrial. Might have to check it out.
 
venny said:
I’d like to say they need x type of ride, but in reality they need all types of rides. They need another coaster, another flat ride, another dark ride and a water ride.
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I agree ... if they are trying to make it a full / multi day destination like the main park. It feels like it was built as an up sell and ultimately that's how they promote it.

I hope they don't pad out Ferrari Land at the expense of expanding the main park. Disney have fallen into that trap in Paris, largely.
 
Ferrari Land looks to be a really poorly thought out idea which has backfired massively as the place looks empty 90% of the time.

The few people I know who have been have used their free ticket to enter just to ride Red Force a few times and have just gone back to the main park as there's more to do and it has a much better atmosphere. I have to be honest I'd probably do the same. Might do the Flying theatre ride too if the queue was small and that would be that. Nothing else there appeals to me at all.

I don't even think it's bigger sister park, the one in Abu Dhabi, has been a roaring success either has it? Seen plenty of people say the place is like a ghost town for large periods of the year.
 
AstroDan said:
Whilst I couldn't imagine anything like spending such a high amount of time in those parks, I would suggest Hotel PortAventura to be your best option. Mainly as it's closer to Salou and, therefore, other life. I recommend taking a trip to the roman ruins in Tarragona, too - and possibly the train to Barcelona for a day.

Gold River and its complex is probably the nicest themed of all the resorts at PA, but it's in the middle of nowhere and you will feel isolated from the other hotels. If money is no object, though, Callaghan's at Gold River *are* the best rooms in terms of value vs. quality, and the breakfast in the Callaghan's is one of the strongest points about the whole resort.

I can't say I have a particularly strong impression of PA's general operation, the buffets were not great and the bars brightly lit with young children running round till an early hour. The saunas were closed and some of the bars were, too.

I have no idea what Salou is like - I stayed in Tarragona once as Salou looked like it was all irish pubs and chip shops.

Sorry to be less than positive :p
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Thanks for the reply.

Been to Barcelona plenty of times in my life. I studied in Spain for 6 months years ago so know Madrid and Barcelona really well. Also been to the park numerous times to know exactly what to expect. Just never stayed on property before.

Think we'd want 2 days in main park and maybe half day Ferrari and half day in Water park so 3 days might be enough really. Just put 4 days down to be sure.

I'd want a full weak of chilling and sight seeing too though for sure. This isn't a Theme Park trip specifically so will definitely look at going to the ruins as that sounds cool and right up my street.
 
Benjsh said:
We're planning on going to Port Aventura next May for 7 to 10 days. Been to the parks a few times in my life but never stayed on site before.

Which are the best on site hotels to stay in? Not bothered about the really high end one as we will have some sort of budget but we are flexible. Or is it worth staying offsite do you think? We're planning 4 days in the parks and 4 to 5 days chilling really in the pool at hotel. We don't want to be in the parks every single day.

Any advice would be welcome.
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From my experience I'd say Hotel PortAventura, it's just been fully renovated and offers the new buffet experience which is now in-line with Hotel 'The Callaghan's' and Hotel Colorado Creek, you'll also find the hotel prices slightly under the latter. By staying at a resort hotel you can also take advantage of the half board dine-around meal plan where you can eat at any a'la'carte or buffet restaurant in any resort hotel (excluding Hotel Mansion de Lucy) or park.

If you wanted to stay off-site I'd recommend Hotel H1O Salauris Palace which is 10 mins down the road from PortAventura and a 15min walk to the beach. It's a PortAventura Partner Hotel so you'd be able to get a package with your park tickets included and the hotel also offers amazing views of the park.

What I would say is be wary of visiting in May, the weather isn't extremely hot at that time of year and when I've visited around that time I've had to wear a jumper, it certainly isn't pool weather as the pools aren't heated although there is a Wellness Club at Hotel Caribe if you wanted an indoor pool. Also Caribe Aquatic Park doesn't normally open until the last week in May (Covid depending - it didn't open till June this year).

Hope that helps.
 
im-shoked-im-shocked.gif
 
Benzin said:
I too like the idea of having my entire life savings in a digital format likely at risk to be hacked into and lost forever.
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Technically isn't that already true? The money held for you by your bank is also just a number on a screen. If the bank goes under, is hacked or even makes a serious admin error it's also lost forever.
That's why it's wise never to leave all your money in one place.
 
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