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Where to go on my first big trip?!

Connor98

TS Member
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Hyperion
Hello everyone, I know you must get a few of these questions on here but I’d thought I’d see what people think would be the best trip for myself and a friend. We have narrowed it down to 3 options....Portaventura (I have visited once before but that was before I’d consider myself an enthusiast), Enerygylandia, Walibi Holland.

Portaventura would possibly be the most like a holiday with it being situated in Salou, Spain. However it could be the most expensive trip, yet have the biggest coaster line-up.

Energylandia is probably my preference but my friend has reservations about poland and what else there would be to do (I’m just going for the coasters myself) and would get the chance to tick off two bucket list coasters (Zadra and Hyperion).

Or finally it would be Walibi Holland, but mostly likely spend the week in Amsterdam and a day or maybe two at Walibi holland, their line up does look great now with Untamed!

An RMC is a big pull for me.

Currently Enerygylandia is leading the race with flights just £50! But they maybe a winter trip to Portaventura? What is your opinion guys? Thanks.
 
Have you considered sweeden? You can easily do kolmården, geronalund and lisiberg in one trip. RCGB membership gets you into kolmården for free, pb ap gets you one day at lisiberg so it's a dirt cheep trip if you get decent price flights. I paid about 18 a night for a hostel.

You can get wildfire for your rmc fix (amazing my favorite coaster) and helix which is considered second best steel caster in Europe plus Baulder which is an great woodie
 
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You mention Salou being expensive, but then say you’d spend the week in Amsterdam for Walibi. Amsterdam is mega expensive! You’d be better looking at staying locally (we stayed in Harderwijk in June, which was lovely and very reasonable)

Europa Park with Ryanair flights and an apartment in Rust is good value for money.
 
Thanks for your replies so far both , Sweden is a good idea and one I’ll look into thanks! And the reason for staying in Amsterdam if we were to go Walibi Holland was the fact we would make it a weeks holiday in the city and visit Walibi for one or two days. But if it’s going to be a pure coaster trip then we’d be miles better close to the park I agree. Would there be a lot of travelling doing 3 parks in Sweden? Or is it easy to jump park to park?
 
Europa park is an option, and having never visited Germany it would be completely new, I’m going to look more into europa park. But it is a major coaster lineup I’m really going for with this trip so that’s why Portaventura has been mentioned, but I’d also love to get on an RMC :)
 
You're certain to have a far more enjoyable time at Europa Park than PortAventura. The operations of their much finer coasters alone will guarantee that. PortAventura can be an absolute misery to visit; it's very hit and miss.

If you're going to do Energylandia, consider flying to Katowice and doing Legendia on that day. You can stay in Krakow with plenty of things to do, giving you a nice extended weekend trip with two parks and lots of tourism options.
 
You're certain to have a far more enjoyable time at Europa Park than PortAventura. The operations of their much finer coasters alone will guarantee that. PortAventura can be an absolute misery to visit; it's very hit and miss.

If you're going to do Energylandia, consider flying to Katowice and doing Legendia on that day. You can stay in Krakow with plenty of things to do, giving you a nice extended weekend trip with two parks and lots of tourism options.

Cheers Danny,
I’ve heard exactly that about Portaventura, it’s not something I looked at when I was a kid there. But it would drive me insane being in the queue for shambala on 1 train ops. I think it’s probably going to be either Poland, Holland or Germany now. I think I’d go Sweden after so I could appreciate the parks more (I hear they are beautiful) and not just rush to get on coasters. Thanks for the advise so far everyone
 
You can get a Flix bus from Amsterdam to Efteling for next to nothing if you wanted a cheap option to visit there for the day.
 
Walibi Holland, as coupled with tourism in the Netherlands and maybe a visit to Efteling would be the best.

I'm sure you'll only need one day at Walibi and Efteling if you visit on a day with long hours. Public transport wise Efteling is easy to reach, Walibi a bit more difficult but it is possible
 
I’ve just been looking at Efteling and Walibi in one trip, and the option of Europa park. The nearest airport to Europa park is 65km, so would mean transport to rusk, but I’d image that is relatively frequent. The easiest option still seems to be Enerygylandia though, incredibly cheap flights and accommodation.
 
I mean, if you're at Eftelling, it's not that far to Phannyland.....
 
I’ve just been looking at Efteling and Walibi in one trip.
I did it recently by public transport and it was dead easy. If you need any tips just ask or maybe search my posts as I think I described it in detail.
 
Portaventura for 4 days/3 nights in early October (including flights) with on site accommodation and unlimited park access has just set me back nigh on 500 quid for 2 of us which dare I say is pretty darn good value! I visited a few years ago and had a great time but I think the experience you would get at PA depends heavily on when you go. My previous trip was in April and the park was relatively quiet but it was clear to see that operations were somewhat lacking. However, this didn't have an impact on our visit due to the moderate crowd levels and we did manage to get on everything multiple times. However, I don't think I would visit PA during peak season (the heat alone would see me off!). PA does also have the added element of being in Salou which boasts a sandy beach, bars, restaurants etc and therefore offers more of a holiday vibe.

I can't say much about Energylandia and Walibi other than that they both boast some awesome looking coasters which I would love to get on one day.

I will echo the other sentiments here about Sweden. I've only been to Liseberg but I had an amazing time and it is so easy to get to. Europa Park is the complete park for me but logistically speaking, it isn't the easiest gaff to get to!
 
Thanks all for the advice, We are going to discuss things tonight over a few pints in the pub so god knows what could come of it :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:, if it was me I’d book energylandia for October then I’d be over to Portaventura for the winter season, when it calms down. But my friends is drifting more toward the Holland trip, either way I can’t wait to share my thought with everyone when I do go. :)
 
Hi Connor,

A few years ago I was in a similar position to you - wondering where to go for my my first big theme park trip. I chose Europa and have since done Efteling too. So I’m hardly experienced with trips but I hope I can offer some help.

Europa is easy enough to get to. A train or two and a shuttle bus is a comparable journey to most other parks. You can also be certain at EP that you’ll have a good time; in a well run resort that focuses on good customer service - unlike PA (so I’ve heard). But the coaster lineup is nothing special so if that’s your priority then I’d do the Holland trip instead.

If you’re currently only planning on Walibi Holland, try to find a way to sneak Efteling in too. It’s a really special park which would nicely compliment a day of thrills at Walibi. As previously mentioned, one day should be fine at each of these parks as long as you go when the hours are decent.

I suppose your issue regarding the Holland trip is where to be based. If you’re doing more than 1 park it makes sense to be based in Amsterdam and take day trips out of the city. Whereas if you’re just doing Walibi for a few days then I’d stay near there to avoid a commute and save money too.

Look forward to hearing about your trip.
 
I’ve decided energylandia and I will be travelling on my own unfortunately but I guess that means I run to my timetable and get plenty of re rides . Zadra looks incredible and Hyperion also looks great!.

I’ll be staying 3 nights, so 2 days on park. I’ve not booked accommodation yet but there are plenty of options sitting walking distance of the park.
It is so cheap to travel to Poland, the accommodation is well priced and the both major parks look great(however it is just energylandia this time for me).

I think I plan on saving other parks mentions for future trips after my first venture:).
 
I’ve decided energylandia and I will be travelling on my own unfortunately but I guess that means I run to my timetable and get plenty of re rides . Zadra looks incredible and Hyperion also looks great!.

I’ll be staying 3 nights, so 2 days on park. I’ve not booked accommodation yet but there are plenty of options sitting walking distance of the park.
It is so cheap to travel to Poland, the accommodation is well priced and the both major parks look great(however it is just energylandia this time for me).

I think I plan on saving other parks mentions for future trips after my first venture:).
Enjoy! I'm excited to try zadra out in two weeks time. I think it's going to be a trickier trip than Sweden because of the language barrier and poorer transport links but should be a lot of fun. Shawn's zadra review should be out this week.
 
I’ve decided energylandia and I will be travelling on my own unfortunately but I guess that means I run to my timetable and get plenty of re rides . Zadra looks incredible and Hyperion also looks great!.

I’ll be staying 3 nights, so 2 days on park. I’ve not booked accommodation yet but there are plenty of options sitting walking distance of the park.
It is so cheap to travel to Poland, the accommodation is well priced and the both major parks look great(however it is just energylandia this time for me).

I think I plan on saving other parks mentions for future trips after my first venture:).

Unless it's rammed, Energylandia isn't a two day park. You may find yourself frustrated with the fact half of it is essentially a tacky fairground. Here's hoping it's a choice you don't regret!
 
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