Port Aventura - the largest theme park in the south of Europe

Port Aventura is one of the largest and best theme parks in the south of Europe, a unique place in the heart of Costa Daurada coast. It is in an hour and 15 min. by train from Barcelona, with its own Railway station which makes it easy to reach it.

It was conceived and built as a joint effort by the Tussauds group (Alton Towers), Anheuser-Busch (Busch Entertainment Corporation) and Universal Studios. In 2000, two hotels and a water park Carib Aquatic park were constructed there, and the place was further rebranded as ‘Universal Mediteranea’. Since 2004 theresort is owned and operated by the Caixa banking group.

The main park is divided into 5 zones: the Far West, Mediterranean, Polynesia, Mexico and China and each has a selection of theme rides and entertainment, with lots of things to do for small children and teenagers as well as adults. Among the theme rides of Port Aventura especially stand out Dragon Khan – a big roller coaster with 8 loops and terrifying speed of 110 km/h; Furius Baco that accelerates from 0 to 135 km/h in 3 seconds so that one can not breath in for some seconds and which is the faster roller coaster in Europe; Hurakan Condor a drop tower ride with tilting seats, which launches into the void from 100 meters up.

During the day there are plenty of shows which give you a notion about the culture of each themed area.
Dance, music, acrobatics, fire shows, theatre and all kind of amazing feats invite you to become a part of the fairy tale, to know  the customs of each zone and just to spend unforgettable moments while enjoying the performance.

By the time you get tired of walking or riding, Port Aventura will invite you to one of the dozens of restaurants and food outlets which will please you with a wide range of food, wine and cavas. Moreover each of 5 continents represented in Port Aventura offers its visitors delicious dishes of its traditional cuisine. You can enjoy Mediterranean cuisine en Raco del Mar, taste spicy Mexican mariachis en La Hacienda and in Emma’s house they will serve you typical Far West grills.

To pick up some souvenirs about your breathtaking journey or to have a picture to remember your face expression riding a Dragon Khan, there are plenty of photo shops and souvenir kiosks. Everyone will find a souvenir to take with him.

Port Aventura also presents Caribe Aquatic Park, located next to Port Aventura park itself. Caribe Aquatic Park was conceived as a piece of Caribbean Islands and includes indoor area (mostly for little kids) and outdoor area with a considerate number of water slides, toboggan rides, wave machines and attractions. Once you are hungry there are plenty of snack bars and cafés.

You can stay in one of the 4 star resort hotels. You can choose from the Mediterranean theme Hotel PortAventura, the Mexican theme Hotel El Paso and the Caribbean theme Hotel Caribe. 
 
Opening times:
From the 27th of March and till the 6th of January from 10 A.M. till 12 P.M. (Polynesia part opens at 11 A.M.)
In December – from the 5th till the 8th (both included), on weekends and from the 21st till 31st (both included) .

Caribe Aquatic Park: daily from the 23rd of May till  the 13th of September.

Admission fee:  (gives you unlimited rides in Port Aventura Park).
For one day: Adults 44.00 euros, Junior-Senior 35.00 euros, children under 4 free. Disabled 22.00 euros.

For UK and Ireland visitors: take an advantage of booking your tickets online at a reduced price. See the offers at Port Aventura official site.

Carib Aquatic park:
For one day season A: Adults 24.00 euros season A , Junior-Senior 19.00 euros, Disabled 12.00 euros

Season B: Only the indoor heated pool is open, from 05/11 till 22/03

Adults - from 11 to 60
Junior from 4 to 10
Senior over 60
Children up to 4 years old free.
You can buy the tickets upon arrival in Port Aventura or you can buy it beforehand on http://www.portaventura.es

How to get there:
By train: Train departs more or less every hour and a half  from Sants Estacio railway station going in direction Barcelona-Valencia.
Ticket costs 6.70 euros on Cataluña express or Regional express and 5.90 euros on Regional train. Either you can take a train at Passeig de Gracia.
By car: Take A7 (la Jonquera de Valencia) and come off at exit 35.

Some useful tips:

* The weekends get very busy with Spanish people coming for the day and the queue time for some rides can increase up to 60 minutes. The quietest days are Mon – Wed.

* It is better to avoid visiting the park in low season (starting from October) when many of the rides are closed.

* Buy your tickets online at port aventura official site prior to your visit to save money (in 2009 you can book a two consecutive days ticket at the day ticket price).

* If you lose sight of your child, your family or  friends etc., go to the Far West School, a meeting point.

* Better take with you some clothes to change, you may need it after riding water slides.