6 Best Salou Family Hotels

87

Sleep inside PortAventura or in Salou town? I’d sleep inside. Rooms at the resort’s own family hotels come with unlimited park entry from the day you arrive to the day you leave. Town hotels have the beach and the dinners. Here’s where I’d book, depending on which way you lean.

Salou Family Hotels

PortAventura Hotel or Salou Town

The resort’s own hotels and the town’s hotels trade park access for beach access.

• Park Entry Comes With the Room: At PortAventura Hotel Colorado Creek and PortAventura Hotel Gold River, the room rate includes unlimited PortAventura Park entry from arrival day to departure day. Town hotels don’t include tickets, so you buy them separately. Compare the day-ticket cost per person with the resort rate before you choose.
• Beach Time From the Resort: Llevant Beach, Salou’s main beach, is a few minutes away by car from the resort hotels or about a 20-minute walk, according to the resort. Local buses link the resort to the beaches of Salou, La Pineda and Cambrils in summer. Plan beach afternoons around the bus or a taxi.
• Cap Salou for Quiet Coves: Cap Salou is the quieter end of town, with pine-backed coves and a coastal path into the centre. It sits a 5 to 10-minute drive from the middle of Salou.
• Town Centre for Evenings: Salou town centre has bars and restaurants along the Passeig Jaume I promenade beside Llevant Beach. The promenade fountains run a light-and-music show every night in high summer and on Friday and Saturday nights through most of the year. Salou is compact enough to walk to most places from here.
• Colorado Creek or Gold River: The resort rates Colorado Creek as its Premium hotel and Gold River as Comfort. Baby cots are free at every PortAventura hotel.

Caribe Aquatic Park, Ferrari Land and the Season

Staying at a resort hotel changes what you pay for each park.

• Caribe Aquatic Park Costs Extra: Water park entry costs extra, with a discount on tickets for resort hotel stays. The park opens only in the warm months, from late May to mid-September in recent years. Check its dates before booking a shoulder-season trip.
• Ferrari Land Is One Day: One Ferrari Land day per person comes with a resort hotel stay. It follows its own opening calendar, so it doesn’t open every day of the year. Book that day on a date the calendar lists.
• PortAventura Park Has a Winter Break: The park closes from early January to late February and opens on set days the rest of the year. Halloween and Christmas events run in autumn and winter. Check the calendar for your dates before you plan rides around it.

Salou Beaches for Children

Salou’s beaches slope gently, and each suits a different age.

• Llevant for Space: Llevant is Salou’s longest beach at about 1.2 km, with shallow water and playgrounds beside the promenade. It gets crowded in summer. Arrive early to claim a spot.
• Ponent for Calm: Ponent Beach sits across the marina from Llevant and is slightly quieter. Its shallow water suits young children. A large play area under palms sits behind the sand.
• Cala Font for Swimming: Cala Font’s crescent shape makes a natural pool for swimming and spotting small fish near the rocks. The coast around it is rockier than the town beaches. Bring water shoes.

FAQs

1. How far is Reus Airport from the PortAventura hotels?

Reus Airport is under 10 km from the resort, so the transfer is short. Travel sites list the distance at between 8 and 9 km. A taxi is the simplest way over with luggage and two children. Barcelona’s airport is the alternative when it has the better flight for your dates.

2. How far is Barcelona airport from Salou?

Barcelona airport is about 100 km from Salou, roughly 75 minutes by car on the AP-7. A bus from the city takes closer to two hours, so a transfer or hire car saves time with children. Barcelona city sits a little further, at about 107 km. Reus Airport is much closer.

3. Is there public transport from Salou to PortAventura?

Trains stop at Salou-PortAventura station, beside the resort, so the park is reachable without a car. Local buses and taxis also run between the town centre and the resort, so check the timetable for your dates. The station opened next to PortAventura, replacing Salou’s old stop in town. Ask your hotel which bus stop is closest.

4. Is Salou good for toddlers and young children?

Yes, the long seafront promenade suits strollers. There is a treetop ropes park, Bosc Aventura, with circuits for young children too. Many hotels also run kids’ clubs and evening shows, so the evenings are covered too, and several have children’s pools for the afternoons. Several pools also have shallow ends for the smallest swimmers.

5. Do Salou hotels close in winter?

Many do, so check opening dates before booking outside summer. One recent forecast from the local hotel federation expected only about one in four tourist beds on the Costa Daurada to stay open to 6 January. Some hotels shut for the whole winter. Hotels that stay open through winter list their dates on their own sites, so confirm the dates before you pay.

6. When is Salou busiest?

August is the busiest month on the Costa Daurada, when hotels fill almost completely, according to the Tarragona hospitality federation. June is quieter, and July sits between the two. Travel in late May or June for easier pool loungers and lower room rates. School holidays push demand up well before August starts.

7. Can you visit Barcelona as a day trip from Salou?

A day trip works, since Barcelona is about 75 minutes away by car from Salou. Full-day excursions to Barcelona run from Salou, and trains and buses connect the two cities. Leave early, because the same drive brings you back. Plan the day outside your PortAventura days so you keep park time.