Playing on the beach

Costa Dorada, holidays for playing again

Tarragona

Spending more quality time with the kids. Outdoors, in the sunshine, barefoot in the sand, dressed for warm weather and having a lovely time by the sea. Sounds good, doesn’t it? That’s a holiday on the Costa Dorada (or Costa Daurada), the Mediterranean shore of Catalonia where it’s easy to find the time and energy to play with your children again. And you can travel into the Roman past of Tarragona, have fun in PortAventura World theme park, and spend days on long beaches of clean golden sand and calm seas where all the family can swim.

The Costa Dorada offers days full of ideas for family fun

You can spend some time in playgrounds on the beach, or just watch the little ones playing in the sand while you relax and sunbathe by the sea. You can do this on many of the beaches of the Costa Dorada, in towns like Salou, Vila-seca, Calafell, and El Vendrell, where you’ll find a long list of activities for children throughout the summer.There are new adventures waiting for your kids, such as learning to sail in one of the many sailing schools, snorkelling and exploring the sea floor by the shore, or encountering new animals like dolphins in Vila-seca's water park.

With a little imagination, you can even share the experience of riding a dragon at high speed in the attractions of PortAventura World or imitating the feats of Indiana Jones (if your children don’t know him, maybe they’ve heard of Tadeo Jones) in adventure parks where they can climb trees, zoom down ziplines, or learn to shoot a bow and arrow. 

Family fun. © Above: PortAventura Park

Learning is fun here too

Try a visit to Tarragona where you can re-enact stories of Romans and gladiators in the Roman amphitheatre (by the way, this Roman archaeological complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site), or find out just how weird and original architecture can be with the Reus Art Nouveau route and the works of Gaudí.Don’t worry, fun can be deeply relaxing too. How about a bike ride or a Segway by the sea? Or would you like to watch a magic show, or some clowns? And if you need a break from the kids, remember that many hotels and other accommodation organise activities for children to let you unwind for a few hours.

Tarraco family week

Tips and recommendations

Recommended destinations for families

Altafulla, Calafell, Cambrils, Cunit, El Vendrell, Mont-Roig del Camp, Reus, Roda de Bará, Salou, Tarragona, Torredembarra, Vila-Seca

Best times of the year

Pretty much “when school’s out”. From June to September, there are plenty of leisure activities for children.

How to get there

There are buses from Reus international airport to Reus, Tarragona, Valls, Cambrils, La Pineda, and Salou. Barcelona international airport, with many more flights, is about 80 kilometres away, with direct bus connections to Tarragona, El Vendrell and Calafell.The Costa Dorada has a high-speed train station very close to Tarragona, with trains to Madrid (about two and a half hours) and Barcelona (about 30 minutes).

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