TRAVEL | Thrills and Family Fun at Cambrils Holiday Park, Costa Daurada


As we approached the shorter, cooler days of autumn we were delighted to be invited to visit Cambrils Holiday Park, I mean, who doesn’t love a bit of Spanish sunshine? The holiday park exceeded all expectations, making for a memorable holiday that we think families will love. Read on for the highlights of our stay.

Located in Tarragona in the Costa Daurada region of Spain, the holiday park is ideally placed for those flying into Barcelona or the smaller Reus airport. Having previously visited Barcelona a couple of times, my prior knowledge of the area was limited to the popular city-break destination, having never explored outside of the city.

The Journey

One of the most appealing things for Brits of course apart from the weather, is that getting to Spain is so fast. After boarding the plane in Manchester (I’d strongly advise arriving early as getting through security took over an hour), a couple of hours later we’d landed at Barcelona airport.

The airport experience was fast and we’d soon collected our baggage and were on our way to meet our driver for the hour-long transfer up the coast to Cambrils Holiday Park.

The Holiday Park

Despite arriving quite late at night, first impressions were good. Check-in was fast and we were taken in a golf buggy to our cottage to settle in for the night.

The following morning, up bright and early I set off to find the park supermarket and bakery and returned with the obligatory bagutte and croissants as well as some essentials to stock up the fridge.

The weather was stunning which meant the next thing on the agenda after a walk around to explore the large park, was to get in some serious chill time at the pool, but with 3 pools to choose from, it took a while to decide which one to head to.

Despite the size of the holiday park, it’s pretty easy to get around on foot with the 3 large pools all fairly close together and each with their own distinct themeing and appeal. We opted for the Medeterranian themed pool, complete with sandy beach and distinctive lighthouse.

We found that although the swimming pools were obviously huge draws, there were always plenty of free sun loungers available beside each pool and plenty of space to swim. Unsurprisingly, the exciting-looking Caribbean Jungle & Port pools which had probably the best themeing, were the livliest and most popular with kids.

Away from the pools, there’s a great kids club with a daily programme of free activities (largely Halloween themed whilst we were there), evening entertainment, play parks, trampolines, mini golf as well as great sports facilities including football and tennis courts and if parents want a bit of rest and relaxation there’s also an on-site spa and gym.

The Accommodation

The cottages are a similar size and specification located within different themed areas of the holiday park, but if you’d prefer, apartments are available in the Mediterranean village themed area.

We stayed in the Caribbean-themed area in a brightly coloured single-story detached cottage set within beautifully landscaped grounds.

Our cottage consisted of a generously sized living area with a large L-shaped sofa, dining table and chairs and a well-equipped kitchen which even included a dishwasher and a large fridge freezer. There were two bedrooms, a comfortable double and a twin bedroom ideal for kids and the air-con, even in September was put to good use.

Storage was good throughout providing a great amount of space for a family of 4. With outdoor seating and loungers, the accommodation throughout all 3 themed areas is pedestrianised, making it super safe for kids to run around and play without parents needing to worry.

The Area

Just an hour away from Barcelona and with beaches, seaside towns, theme parks and more a short drive away, the area has got a lot to offer.

The local beach

There’s a beach not too far away, though as it stands it’s a 10 minute or so walk to reach it, though there are plans to open up a shorter and more direct route from the park to the beach next year.

The beach was lovely; clean and uncrowded and swimming in the sea made a nice change to the pools, whilst the promenade is ideal for running or cycling, with a selection of restaurants facing the beach should you wish to eat outside of the park at any point.

Port Aventura World, Salou

The Salou region is home to waterparks, theme parks, palm-lined promenades and the golden sand beaches of Llarga or Llevante Beach, which are perfect for relaxing. For those looking for something a little more thrilling then Salou is home to Spain’s biggest theme park – PortAventura World, which provided me with an unexpected highlight of the holiday.

Having not visited a theme park for a good 15 years, I wasn’t too sure which rides would appeal to me, but I started the day on the crazy Dragon Khan coaster and finished it on the even crazier, Furius Baco, the second fastest coaster in Europe which goes from a ridiculous 0-135 km/h in just 3 seconds.

The honour of the fastest coaster in Europe goes to Red Force in Ferrari World, located adjacent to the main Port Aventura park. Despite visiting the newest addition to Port Aventura (the Ferarri Experience is great fun), I opted out once I saw the gravity-defying coaster in action which goes from 0-180km/h in 5 seconds – a definite must for lovers of coasters though!

At the time of our visit masks were still mandatory throughout the park, with greater social distancing and hand sanitisation points than currently in place here in the UK so that was very reassuring.

The themeing of the park was outstanding and so much better than I was expecting, close to Disney standard in fact! With plentiful rides, attractions and places to eat and drink, it definitely makes for a great family day out and is only around 20 minutes away from Cambrils Holiday Park.

Castell de vila Seca in Tarragona

For a wee bit of culture and to find out more about the region, we visited the beautiful Castell De Vila Seca, under half an hour away from Cambrils Holiday Park and well worth a visit.

The building itself dates from the 12th century, later renovated in a stunning Neo-Gothic style and it has a fascinating history. The photojournalism exhibition that was on during our visit was excellent with some iconic, thought-provoking photographs on show in the beautiful gallery spaces.

La Pineda Platja, Vila Seca

We spent a couple of hours in La Pineda Platja, a mecca for sports tourism thanks to it’s many miles of cycle tracks and a long stretch of beach. We had a lovely stroll down the beach to take in the various sculptures and after walking around the sea-front we had a delicious lunch at a seafood restaurant.

The verdict

As far as family holiday parks go, there’s so much here that it’s hard to select highlights! We loved how spotlessly clean the park is, the beautiful landscaping, the well-equipped self-catering cottages, the fantastic pools and the great on-site facilities from mini-golf to the reasonably priced supermarket and bakery.

I can say without a doubt that children and parents alike will absolutely love it here.

Food, in general, was good, but the chicken burger I ordered at the Fòrum restaurant turned out to be a processed burger rather than a chicken breast which I didn’t eat, however, a meal at Restaurant la Masia where I ordered king prawns and squid ink pasta (below) was much better.

Although my daughter is all grown up now, I have very fond memories of holiday parks I used to take her to, as well as those we visited annually when I was a kid and I can say without a doubt that children and parents alike will absolutely love it here.

The jungle-themed pool will excite kids the most I suspect and the sheer amount of child-friendly facilities at the park really are second to none, so it’s no real surprise that Cambrils Holiday park is named as one of the best in Europe or that it’s rated ‘excellent’ in independent reviews.

About Our Stay

We stayed at Cambrils Holiday Park, Taragonna, Costa Daurada, Spain, flying into Barcelona from Manchester in mid-September.

DISCLOSURE | We were invited to stay at Cambrils Holiday Park in exchange for sharing our experience. We were not paid to write this feature.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan
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