We recently spent ten days in Salou, Spain. Our original destination was Orlando, Florida but hurricane Irma put stop to that. Our flights were cancelled two days before we were due to travel. My Mother is a whiz at booking holidays and in no time had found a replacement at short notice. She found us ten days in Salou. A place I had never been before. My beloved Grandmother only went to Salou on holidays year after year so I’d like to think this was her looking out for us!! She always sends me messages like this, letting us know she is still watching.
Salou : Our Hotel
We stayed in the H10 Mediterranean Village in Cap De Salou. On first impressions the hotel was clean, family friendly and HUGE! The Hotel has two outdoor pools, a childrens pool, Pirate Ship and Slide. Finn was excited immediately. The room was spacious with towels, toiletries, a fridge and a pool facing balcony. Plenty of space to unpack and store our cases. Daily cleaning service with fresh linen. There is a large cocktail bar, outdoor seating, two pool side snack bars, a pizzeria, a restaurant, a games room and a supermarket.
Up on the roof there are quiet sun loungers and two jacuzzi pools. If you can leave the kids in the activity club, you can escape to the roof for some peace and quiet! There is an indoor pool and a gym if you fancied that too! We never had any problems getting sun loungers in the morning and you can rent towels poolside to use. There are plenty of life gaurds on duty too. We did venture out of the hotel on several days and here is what we got up to.
Ferrari Land
Our Finn is obsessed with cars. Especially Ferrari’s. When the disappointment of skipping Disney Land washed over, A promise of Ferrari Land eased the blow. He loved it. There are rides and attractions for all ages. The huge rollercoaster however was out of our age range. Not even the adults were brave enough to try. That thing is HUGE! Finn loved the driving track and went back several times. You can try to be a formula 1 pit master and change a tyre. There is a Ferrari experience where you get to visit Ferrari around the world. Finn didn’t go on this as it scared him. The rest of our group did however and loved it.
There was snack bars, restaurants and sweet shops. As well as the Ferrari shop. The prices in the shop are way out there. Finn picked up a small few cars as a token but I wouldn’t plan to shop here. It is very expensive. Overall, Finn loved his day and while most of it was over his head he still had a great time. Lots here for adults too. You can find more information and ticket prices HERE.
Camp Nou Stadium Barcelona
Our Second day trip of the holiday was a visit to Barcelona to see Camp Nou. Again, this holiday was centered around Finn so cars and football it was!! We bought a day trip ticket from a stand near our hotel and the bus picked us up that morning. On arrival to Camp Nou we were escorted inside and free to tour around as we pleased.
Finn was in awe at it all. He rarely gets excited but his whole face was lit up throughout. His hero is of course Messi and he was beside himself at the thought of walking where he walked. You can see almost every area of the stadium. Even taking a seat pitch side in the managers box. Lots of photo ops too. However be aware of the official photographs. When you go to get them printed on exit they are extremely over priced. Overall I would highly recommend a visit here. Even if you have zero interest in football. It is very impressive!
Salou Shopping
You can hit up Salou town for your usual touristy shopping. Row after row of the usual Spanish resort tokens. Some of the clothes shops are worth a mooch around but I didn’t find anything too exciting. There is an official FC Barcelona store for the men in your life or Mango for us girls. Just 20 minutes away in a taxi you will find Tarragona. The shopping here is SO much better!
Parc Central is a large shopping mall containing all of my favourite shops. Mango, Zara, Stradivarus, Bershka, Kiko Milano, Sports Wear, Food Court and a Boots like pharmacy to name a few. Prices are much cheaper than at home and I did pick up a few pieces I love. A 10 minute walk away is El Corte Ingles. A department store similar to Macy’s. The first floor is a huge cosmetics hall with all of the high end brands you would expect including some of our budget friendly brands. They even have a Sephora concession. We went on a day that is rained and it was the perfect way to pass the day!
Would I Return?
Absolutely. We had a lovely family holiday. If I was going back I would stay exactly where we were. It was quiet at night time, very family friendly and easy to walk from place to place. The bus stopped right outside our hotel entrance and we had everything we needed nearby.
We spent two child free nights in Salou itself. We enjoyed a few drinks and the bars but I don’t think I would like to be centered there. I liked that we had a quiet base and the option for something lively if we fancied it. There is still a lot we didn’t do so I would go back another time with Finn. Hubby and I are definitely planning to return to Barcelona and explore a bit more some weekend.
Have you been? Any other family destinations you would recommend?
Louise x