Resort of La Pineda is very laid back, not much to do but if thats what you like then its ok. No real night life. Nice beach and good bus service.

THE LOCATION

Unfortunately Festival Village appears to be at the top of a very steep hill and is not really in Cap Salou or La Pineda. La Pineda is a 20 minute downhill walk, Cap Salou is 10 minutes the other way. There are a couple of Spanish bars on the way down to La Pineda but nothing else. On the way to Cap Salou there is a really good supermarket and bakery (Mar y Pins – open until 10.00pm) and then another supermarket 5 minutes further up which is open until 11.00pm – handy if you arrive at 10.00pm like us without any food or water.

Cap Salou was quite easy to walk to and from, we found the uphill walk from La Pineda a bit too much so we got the bus. The buses were our saving grace. They come along every 5 minutes and there is a bus stop outside the apartments (don’t forget apartment side for Cap Salou, Salou and Port Aventura, opposite side for La Pineda, Tarragona and beyond). If you get the bus from La Pineda makes sure you ask for Festival Village rather than Cap Salou, it’s a bit cheaper!!

There is a massive man made beach at La Pineda but it gets very busy, the nicest beach if you are prepared to travel is the one at Tarragona (€1.90 by bus or about €18 by taxi). There is a “secret” beach about five minutes away from the apartment. Just cross the road and follow the signs for Cala Crancs, basically you just keep heading downhill. There are sun loungers, a proper beach bar and even pedaloes there. It appears that the beach is used mainly by locals.

EATING OUT

Despite its size there are few quality restaurants in La Pineda, or at least there aren’t that many on the main drag. We found an Italian called La Tagliatella which was fantastic on our first visit but awful (frozen lasagne) on our second visit. It seems the busier it gets the worse the food gets. There are plenty of café type bars doing sandwiches and a few pie and chips style places but not much else.

In Cap Salou the Smugglers Inn is really nice, there are others but this place is probably the best. You do have to wait for tables though but you can leave your name and return after half an hour when your table should be ready. My wife had the BBQ’d steak which was fantastic.

If you don’t want to walk that far Treasure Island 1 minute away from Ferstival Village is OK for your standard holiday fare.

CASHPOINTS

We decided to draw our money out when we needed it rather than taking it with us but there aren’t too many cashpoints. There is one on the main parade of shops as you come into La Pineda as you come into the town and there is also one further down the promenade. There is also one on the way to the secret beach at Cala Crancs although we didn’t use this one. This is only about 2 minutes away from the apartments although nobody seems to know about it.

THINGS TO DO

We were only there for a week and we spent 4 days by the pool but there is plenty to do. The Aquapolis Water Park is a really good day out and it’s only down the hill in La Pineda. It cost €19 for adults and €14.50 for 3-10 year old to get in and the dolphin and sea lion show is included in the price. All the rides are safe and you have to go on the Boomerang and the Black Hole. If you are heavier than most the Boomerang is quite worrying!! The Dolphin show is on at 12.00 and 16.00 and lasts a good half hour.

We also went to Barcelona for the day. First Choice offer a trip for €45ish which isn’t worth the money. The local Plana bus company does coach trips for €17.90 which leave from outside the hotel. We got the train after being told that there are “plenty”. This wasn’t the case. There is one just after 8, one at 10.13 and the next is at 11.38. The trip takes 80 minutes but only costs €9 return. We didn’t get to Barcelona until 1.00pm so we didn’t have enough time to see the sights. A day ticket for the Metro and Bus costs €4.80 and is the best way to travel although it can get hot on the underground stations. We went to Camp Nou (Blue line from Estacio Sants get off at Collblanc) which cost €9.90 for a ground tour and museum visit. Unfortunately there was building work inside the stadium which meant that all our pictures had a big crane in the middle of them!! You can also have your picture taken with the European Cup for €10, I didn’t do it but I regret it now! Then we got the Metro to theTemple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Blue line again, get off at Sagrada Familia). This is a fantastic church although the fact that it is unfinished and covered in scaffolding makes you feel like the €8 it costs to get in is a bit of a fiddle. Finally we went to do a bit of shopping. The Rambla was a bit of a disappointment, not that many shops, the better shops seem to be on Rambla Catalunya. We managed to get on the train at 7.06pm which turned out to be a commuter train (standing room only) and terminated at Tarragona. Fortunately a train to Salou arrived 2 minutes later. A taxi from Salou station to Festival Village cost us €8.

If Barcelona is a bit too far Tarragona is just as nice, the Rambla there has just as many shops (plenty of shoe shops) and there is a lovely beach and a Roman Amphitheatre. The one problem is that the bus station is on the other side of the town so it is a bit of a walk.

Salou is a nice place for families would not suggest the night life to singles or groups of adults. They definately cater for kids which is good.

The beach was very clean and lively. all in all salou is not the cleanest of places but the kids had a ball.

This was our second visit to salou and we love it. Everything about the place is great. Give it a go you'll love it.

Salou is beautiful, they are a bit fountain happy though, there are fountains everywhere along the beach. The beach is very clean and can get a little bit crowded but there is still room to move. We recommend going to Idols karaoke bar, and Charlie Chaplins bar, both great english bars. For food, go to Buddys or The Vines (lovley Sunday dinners). We would definately go back to Salou again.

The beach was spotless as were the surrounding streets around the apartments and the beach.

In all the holiday was perfect.

Really enjoyed Salou. Loved the theme park, water park the beaches.

Loads of shops, and english bars. Would definately go back here. Weather was excellent cant wait to go back but stay in different accommodation.

A busy resort easy for walking for anyone who is disabled or finds walking difficult. A good selection of eating places but not too much for gifts.

The resort is on level ground, all the shops, bars and restaurants are all in walking distance.

The Wally Trolly will take you round the resort for 2 euros, there are plenty of English bars and restaurants.

The beach is very clean, this resort is perfect for pushchairs and wheelchairs as there are no hills,

We were all inclusive so did not spend as much time in the main resort as we would have liked.

What we did see of the resort, it was clean, had lots of night time entertainment and had a lovely beach, although was extremely busy.

Porta Ventura was a great day out (don't go to Salou without visiting this place.)

We are definately going to book again to go back next year.