Costa Dorada Sun,
sea and sand, it's a winning combination and the Costa Dorada has it in spades. Running south from Barcelona, this sun-baked
sweep is made up of trendy seafront towns and bright and breezy beach resorts. Salou is the undisputed holiday hotspot, followed
closely by neighbouring Cambrils and La Pineda. Together this trio form the backbone of the Costa Dorada. Further up the coast
you have the history-fest that is Tarragona, the old Roman capital of Spain and last but not least you've got the chic
little seaside town of Sitges. People flock to the Costa Dorada to simply flop on the Kodak-worthy sands, and who can blame
them? It's not for nothing that Costa Dorada means 'Gold Coast'. Its shimmering ribbons stretch for 200 kilometres
or so and, as you can imagine, it's a sun-seekers dream come true. Sunshine aside, there's plenty of culture
to soak up, too. Head to Barcelona for the day, or maybe take the train to Montserrat. Of course no description of the Costa
Dorada would be complete without mentioning its star attraction - Port Aventura, giving Alton Towers a run for its money,
anyday. It's all loop-the-loop rollercoasters and splash-tastic log flumes, one thing's for sure, on the Costa Dorada,
it's smiles all round.
Portaventura Theme Park Portaventura is Spain's biggest theme
park, Ride-wise the 8-loop coaster Dragons Khan is the star attraction here, but there are plenty of other adrenaline-pumpers
thrown into the mix. Tutuki Splash plunges from a volcano into a jungle river. Hurakan Condor freefalls more than 100 metres.
Plus Furious Baco speeds from 0 to 80mph in less than 3.5 seconds. White-knucklers aside, the park's split up into themed
zones - Polynesia, Imperial China, Aztec Mexico, the Wild West and the Med, and there's plenty to do if you're on
a go slow, too. Think fireworks, puppet shows and professional shows, where you can see everything from Can-Canning saloon
girls to back flipping Chinese acrobats.
