Salou, mainland Spain

I visited mainland Spain back in 2008, when I was in my teens. I was staying in a resort called Salou, which is along the east coast, and relatively close to Barcelona. The photos that follow unfortunately aren’t the best of quality due to the limitations of a 2008 camera phone!

This was my first holiday with friends, therefore the majority of the photos that I took on this trip involved either drinking copious amounts of cocktails or general teenage holiday shenanigans (nothing bad, mind!) – I shall spare you the photos of these! We went in April, and therefore the weather was pleasant enough but not particularly warm, so hoodies and jumpers were worn in the evenings. The evenings were also relatively quiet, since the night life season hadn’t begun yet.

The well known theme park “PortAventura World” is very close to where we were staying in Salou, so we paid a visit here during our trip. If I am honest, I do not remember an awful lot about this day (nothing drinking related – promise!) I do remember that the rides were fun – enough to rival any other reputed European theme park, and that a half day there was plenty enough time to sample the bigger attractions.

No traditional Spanish food was eaten on this holiday – it was, I’m afraid, all either British, American or Italian fare. We didn’t visit any other local towns or beaches (although we did walk the stretch of beach between Salou and Cambrils, which was nice and scenic), and neither did we go on any other types of excursions. Such is the cultural capacity of a group of 17 year olds on their first holiday away! I would be interested to hear more on others’ experiences of Salou and the surrounding area – was your holiday a bit more cultured and eventful than mine?

The beach was nice, albeit a bit chilly in April, therefore no swimming, sunbathing or beach activities were undertaken on this particular trip! Our days were spent wandering around the local towns’ shops, bars and restaurants, just soaking in the atmosphere and generally having a relaxing time. If I visited again, I would choose to go in May or June time, when the weather is a bit warmer and the scene a bit livelier.

Mallorca

Mallorca was a more energetic and overall entertaining trip, since we visited in the summer of 2009, in peak season (the temperature was around 33 degrees c in the days – on the hotter side of comfortable for me!) It was more or less the same gang of us who went together as for Salou, so we were keen to live it up a bit more this time! I remember that the nightlife was better due to the season, although we were staying at a smaller, family resort on the east coast of Mallorca (Cales de Mallorca), so it wasn’t exactly rambunctious. Again, many cocktails were drunk, and a trip to the local karaoke bar was fun. The quality of the below photos isn’t great, since these were likely taken on the same phone as per Salou!

The highlight of this holiday was a glass bottomed boat trip, which took us from Cales de Mallorca to Porto Cristo and back. The trip itself took maybe an hour or so each way, and gave the opportunity to see some caves and to take in the beautiful sights of the open ocean. Porto Cristo itself had a more sophisticated feel to it, with many of the shops and stalls there selling jewellery and little “trinkety” goods.

We spent some time swimming and sunbathing on the main beach, the usual, until unfortunately one of my friends got stung by a jellyfish. As it was a Sunday, all the shops and pharmacies were closed, therefore he had to suck it up without any healing creams or lotions… we were put off swimming in the sea after that, therefore we didn’t visit again during our holiday! The beach itself was pretty though, albeit a bit on the smaller side, but this was fine for a similarly bijou resort.

If I could return to either Salou or Cales de Mallorca again, I would. I would probably choose to go in June, as I reckon that is where the most reasonable weather can be experienced, with a comfortable balance struck between liveliness and relaxation. Suggestions for other Spanish beach resorts to visit are of course welcome, although I would want to stay away from any of the particularly rowdy ones!

Ibiza

Highlights of the holiday:

• First & foremost, enjoying quality holiday time with friends!
• Snorkelling off the coast of Playa D’en Bossa (shoutout to Anfibios Ibiza!)
• Attending events at the Ushuaïa & Pacha superclubs (Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike, Calvin Harris, Defected)
• Walking to & around Ibiza Town & taking the water taxi back.
• Dining on a wagyu steak & sampling some tapas.
• June weather in Ibiza (think sun, warmth, 28 degrees C – perfect!)
• All inclusive hotel poolside chilling with cocktails 🍹

Photo highlights below: