PortAventura World: Day Trip From Barcelona
Now Go See It is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Easily reachable by train from Barcelona is one of the top theme parks in Spain, PortAventura World.
We visited the park and the adjacent Ferrari Land on a Friday in mid-August. Also nearby is the PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park, a water park that we were not able to visit.
How To Get To PortAventura World From Barcelona By Train
We got an early start from our hotel in Barcelona trying to arrive at the park by its 10 am opening time. We took the local subway to Passeig de Gràcia station in Barcelona then the Renfe R. Express train to PortAventura station. The train departed at about 8:15 am landing us a few minutes after 10 am in the park. It takes an additional 10-15 minutes to walk from the train station to the park entrance.
PortAventura World Tickets
We bought tickets that included visiting both Ferrari Land and the main PortAventura park for about US$65 each.
PortAventura Express Pass
We also sprung for front-of-line passes (Express Premium) for another US$60 each. The express pass saved us loads of time waiting in line. We wanted to see as much as possible in one day, knowing that we would probably never return to the park. It ended up being money well spent on the busy late summer day.
Visiting Ferrari Land
Since our Express Passes did not work in Ferrari Land we started our day there. If you happen to be a Ferrari enthusiast you will really love this park. Frankly, we couldn’t tell you the difference between a Ferrari and a sporty-looking Camry, so much of it was lost on us. There are gift shops aplenty filled with red Ferrari merch and a bunch of “rides” and “experiences” that felt more like automotive marketing opportunities than experiences.
There’s a good collection of kids' rides, so if you’re visiting with a family, this may be a good way to spend your day. We got in line for the park’s main (and only) coaster, Red Force. This is the tallest and fastest coaster in all of Europe, so despite being the only thrill ride in the park, it will not disappoint. It’s fast, high, and crazy, but it’s over in a flash.
After exploring the Italian-themed streets of the park and deciding to skip the park’s standard drop tower, we exited and walked across the short courtyard to the entrance to PortAventura World.
PortAventura Rides
As with most theme parks, PortAventura is broken into themed areas. As you enter the park you find yourself in Mediterrània. A huge lake is surrounded by shops and restaurants themed like a seaside village. Furius Baco, a winged coaster darts out over the water.
With Express Passes in hand, we decided to walk the park counterclockwise riding whatever we came upon. Furius Baco was the first coaster we saw, but it was closed for repairs, so we made our way to the next themed area, Polynesia.
Tutuki Splash, a water boat drop ride themed on the side of a volcano was our first stop. It was getting hot and we figured we would dry quickly, so we boarded and took the plunge, managing to only be lightly spritzed on the way down. Some of our fellow travelers were not as fortunate. Also in Polynesia is a dinosaur-themed 4D theater experience and a swinging pirate ship ride.
We passed through the kid’s themed Sesame Street World where the little ones were enjoying a bunch of puppet themed kiddie rides. The newest ride in the park SésamoAventura was one of the few rides with a long wait that our Express Pass did not allow us to bypass, so we decided to come back later when the line would hopefully be shorter.
As we came out of the kid's area we encountered a replica of the Great Wall of China. This was the China-themed area of the park. Home to the best two coasters we rode in the park Dragon Khan and Shambhala. There is also a water splash battle ride with amazing Angkor theming. Having just dried off from the boat ride, we decided to watch the battle from a safe distance.
Exiting China to Mexico we encountered stone temples and lush vegetation. A mine train coaster, El Diablo, was loads of fun. Templo del Fuego is a walk through attraction with fire effects, fake quakes, and live actors. It was pretty ridiculous and completely in Spanish, but we giggled through the whole thing. We also rode a nauseating snake-themed spinning ride called Yucatán. Barf emoji.
Around the corner was the Far West, themed to the American old west. A large wooden coaster, Stampida, runs two trains giving you the chance to race your fellow riders. This was a shaky but fun ride. A smaller family version of the ride, Tomahawk, is nearby.
The Silver River Flume, a log flume ride, and Grand Canyon Rapids a raft ride managed to soak us to the core.
Around the bend led us back to Mediterrània where we were able to ride the freshly reopened Furius Baco coaster. It was the worst ride in the park for sure; old, rickety, and downright painful.
We decided to take another lap around the park to dry off and ride some of the smaller attractions we passed on the first loop. We hit the Sesame Street ride which, despite the long wait and being designed for kids, was really cool. We also had another ride on Dragon Khan and Shambhala back in China; So fun.
Portaventura Uncharted
The park’s newest ride, Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence is an indoor launch coaster themed around the Uncharted video game (and movie) series. The roller coaster, opened in the summer of 2023 has been an instant hit winning numerous coaster awards.
Food in PortAventura World
The food in the park is very affordable and moderately tasty. We had smoothies for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and some Chinese food for dinner, plus an ice cream snack. The total for the day was under US$40.
Returning To Barcelona By Train
As the sun was setting we headed back to the train station to return to Barcelona. We had an amazing day in the park and were happy to have been able to ride almost everything with our Express Passes. If we had the day to do over, we would probably have skipped Ferrari Land and saved a few bucks on the multi-park ticket. Overall there were a bunch of great coasters and plenty of other things to see and do for a full day of fun.
The Renfe train schedule on the way home was a little more casual. It was impossible to figure out when the next train would be coming, so we, unfortunately, sat on the pavement waiting for a train for almost 90 minutes. There were monitors with arrival times, but they were completely inaccurate. Judging by the reactions of locals waiting alongside us, this was a pretty normal occurrence. Rest assured, a train will come, it may just take a while.
