A Mum-and-Son Break at PortAventura and Ferrari Land, Spain

By Rhonda Carrier

As I strapped myself into my seat on the front row of Red Force, slid my goggles down over my eyes and prepared for the rollercoaster to accelerate from 0 to 180 km/h in just five seconds, I doubted my own sanity.

It had been a few years since our family holiday at Playa de la Montroig and PortAventura World in Catalonia, and our subsequent visit to PortAventura's Caribe Aquatic Park. The opening since then of PortAventura’s Ferrari Land made the Spanish theme park an irresistible choice as a destination with my thrill-seeking youngest Zac to celebrate the end of this GCSEs.

'They were 39 of the most horrifying and also exhilarating seconds of my life. It was like an ice-water plunge, a shot of adrenaline and endorphins – we joined the queue to do it all over again, our legs still shaking.'

Propelled forwards, we hurtled towards a 112m-high top hat (Red Force is the world’s second-tallest rollercoaster) that had both our faces twisting with the G-force as we made a 90° twist before swooping over the top and straight into another 90° twist. The whole experience took only 39 seconds – but they were 39 of the most horrifying and also exhilarating seconds of my life. It was like an ice-water plunge, a shot of adrenaline and endorphins – we joined the queue to do it all over again, our legs still shaking.

You need a separate ticket to enter Ferrari Land (you’ll get one if, like us, you stay at one of the several PortAventura World hotels and have a parks package). It's popular with Spanish teens equally addicted to Red Force; otherwise, its handful of rides are aimed mainly at younger kids, and there's a museum of Italian cars.

Most of our time was spent reacquainting ourselves with the main theme park, which turns 30 in 2025 – marking the occasion with a new parade showcasing floats inspired by each area of the Park, a new show at the Gran Teatre Imperial, an expansion of ‘FiestAventura’ with the introduction of drones into the show, and revamped dining including the return of some iconic dishes. With a park this size and this creative, there’s always something new to come back for.

It was Zac who led the way, as most of the park was new to him in that he’d been too little to try out the major rides on previous visits. Cue repeated rides on Uncharted: The Enigma of Penitence, a mind-blowing combo of side launches, rotating platforms and inverted free falls all in one delirious dark ride opened in 2023. And also numerous rides on the classics Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya, which was the tallest and second-fastest coaster in Europe when it opened in 2012, and Dragon Khan, which hurls you around no fewer than eight loops within just 69 seconds.

PortAventura World remains one of the best theme parks on the planet and a must if you go to Barcelona. We stayed in our old favourite on-site Hotel Gold River, the recreation of an American Wild West town with direct access to PortAventura Park, plus outdoor pools for when you need some respite from all the giddy fun of the rides. But it’s also possible to stay in Barcelona and make a day trip down to the park – you can even get park tickets that include train tickets from the Catalan capital, so you can travel in the most sustainable way.

Find out more about PortAventura World or see our guide to Barcelona with kids.