Excursions in the Costa Brava range from visits to art galleries to walks amongst extinct volcanoes. The Marineland Park, near the resort of Blanes, is a firework of excitement. It is a water park, a dolphinarium, a marine zoo and a venue for animal and bird shows. It is no exaggeration to call Marineland a centre for family fun and close encounters with wildlife.
The first pleasure on a hot day is to plunge a slide into the pool at Marineland Waterpark. Sun loungers are available in this area for those wishing to sunbathe. For children, there's a superbly equipped Kids' Paradise pool with safe slides, fountains, waterfalls and a playground. Children can share one of the three pools without slides for a quiet holiday with adults.
Water lovers will find nine different slides. The children will love the gently but winding Super Slalom slide; the Speed Boats toboggan slide, or the 40-metre Crazy Race waterslide for speed contests. Teenagers can try out the twisty Anaconda and Twister tubes.
For the more adventurous, the Costa Brava Waterpark offers a choice of Boomerang — sliding around the vertical planes of a U-shaped ramp, Black Hole — a high-speed descent through a 90-metre tunnel, the Tornado whirlpool or the steep Kamikaze slide.
A dolphin show is the next highlight of the programme. Charming bottlenose dolphins feel like they are in the open sea in the pool and frolic, to the audience's delight. The trainers help the animals to reveal all their talents. If you want a splash from the dolphin as a gift, try to get a front-row seat.
The sea lion show is also recommended. The tricks performed by these playful sea animals will make you chortle or gasp in delight. By the way, you can see how dolphins and sea lions swim underwater through the portholes. Penguins keep them company. Don't forget to watch these birds gather around the zoo employee when it's feeding time.
And there are no trained animals in the exotic bird park. But parrots, storks, cranes, peacocks, flamingos and other feathered birds show off their beauty like professional models.
The water park has a restaurant, pizzeria and picnic area. Another water park, Marineland, is located in Mallorca.
