So you love the water… but maybe you’d like a change from the beaches and the often-wild ocean of the Algarve. Perhaps you’d feel safer with little kids in a waterpark, away from the waves of the Atlantic, or your teens would like some thrill-fuelled adventure. This is our guide to the waterparks of the Algarve, four splendid places to let your inner mermaid or merman go free.
7 sensible tips for safe water park fun
Wherever there’s water, thrills and sunshine, there are also risks. Take care of all these and you’ll have even more fun.
- Check out the water park’s own rules before you get busy with the fun. They’re common sense, specially created to keep you and the family safe and well
- If anyone in your party or family can’t swim or isn’t that confident in the water, keep an eye open so you can react fast if they get in trouble. Water parks have lifeguards, of course, but it’s better safe than sorry . If your child isn’t good at swimming, make sure they stick to the shallow end
- Please don’t swim or go on water park rides when you’re drunk! It might seem like fun but you’ll only pose a be a hazard to yourself and other people, and drunk person can be scary to children, who don;t like the unpredictability of drunkenness or the chaos drunk people can cause 😉
- Bear the heat in mind – even though you’ll spend a lot of time in the water, you can still get sunburned. Bring a cover-up for everyone and remember to keep re-applying sun cream, especially for young children Â
- Drink whenever you feel thirsty, making sure the kids have cool drinks to enjoy whenever they feel like it. There’s no need to keep ‘hydrating’ yourself – that’s junk science, as this Scientific American magazine article confirms. It’s fine to just drink when you feel thirsty
- While your children will probably be perfectly safe, it’s always wise to keep an eye on them so you know where they are and who they’re with at all times, noticing when they’re getting a bit red in the sun or tired by the watery fun
- Never, ever run around the edge of a swimming pool. It can be very slippery, the stone or ceramic tiles are hard, and a child or adult could easily fall, get a nasty bang on the head or even be seriously hurt Â
Slide and Splash Water Park in Lagoa Algarve
Slide & Splash Algarve is all about the slides and splashes … no surprises there, then! They sometimes add new rides to their offering, for example new for 2025 there’s Boomerang, Race and Big Fall. With 25 ways to enjoy the thrills of water in the lovely sunshine and open air without getting sand in your pants, there are water slides aplenty along with a genuine Olympic size pool.
Two different kids’ areas are yours, along with the Cabanas, reserved areas with sun loungers, a safe for your valuables, a fridge to keep your drinks and snacks fresh and more make it special. There’s also an enormous park area with more sun loungers, a lovely lawn, restaurants and a shop where you can buy snacks and souvenirs. Check out the massages, perfect for relaxing even deeper into this cool place, plus a real Fish Spa, AquaTatoos and Braids.
Zoomarine Algarve
The mysteries of the oceans are yours at this immense family theme park in scenic Guia, just a few miles from lovely Albufeira. Zoomarine Algarve blends the magic of fun on and in the water with thrilling educational entertainment. Your little ones will adore the Jurassic River attraction, a memorable voyage through the ancient world of the dinosaurs. They’ll also love Pirate Bay, an exciting event complete with swords, eye patches and all manner of crazy stunts.
There’s a choice of brilliant aquatic amusements and rides including a miniature rollercoaster, a colourful carousel, a giant wheel and more, along with Portugal’s biggest artificial wave beach, a 4D Cinema, and the delights of the aquarium itself, packed with mysterious marine life.
Aquashow Park Algarve
Aquashow Park is another popular attraction for the whole family, home to one of Europe’s biggest and scariest water rollercoasters at 740m long, every metre utterly terrifying… in a good way! The longest slide in the park, the River Slide, isn’t for the faint hearted, nor is the Free Fall, the super-fast Kamikaze or the dizzying descent of White Fall. There’s a classic Wave Pool, always popular, plus a lovely Tropical Pool with rocky areas, beautiful waterfalls and a Jacuzzi sixty people can fit in. Children love the Aquakids and Aqualandia attractions, both offering exactly the right kind of fun and entertainment in a completely safe environment. Which means you can sit back and relax while they have the time of their lives.
Aqualand Algarve
Aqualand Algarve offers two children’s pools, loads of water slides, castles, fountains, animal sculptures and so much more, You’ll discover what life feels like floating gently along the 270m Congo River!, a tranquil antidote to the attractions designed to keep adrenaline monkeys in your life happy. Then there’s King Cobra, a challenge that begins 25m up . Taking to the water on a float, you’ll slide the entire twisty body of the huge snake, whizzing around sharp turns and through pitch black areas to confuse the senses. When you suddenly drop and tilt 40 degrees, you’ll experience the biggest thrill of all. King Cobra is made of 315 huge pieces reaching five storeys high into the air, thrilling as many as 480 people an hour… but there’s more. The park’s famously crazy rides include Surf Beach, Kamikaze, Adrenaline Fun, Kidzworld,
Chill Out & Play, Children’s Paradise, Flying Carpets, Banzai, Super Surf, Rapids, Crazy Leap and Hydra, each as adrenaline-fuelled as the last.
In complete contrast to your bach days, this is the kind of water-based thrills every child loves, often just as much fun for the grown-ups. Which Algarve water park will you visit first?
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