Thinking of heading to Aquopolis this summer? Here’s our best advice to help you to have a great time!
Introduction
Costa Blanca is blessed with many great water parks, each boasting attractions for all the family. In our opinion, no summer would be complete without a day trip to at least one.
Arguably the biggest and best water park in the south of Costa Blanca is Aquopolis. With a range of water slides and attractions, as well as kid’s pools, a wave pool and other activities, there is plenty to keep visitors of all ages entertained.
If you are interested to know more about all of the other water parks that the area has to offer, take a look at our best water parks for kids in Costa Blanca. Or, if you would rather have a day out at a simpler pool bar, check out our best family restaurants with swimming pools in Costa Blanca.
Here though, we are discussing our top tips for visiting Aquopolis Torrevieja with kids. It’s a place we’ve been to many times over the years, so we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect and how to make the most of any visit.
Where is Aquopolis located?
Aquopolis have several water parks distributed around Spain. Our local park is in Torrevieja, in the south of Costa Blanca.
The exact location of Aquopolis Torrevieja is at:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dUkfyJYkkwy5ceB59
What are the opening dates and times for Aquopolis?
For the 2024 summer season, Aquopolis Torrevieja is open from the 10th June until September. The exact closing date is dependent on the weather and water temperature in September.
The 2024 summer opening times vary through the season. The opening hours right now in August are 11:30am – 7pm, 7 days a week. Check their website for the opening times for all other dates.
For this and other water parks in the region, see our full list of water park summer 2024 opening dates.
10 Top Tips for visiting Aquopolis Torrevieja with kids
Here are our top tips to help you enjoy your day and make the most of your visit…
#1 Try to visit outside of peak dates
Like many of the summer attractions in Costa Blanca, Aquopolis is busier during the peak foreign school holiday weeks. Weekends are even busier. The park can also be busy with Spanish school trips in the weeks leading up to this.
It is therefore best to avoid these dates if you can. September is a great time to visit. Of course, for many people this is not possible. The only time you may be able to visit is when you are in the area on holiday, so flexibility is not possible. Although this may inevitably mean queues, there are still things you can do to improve your visitor experience.
One option is to buy a speedy pass to fast track you onto the rides. However, be warned this is very expensive, so is not practical or realistic for most people, especially for families like ours with multiple children. Even without spending big on one of these, hopefully the rest of our top tips below can still help you enjoy your day, even if visiting at peak times. Read on for more…
#2 Buy tickets online in advance
The best way to buy tickets is in advance via the official Aquopolis website. Not only does this avoid queueing for tickets on arrival, it is nearly always cheaper than the standard entry price.
Keep an eye out for discount codes. These can help to reduce the cost of entry further. We always try to share these on our Costa Blanca Kids Facebook group whenever we can, so keep an eye out on there. These change regularly so keep checking back. One code that is valid at the time of writing this article is:
Summer 2024 Discount Code: LIDL24
#3 Arrive early before the park opens
Expect lots of people to arrive early before opening time. A queue usually builds, sometimes right around the car park at busy times. Don’t be too put off by this though, once the park opens the queue usually moves quite quickly to get in.
Although it can mean a bit of a wait in the sun, it is definitely worth arriving at least 15-30 mins before the park opening time, so that you can be towards the front of this queue. This means you can get in quickly, secure a good spot, and get a ride or 2 in before the queues start to build up.
#4 Don’t park in the car park
Given that the cost of admission is already quite high, I always find it a bit cheeky that they charge you extra to park in the car park. When we last visited in August 2024 the cost for parking was €6 per car.
Not only this, besides the additional cost, the queues to both enter and exit the car park can be long. Leaving at the end of the day can often be particularly frustrating.
Avoid all this misery by instead parking on the streets opposite the entrance to the water park. Here it is usually easy to park for free, and much quicker to exit when you leave.
#5 Reserve a spot to sit and locker first
When you enter the park, the first thing you want to do is secure a spot to sit in and use as your base for the day. Where you choose to go depends on whether or not you want a sun lounger (there is an additional fee of €5/€6 per day for these).
If you want a sunbed, turn right and head towards the back right corner. This is where the majority of sun loungers can be found. Numbers are limited so don’t delay!
If you don’t want a sunbed, turn left and head for the back corner on the left. Here there is a large grassy area with trees for shade that you can place a rug on. As a change for 2024, sun loungers are no longer allowed on this grass.
If you want a locker, also be quick (turn right when you enter). The queue for these quickly builds up so grab one as soon as you arrive. To be honest, we’ve never bothered with lockers and never had a problem.
#6 Bring your own food & drinks
Although there are food outlets and bars distributed throughout the park, they are quite expensive and the quality and variety of food on offer is pretty uninspiring. Worse still, the queues can get enormous at busy times. Save money and avoid this misery by bringing a cool box or bag with all of your own supplies for the day.
Glass bottles or containers are not permitted in the water park.
#7 Head for the rides with inflatables first
If you’ve managed to arrive early and get into the water park ahead of most of the crowds, you’ll have the chance to have a ride or 2 before the queues start to build up. Definitely make the most of this – it may be your only chance all day to avoid a big wait.
Although all of the rides may look tempting and at this time some may have no queues at all, your best bet is to head for the rides that use the infalatable rings to sit on first. Particularly those with double rings if you want to accompany a child. The Black Hole ride is often the worst of all for queues, sometimes with a wait of 30-60 mins later in the day. Because of this, we always try to do this one first.
#8 Keep an eye on queue lengths
Queue lengths can fluctuate throughout the day. Always be aware of what is going on and spot any quieter periods. Sometimes certain rides suddenly seem to have fewer people waiting and many have shorter lines around lunch time (peak lunch time is usually 13:30-14:30).
Also, if you’re wanting to ride the Lazy River ride, if you don’t want a rubber ring to ride on you are allowed to jump the queue and just jump right in!
#9 Mini Zig Zag not Zig Zag
Don’t bother with the larger Zig Zag ride. The queue is often enormous and very slow moving. The ride itself is pretty dull and not worth the wait. Smaller children often get stuck it is so slow!
On the other hand, the smaller Mini Zig Zag is often overlooked but is actually a great ride for children. It goes much quicker than the bigger Zig Zag, even very small children are allowed to ride with an adult, and the queue is usually only small and fast moving. It’s a lot of fun for kids.
#10 Don’t leave it too late to join the queues
Although waiting patiently for the queues to subside on some of the more popular rides can sometimes be a good tactic (as some people will leave the park early resulting in fewer people waiting), don’t leave it too late. Sometimes the access areas into the queues are closed around 30 mins before the park closing time. If you wait too long you may get caught out and never get a go!
Another advantage of not parking in the car park (as we’ve suggested earlier) is that you’ll be able to stay until the very end without fear of having to leave early to beat the exit queue. That way you can maximise your time on the rides when hopefully the queues start to die down.
In Summary
Although the water park can sometimes feel overcrowded and the queues can be frustrating at the busiest of peak times, there is still no denying that Aquopolis Torrevieja makes a great day out for all the family. We keep returning year after year.
The range of rides is impressive for visitors of all ages, and the kid’s and wave pools provide a fun distraction for anyone who is tired of waiting in line for the water slides. Although not on the scale of some of the very largest parks in Spain, such as Benidorm’s Aqualandia in the north of Costa Blanca, it nonetheless remains our favourite of the water parks in the south of the region. Also, if you’re visiting Aqualandia, you can expect even bigger waits for their main rides.
Hopefully by using these top tips for visiting Aquopolis Torrevieja with kids, you too can enjoy a family day out at this brilliant water park. For us, no summer would feel complete without a visit.
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