The best TUI SplashWorld holidays: our favourite hotels with free waterpark access

If your family measures a holiday by how many waterslides they can squeeze into a day, Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park Neverland should keep them busy - and then some! There are an incredible 47 pools and 81 slides, ranging from high-speed flumes and near-vertical drops to a lazy river and splash areas for younger children. 

Waterpark access is included for hotel guests, so we recommend dipping in and out rather than trying to tackle the whole thing in one day.

Away from the slides, families stay in bungalow-style accommodation dotted around the resort's gardens, with plenty of space to spread out after a day at the waterpark. 

There are 11 restaurants and bars, with options ranging from Italian food and burgers to Egyptian dishes. Younger children have a kids' club, while mini golf, tennis and evening entertainment give you a few alternatives when everyone's ready for some time out of the water.

If you've got older children who'll happily spend all day racing down waterslides (and then ask to go back the next morning), Villa Mandi and Siam Park is a great option. Siam Park has everything from high-speed flumes and river rapids to gentler splash areas for younger children, so it works well if you've got children of different ages.

Villa Mandi is just a five-minute drive away, and guests get free unlimited entry to Siam Park, plus a complimentary shuttle bus between the hotel and waterpark. That means you can head back to the hotel when everyone's had enough rather than feeling you need to squeeze everything into one day.

Back at Villa Mandi, there are four outdoor pools, spacious apartment-style accommodation and a buffet restaurant, plus a seasonal kids' club for younger children. But let's face it, if you're booking this hotel, Siam Park is probably the main event.

Close to the beach in the north of Paphos, Leonardo Laura Beach & Splash Resort has its own waterpark, with multi-lane racing slides, high-speed chutes and a space bowl. There are mini slides and a splash park for younger children too, although this hotel is probably a better bet for older kids who can make the most of the bigger rides. 

Many of the slides have a minimum height restriction of 120cm, and children need to be six or over to use the wave machine.

There's plenty to do when everyone's had enough of the water, including a cinema room, games area and tennis courts. There are kids' clubs for children aged four to 12, although parents need to stay with their children during sessions, plus a separate hangout area for teenagers. Food options should go down well with families too, with a takeaway burger joint, pizza restaurant and sweet kiosk alongside a Greek taverna and Lebanese restaurant for evening meals.

If water slides are your thing then you will LOVE this epic resort with an on-site waterpark on Turkey’s stunning south coast. Open daily from 8am to 8pm, you can spend all day hopping between white-knuckle black holes and twisty tunnel slides. And there’s a colourful pirate ship, a spray park, and pint-sized slides for smaller paddlers. 

The hotel itself offers family-sized suites and a range of activities including football, tennis, beach volleyball and watersports. Nightly barbecues are on offer at the buffet restaurant and you can tuck into Italian, Asian and Turkish dishes at speciality spots. 

With a fun-filled waterpark at your disposal it would be easy to overlook the local area but it’s well worth exploring the nearby Blue Flag beach as well as Side’s ancient ruins, just a 15-minute drive away.

If the children want waterslides and you'd quite like a cocktail overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun manages to keep everyone happy. One of the newer additions to TUI's SplashWorld collection, its waterpark has 14 slides, two lazy rivers and separate splash areas for younger children. Guests get unlimited access throughout their stay, so there's no pressure to fit every slide into one exhausting afternoon.

There's plenty going on away from the waterpark too. The junior suites are spacious and contemporary, and there are 12 restaurants to choose from, covering everything from steak and sushi to Italian and Mexican food. There's also a supervised kids' club and evening entertainment, plus bowling and laser tag when you fancy a few hours out of the sun.

It's certainly at the pricier end of a family waterpark holiday, but you're getting a five-star Caribbean resort as well as the slides. If the adults want something a bit more luxurious without the children getting bored after two days, this ticks both boxes.

If you’re keen to make the most of a waterpark on your next family holiday but don’t actually want to sleep next to the slides, the Aqua Bay Hotel in Zante is a good option. On the east coast of the island, this hotel is a laid-back low-rise retreat just a two-minute walk from Tsilivi Waterpark. 

All guests get unlimited access to rides including the Space Bowl and Boomerango as well as racing slides and wave pool. There are seven pools for cooling off in and a dedicated kids’ area with animal-shaped slides and fountains. 

The hotel is a five-minute drive from the beach and all guests have access to the facilities and kids’ club at the nearby Planos Bay Hotel.

Mumsnetters love the Balearics in general and Menorca in particular for family holidays. It’s quieter than its Balearic neighbours Ibiza and Mallorca and is home to beautiful beaches and laid-back resorts. 

In Cala’n Fort, Globales Los Delfines has a fantastic location just a 15-minute walk from the beach and right next door to the Aqua Center Menorca. All hotel guests get unlimited access to the waterpark’s kamikaze slides, flumes and water tunnels, and there’s a water castle and a splash area for younger swimmers. 

There’s an on-site pool, a football pitch and a playground as well as a buffet restaurant with a dedicated kids’ section for family dining. The kids’ club caters to children aged 3-12 between May and October.

For a bit of thrill-seeking in tropical surroundings, consider a stay at the Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort & Aquagames, a huge beachfront resort on the Dominican Republic’s east coast. 

This Caribbean island retreat features an on-site waterpark with a 10-metre-high tower home to chutes, toboggan slides and a free-fall twister slide. There are also racing slides for family fun and a pirate-themed kids’ area for children aged 4+.

There’s an impressive roster of activities including kayaking, snorkelling, tennis, volleyball and football, and there’s a beauty centre for treatments and massages. On the food front, you’ll be spoilt for choice with no fewer than eight themed restaurants and 13 bars. 

Temperatures stay warm all year round but the best time to visit the Dominican Republic is between December and April during the dry season. Perfect for a holiday with the kids over the Christmas, February half term or Easter holidays.

If you're after a waterpark holiday without the eye-watering price tag, AQI Venus Beach in Tunisia is worth considering. It's right on a sandy beach just outside Hammamet, with an on-site waterpark included in the price and all-inclusive food and drink. 

While it’s not quite as extensive as the likes of Pickalbtros, the on-site waterpark has multi-lane racing slides and twisting flumes, plus mini slides and water sprays for younger children. There are another two swimming pools too for when everyone needs a break from the slides.

There's plenty going on away from the waterpark as well, with a kids' club for younger children and football, archery and beach volleyball for older ones. And because the hotel sits right on the sand, swapping the pool for a beach day doesn't require packing everyone up for a day out.

It's not the most luxurious resort on this list, but that's not really the point. With the waterpark, sandy beach and meals all covered, AQI Venus Beach gives families a lot for their money and makes a good option if you'd rather spend your holiday budget elsewhere.