Spanish mainland or Ibiza?

[frogface5]

Struggling with booking a holiday this year. Thinking about Spanish mainland as never done this before, only ever the islands. Looks to be a few nice hotels with water parks etc in the Salou / Almeria areas. Has anyone been here with families and what did you think?

The other option is Ibiza which we’ve been to before so I know it’s a decent enough option but I do like to try something new.

We didnt like salou but liked benidorm. Combo of loads of factors. Location, hotel etc

I wasn’t keen on Salou. Although, lots to do for the kids and our hotel was lovely, I thought it was quite dirty and the beach was just insanely busy with so many people smoking.
Having said that, my kids loved it.

Ibiza on the other hand 👌🏻 one of my faves.

I do like Ibiza and it seems like a safe option. I’m just not sure where to go on the mainland/coast.

Girona, up around Barcelona is gorgeous. Have you thought about Mallorca as an alternative to Ibiza? Pollença and Soller are both nice holiday destination and if you like a nice beach you can’t go wrong with Playa de Muro, albeit it has a few big family hotels which may or may not be your vibe.

Salou was grim when I went about 30 years ago.

Valencia is great. Calpe and Denia are nice resorts.

Beautiful beach and swimming in Salou and you can have days in tarragona and Barcelona.Hated the seedy strip. Nerja Costa del Sol charming but beaches not so nice, nice overnight to Granada , beautiful city. Cala Ratjada in Mallorca, beautiful beach, swimming in med in November, just fantastic. Barcelona my favourite place on earth! But don’t forget Portugal if you don’t mind the cold Atlantic sea!

Seems to be a few decent looking hotels in Lloret de Mar a bit further up. Has anyone been here? I’ve been to Mallorca lots already, and Ibiza and Menorca 😂

Everyone, including my Mother and her older friendship group, who I've known loved LDM has gone for the nightlife. You need to decide what you want out of the holiday, a relaxing time, with nature/less busy beaches based activities and the odd day at a water park, or a hotel offering a entertainment programme, or where there is day trips, bird shows, cable cars etc in the likes of Costa del sol. Write a list and people will be able to make better suggestions. The age of your children makes a difference.

I’ve got one 14 year old and one 6 year old. The age gap makes it tricky so we tend to opt for a hotel with a good range of activities, water parks, entertainment and AI option. I like to have a beach nearby and some nice places to mooch around - a small old town area, park, market etc. but not overly fussed about day trips or excursions.

My kids 12 and 14 really liked benidorm and I liked it more than I thought I would. Have just booked Salou (hoping it's ok from comments above) and going soon mainly based on the theme park but planning day trips to Barcelona, Tarragona etc. Have stayed in Callela north of Barcelona and that was nice and easy on the train to get places. Used to go to the Algarve when I was growing up and really liked that, Majorca nice as well. Costa Adeje in Tenerife is great too, been a few times and kids ask to go back

Port Aventura and Costa Caribe. Near Salou, REUS airport if you can, 15 mins in taxi, BCN and a 1.5 hour train from Sants if you cannot. Perfect for kids. Tons of accommodation, nice wide promenade to walk down at night. Tacky if you want it, not if you don't.