A pictures paints a thousand words

A new gallery page has been added to JustSalou - http://www.justsalou.co.uk/salougallery.asp with pictures of Salou, Cambrils, PortAventura and Barcelona.

If anyone has a favourite image of Salou etc, that they would like to see on the gallery, the email the image to 'thisisme @ justsalou.co.uk' with details of where the image was taken.

Christmas Day and Thanks AW

Christmas day has been and gone, the cardboard boxes have gone on their merry way to recycling.

There seems to be a bit of grief for Affiliate Window with their Christmas Tree promotion and the fact that people had to log in on Christmas day. Did I?

Yep, with me pocket full of gold coins, a wife telling me to press refresh quicker and an 8 year old repeatedly saying what did we get!.

Well had to go for a 7 coin prezzie and got a choccy hamper for me troubler. It was a bit of fun, caused no grief, oh I did miss the Queens speech, so good did come of it after all. Thanks AW.

As for people logging in on Christmas day, I also noticed an upturn on visitors looking for next years holiday and theme park tickets, from around 9am.

Salou, Cambrils and Barcelona

Three new pages added over the last couple of weeks, dedicated to Salou, Cambrils and Barcelona. Now I have more room I can start to bump up the content.

http://www.justsalou.co.uk/gosalou.asp
http://www.justsalou.co.uk/gocambrils.asp
http://www.justsalou.co.uk/gobarcelona.asp

Go Barcelona

As well as just visitng this wonderful vibrant city, there are exciting events coming up in 2008.

10th March 2008 - The Cure, Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona.

25th, 26th, 27th April - The Spanish F1 Grand Prix at Barcelona-Montmeló

1st June 2008 - Bon Jovi at the Olympic Stadium, Barcelona

20th July 2008 - Bruce Springsteen at the famous Camp Nou, Barcelona

If these do not rock your boat, how about seeing the footballing greats themeselve FC Barcelona at Camp Nou.

With sports, concerts, zoo's, theme parks Barcelona never fails to offer something for everyone.

BUY TICKETS

www.justsalou.co.uk

Christmas in Barcelona

The city of Barcelona is an ideal place to visit for a winter city break. The mild climate and the Christmas festivities are a joy to see. Visit the various Christmas markets for some bargain presents. Stroll around the side street taking in the bars, cafe's and restaurants and most of all the Catalan culture. As nighttime falls see the city light up with its xmas lights.

Make the most of the low cost flights from Ryanair and Easyjet and visit Barcelona.

http://www.justsalou.co.uk/

Cambrils

Cambrils is short distance from Salou and easily accessible by the frequent bus services or the glass bottom boat.

Cambrils enjoys a more serene atmosphere, a fishing port and marina are the most prominent features of Cambrils, where you can easily think you are in the South of France. An abundance of seafood restaurants along side the marina make this a beatiful place for the midday meal by the sea.

The relaxing atmospere sets of Cambrils and it's uniqueness makes it a wonderful place to visit.

A new website dedicated to tourism in Cambrils can be found at http://www.cambrils-tourism.com/en/webcam.php?op=web, with masses of information to download in PDF format and well as the live webcams.

www.justsalou.co.uk

Ryanair to establish base at Reus Airport

As reported by the Diari de Tarragone

Ryanair will base two aircraft at Reus, with 17 flights per day (63 per week in Winter and 93 in summer). The 5 year deal may be on going helping to secure the area's future.

The deployment at Reus will be a big help to tourism in the Costa Daurada area. Ryanair will receive 2.750.000 euros a year under the concept of promoting local tourist attractions such as Port Aventura or golf courses.

Visit Barcelona - Flight at under £20 return!!!

As well as Salou and Cambrils, Justsalou.co.uk now has searchable hotels in Barcelona, Stiges, Tarragona and Reus. Search hotels and apartments from Alpharooms, Quickrooms, Hotel Pronto and LowCostBeds all at the same time.

As well as where to stay, Just Salou also has Flights, Transfers, Car Hire, Barcelona tours, and FC Barcelona match tickets.

There is no better time to visit this magnificent vibrant city with flight available at just £19.98 return and thatr includes all taxes!!! (Stansted to Barcelona Girona Dep 6th Dec 2007 return 8th Dec 2007 - Prices checked 11th November 2007 - 9:45am Ryanair)

Visit Barcelona

Fantastic FC Barcelona Packages

Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi, watch them all play at the famous Camp Nou. Ticket 3 nights accomodation in Barcelona and a tour of the Camp Nou play plus you get a tour of Camp Nou. Fantastic football packages from only £149 - Click for more..

PortAventura Tickets

Great new ticket prices at JustSalou.co.uk. 7 days for the price of 3 now only £39.00 Adult and £32.00 child.

With Ryanair offering 1 million free flights (pay charges and taxes), now is an ideal time to book a short break over to Salou and experience PortAventura Theme Park at Halloween... be affraid!

Events coming up at FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona v At. de Madrid - 7th October 2007
FC Barcelona v Almeria UD - 28th October 2007
FC Barcelona Real Betis - 4th Novemebr 2007
FC Barcelona v Glasgow Rangers (Champions League) - 7th November 2007
FC Barcelona v Recreativo de Huelva - 25th November 2007
RCD Espanyol v FC Barcelona - 2nd December 2007
FC Barcelona v RCD de la Coruña - 9th December 2007
FC Barcelona v Stuttgart (Champions League) - 12th December 2007
FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - 23rd December 2007
FC Barcelona v Real Murcia - 13th January 2008

GET TICKETS

The Coolest Brands

I note form Sky news this morning the top 5 coolest brands.

1. Aston Martin
2. iPod
3. YouTube
4. Bang and Olufsen
5 Google

Surprise about Aston and Bang and Olufsen which seem very 70's and 80's to me

looks like justsalou has a long way to go.... maybe next year.

Wanted - Pics of you in Salou

JustSalou.co.uk wants to put up a brand new gallery, to help us we want your pictures of Salou, Cambrils, PortAventura, Beaches, Apartments as long as it's in Salou or the surrounding area. Send your images max of two with a few words on where the picture was taken, your name and hometown to thisisme@justsalou.co.uk

La Liga Tickets, Motor Sport Ttickets, FC Barcelona

Justsalou.co.uk is pleased to annouce JustSalou Tickets. Giving you the opportunity to purchase all your FC Barcelona Tickets, Nou Camp Tour Tickets, Concerts in Barcelona and much much more.

A vast array of tickets are available not only for FC Barcelona but all your favourite La Liga clubs. Catch The Police or Take That in concert in Barcelona, visit Barcelona for the 2008 Formula 1 Grand Prix, all the tickets are at JustSalou Tickets.

Google map of Salou

As one of the most common search phrases for visitors arriving at justsalou.co.uk 'Salou map' I have now added a Google map of the Salou area on JustSalou. I have started to populate this with various areas of intrest in Salou and Cambrils, attractions, restaurants, hotels etc.

On the contact page I have also added a 'Register Here' form, allowing you to join a mailing list to be kept up to date with the happenings at JustSalou.

Salou at Christmas

I have now added a page on justsalou.co.uk for Christmas in Salou, not a lot on there at the moment but will address this over the next couple of days. There is now a selection of hotels and apartments in Salou and Cambrils that will be opening over Christmas. The PortAventura theme park will also be open until 7th January fir its special Christmas event.

A good time to visit PortAventura Salou

The day you choose to visit PortAventura can greatly affect what you get out of your trip. My last trip was right at the end of the season, Salou itself was getting quiet there were quite a lot of locals around coming into Salou for the weekend. We got to PortAventura early and was amazed at the sheer queues before we had even caught site of a ride. It was of course the weekend. Our answer was to turn around and head back into Salou to play football on the beach.

We tried again the next day, on the Monday. The difference was unbelievable, the place was empt at the start, no queues no hassle. The rides were all operating and you could literally get off a ride and step straight back on if you wanted. By lunchtime the park started to fill out this did give the place a bit more atmosphere, but I was so glad that on that weekend I turned around and decided to come back next day.

Google Analytics I like it.

Finally got round to adding Google Analytics to www.justsalou.co.uk and being new to this found the results quite intruiging. Showing good organic results for PortAventura, and that I seem to be doing well with Irish visitors. One thing that pleased me was the amount of returning visitors and also the length of time visitors stayed on the site.

Yes traffic is still pretty minimal, but in comparison to other sites I have had in the past the flow of organic search visitors is something I have never had the pleasure of.

How not to start a holiday

I remember my first trip to Salou, the second my then 4 year old son was on the beach near a big rope pyramid climbing construction. Turning around to run back to us he ran straight into one of the ropes, removing a fair amount of skin from his face. I felt so sorry for him thinking it would ruin his holiday.

But nothing was going to put him off and he had a thoroughly good time...although it was a couple of years before he ventured near those ropes again.

Packaged Holidays to Salou

For all those people not keen on DIY holidays I have now added a page for 'Package Holidays' on www.Justsalou.co.uk . Here you will find links to major operators such as Thomas Cook and Airtours and also to some lesser known such as Fresh Holidays whose website appears just that, fresh and easy to use.

There is also lowcosthols.com whose website I particularly like for its simplicity and excellent search facilities.

Getting to PortAventura

I have noticed an increase lately in the number of visitors to http://www.justsalou.co.uk/ searching for transfers from Salou to PortAventura theme park.

From Salou itself I find the easiest way to get to PortAventura is by taxi, my last trip a taxi for 3 people took just 5 minutes and cost 4.50euros. (around £3.00).

Buses are plentiful and run every few minutes to PortAventura, there is also a tourist road train that appeals to kids, be warned though, in busy times you can end up waiting for the roadtrain only to find it's full.

Depending on where you are in the resort, the distance to PortAventura is walkable, but... remember you willl be walking a long way around the park itself (and if the kids push, probably twice round).

To get there from other towns and cities, Barcelona etc, PortAventura also has it's own train station situated at the bottom of the hill outside the park.

Traffic builds..

Traffic continues to build to JustSalou, especially from Google which has been minimal up to now. MSN traffic is also keepiing pace. I am spending time trying to analyse what visitors are actually searching for as there seems to be some wierd and wonderful phrases.

'PortAventura Tickets' is still the most searched for the site, which reflects in the most saleable product so far.

Over the next few weeks I will be trying to build up the content of the site and also concentrate on keeping the site active through the winter season. Although the main season in Salou finished at the end of October, the resort still has a lot to offer, the theme park PortAventura is open at weekends with seasonal specials for Halloween and Christmas, some hotels and apartments are open with bars and restaurants at the weekends.

Salou's weather during the winter is mild, and it's out of season calm serene atmosphere and deserted makes time for a relaxing visit.

Of course there is also the spanish football and 'La Liga' which could also be good to promote further, with Barcelona a couple of hours away from Salou.

Christmas in Salou

With the summer soon to be over, now is the time to think about those breaks away out of season. There s no denying Salou does have a season which ends at the end of October, but it's location does mean that Salou's winters are mild and are blessed with a fair amount of winter sunshine and deserted beaches.



Each year more and more hotels, restaurants and bar stay open througout the winter season. The theme park 'PortAventura' also is open at weekends as well as certain weekdays in December and January. Christmas at PortAventura is also a special event when the theme park is transformed for the festive season complete with Santa.

Visit http://www.justsalou.co.uk/ now to plan your trip to the golden coast

Local Businesses in Salou

It appears there is little out on the web there from the local community of Salou. By this I mean local attractions, cafes, bars, restaurants etc, promoting themselves via websites. I would have thought that the simple brochure websites would be in abundance, but this is not the case.

So, to all those local businesses and ex-pats in Salou with their bars etc, why not take the leap and let people find you the easy way. Remember a lot of people are are now creating their own holidays booking flights and accommodation through the internet, how many of them type 'salou' into Google each day? Get listed, get found. Indeed for around 50euros I can create single page within the JustSalou site just to promote your own business. Interested? contact info@justsalou.co.uk

Emirates Stadium

A day off today and a visit to the Emirates Stadium for members day. A chance to watch the Arsenal team train and also to see some small sided matches. An unusual experience being treated to sit in VIP seating with my son, while my wife had to sit the other side of the stadium.

The day ended with my son being able to meet the players and collect autographs. A day I think he will not forget.

Up and Down Conversions

Around the third week of JustSalou's life the sales started. A couple of airport transfers and 9 sales for theme park tickets. Things were looking good (well compared to what I have done before), the fourth week arrives and the conversions go. 1 sale in 1 week. Now in its fifth week in its current form and again only 1 sale for the week.

A pr of 1 does not help with the majority of visitors coming from MSN and Yahoo where the site appears to be doing well on various PortAventurea Theme Park phrases.

One thing I cannot seem to hit on at all is accommodation, plenty of hits but no conversions and many programs, none whatsoever.

Google seems to be starting to play ball again now with the site climbing back into top 20 on tickets for PortAventura, now I just want the conversions back.

Halloween at PortAventura Salou

Halloween at PortAventura is an experience worthy of a visit. You may be thinking tacky ghost costumes, cotton wool cobwebs, but the PortAventura way goes a lot further.

Ghouls and ghosts roam the pathways, vampires, crazed axemen are all there. On my last visit at Halloween I experienced adults screaming for the torment to stop, children and adults scared witless. Is this good? it may be scarey but to experience it makes the trip to this fabulous theme park well worth the money.

With the weather in Salou still nice and warm (on good days) you can capture the last couple of weeks of the holiday season and enjoy the fabulous beaches of the costa dorada, as well as having plenty of time to visit the park. (check for Spains public holidays as crowds on these days can be a problem).

The theme park is just a few minutes taxi / bus ride from Salou centre. I found the best way to the park was via taxi, taking our group of three to the park for around 5 euros.

visit JustSalou.co.uk for flights, transfers, hotels, apartments and great value PortAventura tickets as well as further information on Salou Costa Dorada, Spain.

NOW OPEN and new for 2007 is the unique Furius Baco (Previously known as the Accelerator) 135km/h in 3 seconds, feel the sensation and rush as you hurtle over lakes trees and ditches.

Book your tickets to PortAventura - Go to JustSalou

Just Salou

Being a regular visitor to Salou on the Costa Dorada coast in Spain. I often find myself looking up relevant bits and piece through Google.

Not being particularly impressed with what I found I decided to create justsalou dedicated to diy travel to Salou and the surrounding area.

With the site only being a month old, visitors are not exactly in their 1000's, but sure enough a good steady stream from organic searches. In particular tickets for PortAventura are doing well, witht he theme park being the most sought after item on the website.

At present Yahoo and msn search seem to be doing better that Google and the site has a measly pr1 which I am working on.