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