10 Best Day Trips Near Barcelona with Kids

If you are on vacation with kids and you have already exhausted all the interesting plans to do in Barcelona during a normal tourist visit, such as visiting the Aquarium to see the wonderful creatures of the ocean or going to the Barcelona Zoo to spend a fun day with the animals, then it's time to think about plans a little beyond the borders of the capital. Take inspiration from this list and have the most fun family vacations.

PortAventura Park is considered one of the largest and most fun theme parks in Europe and is located just over an hour's drive from the Catalan capital.

Getting to PortAventura from Barcelona is really easy and you will find numerous transportation alternatives including organized excursions with transportation included.

Upon arrival you will find a gigantic complex with plenty to do and three theme parks inside: PortAventura Park, Caribe Aquatic Park and Ferrari Land. In addition, numerous special events are held throughout the year including circus shows, open-air theater and Santa Claus parties for the Christmas season in Barcelona.

Useful information

• Price: Varies depending on the season; box office prices can cost around 60€; while organized tours are available from 75€. My recommendations are to purchase your tickets in advance.
• Duration of the excursion: Minimum one day. Organized tours leave Barcelona early in the morning and return in the evening to take advantage of the day in the park.
• Recommended if... you are looking for fun focused on roller coasters, adrenaline and water games. If you are traveling with very young children (5 years old or younger), you will find an area with age-appropriate games in the park, ensuring fun for the whole family.

Just 30 minutes drive from the heart of Barcelona is the Tibidabo mountain. At the top, you will find the Tibidabo Amusement Park. You can plan a day of family fun without major complications, because here you will find all kinds of attractions: bumper cars, carousels, Ferris wheels, water fountains, haunted rides and much more!

The schedule varies depending on the season so I recommend checking the official website days before the visit.

Inside the complex you will find restaurants and other services; but as the amusement park is located on top of a mountain, the whole area surrounding it is enabled for hiking, bicycles and Segway vehicles.

Useful information

• Price: About 35€ the adult entrance ticket and about 14€ the junior ticket; you can buy tickets on the Tibidabo Park website.
• How to get there: You will have to take the suburban train to the outskirts of Barcelona and then the funicular to climb to the top of the mountain.
• Recommended if... you are looking for an adventure option close to the city to which you can dedicate an afternoon/evening of fun. This alternative is ideal if you are going to be in the city for a few days, two or three days in Barcelona.

A recreation area located 35 minutes from Barcelona that you should visit if you are going to the Catalan capital with children. Catalunya en Miniatura is a theme park designed for family fun but with a very peculiar approach; here you can find a circuit of gigantic models and a spectacular realism.

The models represent the most emblematic places of the region of Catalonia to learn about their culture and folklore. Among other attractions, you will find an impressive model of what the exterior and interior of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia will look like once completed.

In addition to the model tour you will find trees with zip lines, climbing areas and an adventure circuit with various levels of difficulty. The total sum leaves us with more than 60 fun activities that you can do in this place. To learn more about the activities and the exhibition of models you can visit the official website.

Useful information

• Price: The model exhibition area is available from 14€ for adults and 10€ for children. The adventure circuit costs 22€ for adults and 15€ for children.
• Duration of the excursion: If you can dedicate a full day, but if you are in a hurry you can do a half day excursion.
• Recommended if... You are looking for fun and educational activities to do with children in the surroundings of Barcelona. The exhibition of models is highly didactic, so children learn about Catalonia without noticing that they are learning.

Les Deus Aventura is a space focused on extreme adventures that offers fun for the whole family. It is an acrobatic park designed by an expert company in mountain sports in close collaboration with specialized monitors who accompany visitors on each of the attractions.

Here you can find all kinds of activities that take place in a natural environment of trees and mountain vegetation. Located just over an hour's drive from the center of Barcelona. Here you can do both children's circuits, as well as zipline sport circuits and many other recreational and mountain activities.

The schedule changes depending on the time of year and months. I recommend visiting the website of Les Deus Aventura days before your trip to have updated information.

Useful information

• Price: Prices vary depending on the circuit you want/can do. They are available from 5€ for the circuit of the children's area.
• Duration of the excursion: I recommend dedicating a full day to this adventure.
• Recommended if... You are looking for a fun day among the mountain trees; it is especially fun if you visit Barcelona in spring and are looking for an activity to do outdoors and in nature.

Granja Aventura Park is a place designed for the whole family to have fun, but the ones who really enjoy the experience the most are the young children who have the opportunity to live, touch and play with all kinds of farm animals.

Join the caretakers as they feed the chickens and collect eggs in the pens; get up close to the kids to feed them and you can even touch and hold small domesticated snakes.

La Granja is located 38 minutes by car from the center of Barcelona and in addition to living with the animals you can visit the adventure and games circuit.

Useful information

• Price: Adults pay about 14,15€; children from 3 to 12 years old 12,25€ and children under 3 years old 2,75€.
• Duration of the excursion: You can go to the farm early in the morning for a half-day adventure on the outskirts of Barcelona.
• Schedule: From 10:30 am to 6 pm.
• Recommended if... you are visiting Barcelona with children who have a special attachment or interest in animals. This place, besides being fun, is incredibly educational so they will have an unforgettable adventure.

It is no secret that the region of Catalonia gave the world great artists; one of the greatest geniuses of painting, Dali, was born in the city of Figueras located just over an hour from Barcelona. In this city a great museum has been installed in honor of the life and work of the talented artist and from the Catalan capital there are numerous excursions organized to take travelers to the cradle of Dali's creativity.

Visiting the Dalí Museum is an excellent experience especially in the months when the temperature drops and you don't feel like being outdoors as much as in the winter in Barcelona.

Due to the abstract and highly imaginative nature of Dalí's work, children of all ages enjoy his work much more than you might expect, so the experience for the little ones is not only enriching but highly didactic.

Useful information

• Price: Online ticket purchase is limited and subject to availability. Adults pay about 15€ per ticket and children under 8 years old get in for free. The guided tour with transport included is available from 69€.
• Duration of the tour: I recommend spending a full day to see both the museum and the city.
• Recommended if... you are looking for an activity that awakens the curiosity and creativity of the little ones. As in the Picasso Museum, the approach to an avant-garde artistic work is usually highly entertaining for children.

One of the favorite getaways for both tourists visiting Barcelona and locals looking for a break from the hectic pace of the city is a trip to Costa Brava and the surrounding area.

From the city depart numerous excursions to Costa Brava whose objective is, in addition to spending a few pleasant hours at sea, to visit nearby cities such as the beautiful and medieval city of Girona.

Useful information about Costa Brava

• Price: An excursion to visit Costa Brava with transport from Barcelona will be available from 80€ per person approximately.
• Duration of the excursion: This is a full day excursion; usually departing from Barcelona early in the morning and returning after sunset for a total of 12 hours on average.
• Recommended if... Visiting Barcelona in summer or any time of the year with good weather. A day at the beach with the family on the Mediterranean coast is one of the best things to do in the Catalan region.

Located 119 km northwest of Barcelona is the National Park of La Garrocha; from the city numerous excursions are organized to get to know this part of the region of Catalonia and most of them include the small medieval town of Besalú.

This is an interesting experience to do with the youngest members of the household because in addition to enjoying a medieval village, it is likely to remind you of what you can see on a tour of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

Among other activities, you will be able to explore the wild nature at its best and enjoy the dead volcanic area of Garrotxa and the beech forests of Fageda.

Useful information

• Price: Hiking tours in this area of the city are available from approximately 115€.
• Duration of the excursion: Excursions leave early in the morning and usually take about 10 hours to complete. You should reserve a whole day for this experience.
• Recommended if... the children accompanying you on the trip are old enough to handle the hiking trails through the forest, if you are traveling with small children it is best to discard this option. However, older children will be amazed by the volcanic zone.

North of Barcelona, exactly 95 km away, are the salt mountains of Cardona. A unique natural phenomenon whose eroded walls continue to grow even today; about 36 million years ago an arm of the sea reached this mountainous area and gradually dried up until it left the interesting and beautiful geological forms that we can admire today.

From the city there are numerous organized excursions to explore the natural wonder of the Salt Mountains; it is ideal to do with children who find the explanations of the guides very interesting. The tour to the interior is only 1.5 hours so it is not too tiring for them.

Useful information

• Price: The organized excursions with transport included are available from 90€ per person.
• Duration of the excursion: They leave the city early in the morning, and return after sunset. You will need to reserve approximately 10 hours.
• Recommended if... you want to explore a geological wonder and have time to spend in the city, as you should dedicate at least one day to the experience.

There are many activities to do in Barcelona with children, but also outside the city. In the Cuenca de Barbera, 1.5 hours away by car, there is a very unique and special place to enjoy with children of all ages: the painted forest of Poblet.

Once you arrive at the park the adventure begins in the forest house of Castellfollit. You will find a mycological route where mushrooms and trees are the protagonists of the stories.

Through a pre-established passage, the mission for the day will be none other than to find the trees painted with giant mushrooms turning the family into intrepid mushroom hunters.

The easiest route covers about 3km of forest and has a duration of 1.5 hour and about 190 m of ascent and descent. The longer route is 6.5 km long and lasts 3 hours with 390 m of ascent and descent.

Useful information

• Duration of the excursion: Taking into account the route from and to Barcelona you should reserve between 6 and 7 hours for this adventure.
• Recommended if... you are up for a few hours of fun in the forest and don't mind driving a few kilometers through the west of Catalonia. Keep in mind that the trip will take you 120 km of travel.