Parque Aquático de Amarante

The Parque Aquático de Amarante opened in 1994 and was the first water park in the north of Portugal. It sits in Fregim, on the edge of Amarante, beside the River Tâmega, inside a larger leisure complex called Tâmega Clube. The park calls itself the biggest mountain water park in the Iberian Peninsula, and the setting explains the name: the pools and slides are laid out on a hillside, with green hills all round rather than a car park and a motorway.

For families from Porto it’s the classic summer water-park day. It’s big enough to fill a whole day, and it has proper areas for each age, so a toddler and a teenager can both be busy at the same time.

Small children have more to do here than at most water parks, because there are several shallow pools, each with its own feature:

• Piscina Crianças, the main children’s pool, has water jets, mushroom fountains and small slides. It’s up to 80 cm deep.
• Sapo (frog) is a newer pool for the youngest children, where they slide down a frog’s tongue into water no deeper than 40 cm.
• 4Slide is a small waterfall with four little ramps, landing in a pool just 30 cm deep.
• Aquaspray is a splash area of coloured water jets with no pool to fall into.
• The Piscina de Cascata is in a quieter corner, with a stone waterfall to stand under. Next to it is a small pool with a children’s slide, up to 80 cm deep; the waterfall pool itself goes to 1.20 m.

The children’s slide tower (Escorrega Crianças) has three slides from a 4.5-metre tower, the longest 45 metres, but you need to be at least 1.20 m tall to use them. So in practice they suit children of about seven and up. Toddlers and preschoolers stay with the shallow pools.

The wave pool complex is the centre of the park. The wave pool is 42 metres long and 20 metres wide, up to 1.85 m deep at the far end, with two more pools next to it, a slow river circuit and a large sunbathing lawn. Foam parties (festa da espuma) are held at the wave pool every day, which children tend to love.

There’s also an adult pool, 35 metres long and up to 1.65 m deep, and a lawn with a small lake looking over the Tâmega for a quieter break.

The thrill slides are where older children will spend most of the day. The height and age limits come from the park’s own attraction pages:

• Pistas Múltiplas: six side-by-side lanes, 25 metres long, so friends or siblings can race. Minimum height 1.10 m.
• Pistas Rápidas: four faster lanes, 30 metres long. Minimum height 1.10 m.
• Aquatube, Space Hole and Compact Slide: three body slides from towers 13 to 15 metres high, 66 to 95 metres long. Space Hole ends in a bowl that spins you round. Minimum height 1.20 m.
• Fast Mountain: a two-person ring slide through a dark tube, 175 metres long from a 17-metre tower. Minimum height 1.20 m.
• Turbolance: another two-person ring slide, 146 metres long. Minimum height 1.20 m.
• Monster Lotus: a ring slide for three people, 128 metres long.
• Vertigem: a near free-fall drop from a 16-metre tower. It’s for age 12 and over, with a 1.40 m minimum height.

Ring slides need two or three people to go down, and each has weight rules checked at the top. Staff at each slide tower check heights, so measure your child before you promise them a particular slide.

The park opens only in summer. In 2026 the season ran from 29 May to 13 September, daily from 10:00 to 19:00 (18:30 in June).

Children up to 3 go free. At the gate, children aged 4 to 10 paid €16.90 (€17.90 in August), and everyone from 11 to 64 paid €25.90 (€26.90 in August). Online tickets are always cheaper and change price with demand; the lowest online prices in 2026 were €11.80 for a child and €18.10 for an adult. On your birthday you get in free by showing ID at the entrance, with no booking needed.

Buy online if you can. The park warns that it sells fewer than 200 tickets a day at the gate, first come, first served, so on a hot August weekend you risk driving out and not getting in. Weekdays in June and early September are likely to be calmer, and the online prices reflect that.

Groups of more than 20 get 20% off the gate price outside the peak weeks (18 July to 31 August). A season pass cost €99.90 for adults and €69.90 for children and seniors.

You can bring your own food and drink, which makes a full day far cheaper. Eating isn’t allowed in the pool areas, so plan to picnic on the lawns. There’s also a restaurant area and a shop for swim gear and souvenirs.

Leave glass, parasols, tents, chairs, balls, inflatables and speakers at home: the rules ban all of them. You can hire shade instead: loungers cost €4.75 (€5.50 next to the main pools), parasols €4.75, and VIP cabanas with shade, loungers and a fridge €119.90. Lockers cost €4.75 plus a €5 deposit for the key.

Bring sun cream, hats and flip-flops for hot paths. The park has its own car park.

Under-12s must be with an adult who is responsible for watching them. Running, pushing and diving are banned, and slides must be taken feet first, sitting up, one at a time (no “trains”).

Adults carrying a child under two have a right to priority service under Portuguese law, and the park may ask to see the child’s ID. For slide queues, ask the management at the entrance.

The park can close attractions without notice, and there’s no refund for bad weather. Check the forecast before you set off.

Amarante itself, with its old bridge and riverside, is a few minutes away. Children who like animals and sweet things can visit the Casa da Abelha e do Mel, a honey and bee centre in the same council. On a day when the water park is closed or too hot, the outdoor pools at Quinta da Gruta in Maia are a smaller, quieter option nearer Porto.

How much is Amarante water park for children?

Under-4s are free. In 2026 a child aged 4 to 10 paid €16.90 at the gate (€17.90 in August), or from €11.80 online.

Is Amarante water park good for toddlers?

Yes. There are several shallow children’s pools, the shallowest 30 cm deep, with small slides, a frog slide, mushroom fountains and water jets.

How tall do you need to be for the slides?

Most big slides need 1.20 m; the multi-lane slides need 1.10 m. The Vertigem drop is for children aged 12 or older who are at least 1.40 m.

Can you take food into Amarante water park?

Yes, food and drink are allowed, but not in glass, and you can’t eat in the pool areas.

When is the water park open?

Only in summer. In 2026 it ran from 29 May to 13 September, daily from 10:00.