QV on May 10th to Spain, Portugal and the Canaries- child friendly activities

We are going on a cruise on May 10th to Spain, Portugal and the Canaries on Cunard Queen Victoria and are trying to put together a bit of a plan. Myself and my partner are travelling with our 3 year old girl so we want to do more family friendly activities (waterparks/zoos etc) rather than historical/museum type things.

We are hoping to go to Loro Parque in Tnerife - i know this seems to be a 40 minute taxi drive but am hoping it will be worth it. Siam Park would be too far.

In the Gran Canaria would it be possible to go to both Palmitos Park and Aqualand Maspalomas on a day trip? Are these far from the cruise port? Love the look of the dolphin encounter and swimming with sealions!

Currently looking at options for Lanzarote also - if we have done waterparks/zoos we might just go to a nice beach or some watersports - any suggestions? Or is the waterpark there good and near to port?

Our other ports are Lisbon, Vigo, La Coruna and Madeira. I know there is a big aquarium in Lisbon that we may visit but if anyone has any suggestions for here or the other ones that would be great!

Our other ports are Lisbon, Vigo, La Coruna and Madeira. I know there is a big aquarium in Lisbon that we may visit but if anyone has any suggestions for here or the other ones that would be great!

Hi.

In Lisbon I can recommend you Oceanário (the large aquarium) in Parque das Nações or the Zoo (our 3 years old daughter loves to visit everytime we go to Lisbon). I think she might enjoy it more.

In Vigo a visit the Cies Islands is very nice. You just need to check if the time allows it. In Madeira you can't miss the Fish Market.

I hope you enjoy your cruise and my country.

Thanks you Bracarense - I have looked into the Cies islands and they look amazing! I think I will be adding it to our itinerary!

Re. Lisbon - how far are the aquarium and the zoo from each other and the port?

I would not miss Lanzarote, even if I had a three year old in tow. The lunar-type landscape at Timanfaya National Park is amazing!

The zoo is not close to "downtown" Lisbon and the port. However, I think Lisbon's subway goes there, or you can take a cab. I went there to catch a bus to a wonderful old estate that I wanted to photograph, and the metro stop I used to get to the bus was practically across from the zoo. I have to go out but will look for my info on how I got there when I get back.

I hope you at least see a little bit of Lisbon, as it's fabulous. However, if the zoo it will be (and it's supposed to be a good one), here is more info:

Zoo website was easy to find. In addition to a regular zoo, they have either dolphin or some other kind of shows, it's not all just walking around. It's a bit expensive, but easy to get to on Metro if you dock near a Metro stop. If not, here's info from my notes from last August:

Taxis fairly reasonable, but English variable. Regular cabs are cream or black & green & can be hailed or caught. Tourist cabs are dark, unmarked & have green “A” on bumper. Tipping common. Tariffa 1 during day; Belem 3. Cruise terminal cabs overcharge.

If you want to take Metro and have 6 euros for a day pass, first find out where you'll dock. There are multiple locations, but your ship's pretty big, so I'm guessing you'll dock at Santa Apolonia, as we did. You can look up port assignment here, although the port may not have posted assignments yet: portodelisboa.pt

If you're docking at Santa Apolonia and don't mind public transportation (it's great in Lisboa):

If takes 6 minutes or so to walk to Santa Apolonia Metro. May need to ask which way it is, but when we were there, there were people in port terminal to answer questions, so not a big deal. Buy a 24 hour pass from a machine in Metro station (has English), then take Azul (blue) line towards Amadora Este for 9 stops & 14 minutes to Jardim Zoologico. Get off there and take exit closest to zoo. Zoo entrance, with big animal designs and 2 big pillars, will be readily apparent across the street when you exit the Metro.

If you have extra time and energy after that, I would suggest at least taking a tram or Hop On Hop Off bus or elevadore (funicular), or go to Belem. If not, be on deck for sail-in or sailaway so you can spot Belem Tower & Monument to Discoveries in Belem, go under the bridge, and spot large Christ monument on other side of river near bridge.

There is not all that much in Arrecife (Lanzarote) and I don't remember a beach, just a lagoon, so I have nothing to suggest if you don't want to visit Timanfaya. There's a small fort not that far from the port, but I don't know how interesting that would be to a 3 year old. It's not huge...

Funchal is wonderful. You could just head to Zona Vehlha (sp? it's the Old Town, farther away than cable car and Market) and visit the bright yellow fort, look at painted doors, see the cable cars go over your head, etc. There is also a tiny, local beach in front (back?) of the fort. There's also something on the island of Madeira that's named something like a park, but we didn't visit it, so I can't tell you if it's worthwhile for adults OR children.

Tomsportguides.com has a port guide for Funchal. He also has one for Lisbon and perhaps other places you're going. It's a great resource for cruisers, as the guides cover how far the ports are to attractions, options on transportation and tours, etc.