Tropical Islands

Day 1 and 2 of my 2-week road trip

Tropical Islands – Sachsenhausen – Berlin– Dresden – Prague – Vienna – Devin Castle – Sandberg – Bratislava – Lake Balaton – Bokodi – Budapest

 

Tropical Islands is Europe’s largest tropical holiday world. It’s one big waterpark located inside an old airship hangar, just outside of Berlin. It’s a place for all ages to go and enjoy a full day out, or even a whole weekend away like I did. The place holds the world’s biggest indoor rainforest, a Bali themed lagoon, a gigantic themed tropical sea with its own sandy beach, a giant waterslide tower, a tropical village full of shops and eating places, outdoor rapids, 2 outdoor pools, a ride on a hot air balloon, mini-golf, a night in a tipi and if you would like to treat yourself, they offer spa treatments too.

 

Location

Tropical Islands is located 71 km outside of Berlin in Krausnick. The best way to get there is either by car or train. Since this was part of our 2-week road trip across Europe, we decided to pick up a hire car from Berlin Schonefeld Airport and drove to Tropical Islands. Parking on-site is easy and free.

If you are driving, head south from Berlin-Schönefeld for around 50 km on the A13. This is the Berlin to Dresden motorway. Leave the motorway at the Staakow exit and follow the signs to Tropical Islands for 3 km. In the winter months, they clear the roads free from the snow, so people still have the option to turn up in their cars.

If you decide to come on the train, that is easy too. The train goes to and from the centre of Berlin, every hour. Tropical Islands have their own train station called, ‘Brand Tropical Islands’. From the train station, there is a free shuttle bus that will take you from the station to the waterpark and the accommodation. The shuttle bus is scheduled for the train times therefore you shouldn’t have to wait long.

Opening Hours

Tropical Islands is open 7 days a week from 6 am till 12 pm. In the summer months the outdoor pool area, Amazonia, is open from 10 am to 10 pm. The winter months the time varies from weekdays to weekends. For more information, check out the opening time on their website: Tropical Islands

 

 

Prices

An adult day ticket cost €42 which is about £38 at the current conversion rate today. If you’re a child, over the age of 65 or a student, then you get a discounted day ticket costing €33 which is about £29. These prices may change in the years to come. New up to date prices will be on their website: Tropical Islands Prices

 

Accommodation

There is plenty of choices of accommodation at Tropical Islands; mobile homes, tents, lodges, rooms only, nature homes, holiday homes and a campsite with tipis to rent if you didn’t want to bring your own tent or motorhome. Some of the accommodation is located inside the aircraft hanger, the others there is a short, free shuttle bus ride away. With some of the accommodation, you get free entry to just the outdoor Amazonia waterpark or some you get entry to the whole thing. We had free entry to all of the pools except the Spa, with our accommodation, a mobile home.

I visited Tropical Islands with my fiancé, 2 sisters, and their partners. We hired a mobile home as they can cater for up to 6 people. Some of the other types of accommodation can only cater for smaller numbers. The holiday homes are located outside of the hanger, in a lovely woodland area, with a free shuttle bus to transport you to and from the waterpark. They are made out of wood, a bit like a log cabin. The 6-birth holiday home which we stayed in had a kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets, sitting area and decking with chairs and table to enjoy your breakfast outside in the early morning sunshine. You can park your car next to your holiday home just to unload and pack. During the stay, the car has to be parked in the car park provided, just a short distance from the accommodation.

For more information on the accommodation please click on this link: Tropical Islands Accommodation

 

 

Wristbands

You get given rubber wristband when you arrive. Different colour wristbands mean different things i.e. if you have brought a day pass or a weekend pass, the areas you have access too, the different accommodations. We had a lime green wristband. This represented our 3-day pass to use all the pools accept the spa area and the type of accommodation we were staying in. You have to wear the wristband at all times. You use them to get in and out of Tropical Islands and to pay with. All the eating places and shops are cash-free. At the end of your stay, you go to one of the machines and pay the amount on your wristband off. You can pay the amount off as you go along, or all together at the end. You also have the option to pay the wristband off at the campsite shop, the place where you also check-in and out of your holiday homes and other accommodation.

 

Lockers

Unfortunately, the lockers cost. You have to pay a €10 deposit and €2.50 to use a locker for the day. If you’re spending more then one day at Tropical Islands, you will have to pay for a locker each day. You pay on your wrist band. When you return your locker key, your wristband gets refunded with the €10 deposit. You purchase the locker keys from the desks at the main entrance. The lockers are a good size. We shared 1 locker between the 2 of us.

 

The Pools

There are 2 large pools inside the airship hanger: the Tropical Sea and the Lagoon.

The Tropical Sea pool is a 200m long beach themed pool. It has sand, deck chairs, a pirate’s boat, palm trees, and water. It makes you feel like you’re at the seaside in the South Pacific. The pool is heated to a lovely comfortable 28ºC. On a lovely sunny day, the sun shines through the transparent hanger roof, helping to give you a lovely holiday tan. Just make sure you don’t forget to bring your sun cream!

 

 

The Lagoon makes you feel like have traveled to Bali. The pool is surrounded with sandstone and palm trees, Balinese huts, a Kulkut watchtower, authentic Monkey Rock, a Hindu Island of the Gods, and a lovely waterfall making you feel like you’re in a jungle. The temperature is a lovely warm 32ºC, with whirlpools and a current canal. At the night the pool gets lit up with lovely, romantic mood lighting. Perfect pool to end the day and relax in after dark.

 

Waterslide Tower

The waterslide tower is a 27-metre high tower, containing 3 different slides. The highest slide is the blue slide. This is the most thrilling slide at Tropical Islands and can only be used by over 15-year-olds. It’s a high-speed turbo slide where you will reach speeds of up to 7o km/h. Now that is fast! The other 2 slides are more family-friendly. One of them you go down on a giant rubber ring. This one was my favourite!

The waterslide tower opens from 9 am to 10 pm.

Amazonia – Outdoor Area

Amazonia is an outdoor waterpark at Tropical Islands and is open all year round.  The area contains 2 pools with massaging jets and swirl seats. One pool has a slide, the other with a lazy river. There are also deck chairs for sunbathing and the Whitewater River with a jet stream. The Whitewater River is 250 meters long, for ages 8 and over, dropping a total of 2.5-metres and one of Germany’s most unique adventures. I had so much fun going down the river even though, I did go home with a few bruises.

If you are worried about the pools been cold in the winter months, you don’t need to. The pools are heated to a toasty 31ºC throughout the year.

I visited Tropical Islands during the World Cup. To celebrate it, they had a giant inflatable football pitch. Perfect for any football lovers!

Kids Area

At Tropical Islands there is plenty for the children to do. They have their own area called Tropino Club which contains a huge climbing area, softball arena, play with XXL Lego blocks, play a game of air hockey, race around a go-cart track in mini cars, and have fun with some remote-controlled boats. Please note that some of these costs extra to your Tropical Island entry ticket.

If you didn’t want to take them to the Tropino Club, you can also help them build sandcastles on the 200-metre long sandy beach at the Tropical Sea. If they fancy a splash around, there is a large padding area next to the Tropical Sea, which is just for children. Here they can have fun going down a small water slide, play with the barrels, and have fun playing in the fountains and water table.

 

Hot Air Balloon

If you would like to see Tropical Islands at a different angle, why not have a ride on one of their hot air balloons. Costing a price of €39 for one passenger, €5 for any extra adult passengers, and €2.50 for any child passengers between the age of 4 – 14 years. The free-floating balloon runs daily from 10 am, lifting you 15-metres in the air, providing a great view of the whole Tropical Islands. However, if you would like a cheaper way of seeing great views of the place, head up the waterslide tower for free. The views are fantastic from the top.

Eating Places

There are plenty of eating-places to choose from. My favourite place was the Mondial Food Court. The food court is inspired by international street food, offering a wide range of different cuisines: pizza, burgers, salad, sandwiches, Currywurst, and much more. You pay a €1 deposit of your drinks cup. After you have finished with it, you hand it back to the food court checkout and they will refund you with your deposit.

If you don’t fancy street food, you can visit Palm Beach Restaurant that offers a range of different fish and meat dishes. If you don’t fancy that, you can test out the Sawadee, a buffet restaurant or the Tropical Garden restaurant which offers a range of 3-course menus.

If you are peckish for just a snack, why not head to Cafe Borneo. Here you can experience frozen yogurts topped with a huge range of different toppings. Personally I’m not a fan of frozen yogurts but Alex, my 2 sisters and their partners who I traveled with, absolutely loved them!

If you are feeling thirsty, there are a few different bars to choose from. I loved the slush puppies the Bali Pavillion, providing a wide range of choice of flavours to choose from.

Spa

Tropical Islands have their very own spa and sauna. To visit it cost €49 for adults and €39.50 for the children. I decided not to go as I felt there was enough to do with our Tropical Island entry ticket alone.

For more information on the spa please visit their site: Tropical Islands Spa

 

Shops

The shopping boulevard offers a variety of different shops: a bookshop, a candy shop, a surf shop, a souvenir shop, and an airbrush tattoo shop. So don’t worry if you have forgotten your beach ball or a book to read beside the pool. Just one thing to note, the books will highly likely be in German!

 

Rainforest Walk

If you would like a break from the water, why not take a wander around the 10,000m² indoor tropical rainforest. It contains around 50,000 plants and is home to 600 different varieties. Take a path that winds through the rainforest will take you to pass turtles, flamingos, macaws, peacocks, and pheasants. It’s a lovely 1km walk I highly recommend doing.

 

Mini Golf

Want to do something fun with the family with a break from being in the water? They offer an 18-hole mini-golf course costing €5. We didn’t have time to do this but it did look fun to do!