Having had the most amazing Eurocamp holidays previously at Sanguli and Marina di Venezia, when European travel re-opened this Summer, we jumped at the chance to visit Park Albatros, located in beautiful Tuscany, Italy. The parc is situated just 8km from San Vincenzo and 94km from Pisa airport and easily accessed via hire car or minibus.

Covering 30 acres, surrounded by the Rimigliano pine forest and a stones throw from Baratti Bay, the parc is one of the largest and liveliest in the region and for us, with three young children, it could not have been any more perfect!

The Accommodation

Our home for the week was the Azure mobile home which is the newest addition to Eurocamp accommodation and has a contemporary and flexible interior as well as a large covered decked terrace. We stayed in the same accommodation during our previous stays so we knew exactly what we were getting and the lay-out works really well for our family.

As great as the accommodation is, when you’re visiting during the Summer months the majority of time will be spent outside so we love the added bonus of the large decking area with the Azure which is partially covered for shade. With a large table, chairs, sun loungers and a BBQ, you have everything you need for cooking, dining, relaxing and enjoying a private drink together at the end of the day.

Inside you enter the living area where you have a dining table and chairs, the seating area and a kitchen. Fully fitted with an oven, hob, microwave, fridge and freezer, you can fully cater for your family during your stay. In all honesty we didn’t use the indoor dining or seating area even once, preferring to enjoy being outdoors and the gorgeous weather. That said, we were very grateful for the air conditioning in our accommodation which was a welcome relief after a day in the sun!

The bedrooms are all very standard, two rooms with two single beds, a small wardrobe and over head storage. As you can see the beds are not made up on arrival and this is something you have to do yourself, either with linen you’ve brought from home or that you’ve hired from Eurocamp.

You then have the master bedroom with a double bed, wardrobes with hanging space and over head storage too. The bedrooms are definitely on the cosy side but as I said earlier, if you’re visiting during the Summer then your time in the accommodation is very limited. We literally used ours to sleep and shower and even as a larger family we found the accommodation to be perfectly usable for our stay.

The Azure also has the benefit of a separate toilet and then a shower room with a large sink area, storage and hair dryer. Without a bath the children showered with myself or Gaz and, with the shower cubicle being so large, I was easily able to get all three little ones in with me at the end of the day which was a real bonus.

We had a great location for our accommodation, situated on the edge of the parc overlooking the surrounding trees and lovely and quiet at night. My only negative, possibly of the whole parc, is that it does have a lot of traffic where either people are arriving, departing, or going out for the day in their cars. I think a no car rule in pedestrian areas (other than unloading/loading) would really make a huge difference to the safety on site.

COVID Safety Measures

Before I share more about the parc I think it’s important to share the safety measures in place at this current time. Although I would hope that by next year life will be very different and the procedures in place this Summer may not be necessary for the next, should they still be in place I really want to stress that none of these measures impacted on the enjoyment of our stay.

• Masks to be worn at all times in shops and indoor areas.
• Masks to be worn outside after 6pm unless eating and drinking.
• Temperature checks on arrival.
• The number of people in the Laguna is limited each day,
• Pools close 1-2pm each day for cleaning.

As is the case everywhere, there are people who follow the rules far stricter than others and for us it was about doing what felt right for our family and what we were comfortable with. As a whole we felt incredible safe during our stay and we were able to relax and enjoy our time as we would any other year.

The Parc Facilities

Having read the reviews prior to our visit I had high hopes for Parc Albatros and it didn’t disappoint. Despite being a large parc with 30 acres, the central area is very easy to navigate and everything is very much in one place. We were lucky to be in accommodation just few minutes walk from the central area but for those staying at the opposite end of the parc there would usually be a mini train to hop on and off (unfortunately due to Covid this wasn’t running during out stay).

The main facilities in the parc are clearly sign posted with the majority being split across two areas – The Laguna and the central square. The central square is where you can find all of the shops, excursion office, bars, restaurants, take away, Mini Club, kids play area and so much more. In terms of covering all bases for the perfect holiday, Parc Albatros really does have it all!

The Laguna

It’s only right that I start with the main attraction of Park Albatros which for us was The Laguna. We have always been incredibly lucky that the parcs we have visited previously have had such amazing water parks and just when you think the last one can’t be beaten, along comes the next and blows it out of the water (excuse the pun!).

The Laguna has a whopping seven pools including a full olympic sized pool as well as two sets of water slides. As you enter the Laguna you can turn left or right to what feels effectively like two different pool complexes. We found that the pools on the left were more suited to our children and we spent the majority of our time here.

The real bonus of the pools is that on both sides of the Laguna you will find a large pool which is just 35cm at the deepest point. This meant that with our children at 6, 7 and 8 we could give them the freedom to wander to any point of the lagoon pool without that constant worry of whether they were okay or have got out of their depth. Both pools have fun whale features with water fountains for the children to run up and down and play in.

 All pools opened from 10am til 1pm and then re-opened at 2pm until late in the day. We found the quietest time was between 2pm and 4pm with all pools feeling a lot busier when the temperature cooled a little. With there being so many pools we simply found that we could move from one to the next during the busier times and there was always the possibility of social distancing.

The great thing about the Laguna, and something everyone can relate to I’m sure, is that there are enough sun beds to go around and never once did we turn up late with nowhere to sit. Obviously the “prime spots” by the edge of the pool were snapped up when the pool opened but, even with social distancing in place, there are so many sun beds available and it makes a huge difference to the general feel of a holiday when you aren’t scrabbling for a space each day!

Despite always having a sun bed, we found that a lot of people chose to sun bathe around the edge of the lagoons where the water was as low as just 0.4cm on an incline which made for a really refreshing and comfortable spot. Plus in one of the pools there was a large water bed for guests to sunbathe on which was lovely and relaxing at quieter times.

The kids adored the water slides in both pools – just two large slides which were monitored by the life guards. There were times during the week when the children had the whole slides to themselves straight after the lunch break and yet at other times we saw the slides were very busy with no social distancing in place. I think for us it was all about using our common sense with the children and really making the most of the quieter times which we well and truly did!

During the hottest times of the day there is a small covered pool for the children which was a real godsend during August and beside it a large rectangle pool which was perfect for the children to swim in. Although there is an olympic sized pool on the right hand side of the Laguna, we found it was incredibly busy and more popular with adults and teens.

With the Laguna closing for an hour each day for cleaning of the sunbeds, and vigorous cleaning every night after closing, I can honestly say that the whole area was spotlessly clean. For a pool complex so large I was very impressed at the cleaning procedures, not just of the pools themselves but the surrounding areas and toilet facilities, and I can’t fault Park Albatros for that in the slightest.

It’s safe to say that the children’s favourite thing about Parc Albatros was the Laguna and I would have to agree. Although we have had amazing holidays previously at beautiful five star resorts and exclusive hotels, usually we are lucky to find even two or three pools so to have seven really was a massive bonus. It also meant that every day felt very different depending on which pool we visited, where we sat or the time we visited, and that really helps to mix things up.

The  Shops

The supermarket is fully stocked with everything you need for a self catering stay as well as the most amazing fresh food counter with baked goods, fresh meats,  rotisserie chicken and take away pizzas, plus more donuts than you could ever attempt to eat! We loved walking up there each morning for fresh croissants and French baguettes and the prices were so reasonable which is always a real bonus on holiday.

At the Laguna you will find a huge shop selling everything a huge range of inflatables, clothing, shoes, toys and souvenirs. I love that if you forget anything at all  you can be sure to buy it at one of the shops without it costing the earth.

Parc Albatros also has a Candy Shop which was closed during our stay due to COVID guidelines. I imagine this runs as a self service style shop in a “pick and mix” format which the children would have loved. In the evening there are a number of small market stalls which open in the central area where you can buy hand made jewellery, book photo shoots in and around the parc and have hair braids which the girls jumped at the chance to do!

Restaurants and Take Away’s

Parc Albatros has two main restaurants – Da Alfredo and Laguna Restaurant – as well as Bar Laguna serving snacks. Da Alfredo can be found in the central square and is a traditional Italian restaurant serving an array of dishes including pizza, pasta and grilled meats.

 Da Alfredo also has a take away service for pizza, pasta, burgers and children’s meals as well as fresh pasta sauces for using back at your accommodation. You can place your order by going into the restaurant and sitting and waiting (although the waiting times can be up to two hours at busy times!) or by downloading an app which we found was far easier.

Using the app you can place your order via your phone, choose your collection time and when your order is ready you receive an alert to go to the restaurant and collect. This meant that we could place our order earlier in the day for that evening and make the most of our time instead of hanging around for our food. It also felt like a far better option with social distancing and safety measures.

The Laguna restaurant is a buffet style restaurant and, for this reason, was closed for the duration of our stay. This restaurant is the largest on the parc and so with it being closed for the summer I imagine this is why Da Alfredo and the take away was so busy. I would imagine during any other year the availability and waiting times for all restaurants and takeaways are far less.

For those just wanting a snack such as pizza, burgers, sandwiches, etc the Bar Laguna has a simple menu and was relatively quiet during the day. They also have ice creams, donuts, crisps, sweets and a range of drinks and smoothies.

You will also find a second snack bar at the entrance to the Laguna which sells a range of smaller snacks, burgers and ice creams as well as non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. Again we found this snack bar was relatively quiet during the day with queues at a minimum.

Our favourite place to eat was undoubtedly the Gelateria, selling a range of delicious gelato’s, hot waffles, pancakes and milkshakes. You can’t beat Italian gelato and I think we had one every single day of our stay, if not twice!

Bars & Evening Entertainment

There are several bars at Parc Albatros but for us we found we gravitated to the central square where we could grab a table, eat our take away, have a few drinks while the children played on the play area and later watch one of the bands who performed each evening. The outdoor seating areas are all socially  distanced at present and there is table service later in the evening.

Here you will find the Cocktail Bar where you can buy drinks, cocktails, snacks and sweets and there are a number of snooker tables in here too. As seems to be the case everywhere, alcoholic drinks were a little expensive but I think when you go on holiday you do expect to pay inflated prices and this was the only aspect of the whole parc I found to be expensive.

Behind the cocktail bar is a smaller outdoor bar which seemed to be popular with football fans as matches were shown on large screens each night. We didn’t sit in these areas with having the children but every time someone scored the whole area would erupt in a loud cheer!

In the evening the outdoor areas are really beautiful with string lights throughout and the trees all lit up around the square. With it being August the evenings were still lovely and warm and it was just a really lovely, relaxing time of day together. We did find at around 10pm everywhere became a lot busier but we simply took this as our cue to leave and get the children to bed ready for another day at the pool the next day.

The evening entertainment on the parc was fantastic and every night there was a different band or singer performing on the stage. We really enjoyed every single act and found ourselves singing along to some absolute classics!

There is a second stage over at the Laguna which I imagine is usually the main stage and location of the evening disco. Due to current social distancing measures the disco was not running during our stay and although entertainment was still available in the evenings, we chose to spend our evenings at the smaller stage purely due to personal preference.

Tours and activities

In the central square Parc Albatros has a tours and activities office where you can book excursions to Pisa, Rome, Elba and various other locations. As we had a hire car for the duration of our stay we didn’t book on any of the excursions but for those who don’t, the excursions are definitely worth looking into as there are so many amazing places to visit within a short radius.

Kids Club &  Play Area

Although the kids club was open during our stay, albeit purely outside, we made the decision for our children not to attend purely due to social distancing and trying to keep our family as safe as possible. We did however make full use of the children’s play area which was perfectly situated next to the outdoor seating so we could see the children at all times as they played.

As well as the play area there is outdoor table tennis, a large chess game and, for an extra fee, a tree top adventure course with zip lines. This looked like so much fun but unfortunately ours were just that little bit too small this time.

Bike Hire

Given the size of the parc a lot of guests appeared to make good use of the bike hire available on the parc. Here you can rent adult and children’s bikes as well as Go-Karts for either the day or the duration of your stay. Luckily our accommodation was in a really great spot for all of the facilities so bikes weren’t necessary but it’s a great way to get around the parc for those further afield.

Local beach

The local beach is just a short walk from the parc down a long driveway and through the forest to the sea. It takes just ten minutes to walk and is a really beautiful beach although very popular with those staying locally. We preferred visiting at sunset when the beach was far quieter and it was the perfect spot to watch the sunset together.

I think it goes without saying that we had the most incredible week at Parc Albatros and had some amazing days out to Pisa, San Vincenzo, Siena and Castagnata Carducci. For those wanting to explore more of Tuscany then the location is perfect giving you the double luxury of both a beach holiday and a city break.

But for us it was undoubtedly our days at Parc Albatros which we will remember the most, the sound of the children’s laughter as they zoomed down the water slides, the way Harry’s eyes almost popped out of his head at the size of that first gelato, or Megans dance moves as she grooved along to the band at night. It’s the memory of Eva’s little hand in mine as we watched the sun set, the sleepy sighs of three tired children after a day in the pool, the moments we all looked at each other and could not believe our luck that during a Summer we thought we would be stuck at home we were right there, with the sun on our faces and the sand beneath our feet.

You can find out more about Parc Albatros and all of the other parcs here at www.eurocamp.co.uk. 

** We were  gifted a complimentary stay with Eurocamp in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions are my own. **