Salou, Spain: where it is, beaches, PortAventura and moving to the Costa Daurada

Salou is a beach town in southern Catalonia, on the Costa Daurada in the province of Tarragona, under an hour and a half by train from Barcelona and right next to PortAventura World. It had 31,018 residents on 1 January 2025, a third of them foreign nationals. It suits remote workers and families with capital who accept resort seasonality and Catalan taxes.

Below: where Salou is, what the climate is like, what to see, the beaches and how to get there, what the Costa Daurada actually is and how neighbouring Cambrils differs. The second half is for those weighing a move: which residence permit fits, what property costs, which area to look in, how Catalonia taxes income and wealth, where children study and how large the Russian-speaking community is.

Where is Salou

Salou sits on the Mediterranean between Tarragona and Cambrils. Its neighbours are Vila-seca, on whose land most of PortAventura stands, and Cambrils to the west.

• Country: Spain; autonomous community: Catalonia; province: Tarragona; comarca: Tarragonès.
• Population: 31,018 on 1 January 2025, of whom 10,239 hold a foreign nationality, or 33%.
• Area: 15.1 km², with 7.9 km of coastline.
• Languages: Catalan and Spanish, both official. In the 2011 census 92% of residents understood Catalan and 58% spoke it.
• Independent municipality since 30 October 1989. Until then Salou was part of Vila-seca; the separation was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and 30 October is now the town’s main holiday.

Salou has a long maritime history: it received a settlement charter in 1194, and in 1229 King James I sailed from here to conquer Mallorca. The town became a resort in the 1960s, and according to the town hall it now records more than 7 million tourist overnight stays a year.

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Salou climate and weather

The climate is Mediterranean: warm, dry summers, mild winters and most of the rain in autumn. AEMET publishes no climate normals for Salou itself; the nearest station is Reus Airport in the neighbouring municipality.

The wettest months are September and October, with 75–77 mm each, while July averages just 15 mm. The airport station, which lies inland, records about 12 frost days a year, mostly in December and January.

Best time to visit Salou

The swimming season runs from June to September: in July and August the mean air temperature is 24–25 °C and it hardly rains. May and October are better for walking and for PortAventura without peak queues, although October is wetter. In winter the town empties noticeably, as two thirds of its homes are second residences, and the illuminated fountain on the promenade runs only at weekends. The main town festival falls on 30 October, the anniversary of Salou’s independence.

Things to see in Salou

• Passeig Jaume I: the main promenade along Llevant beach, with a 1965 monument to King James I.
• Illuminated fountain (Font Lluminosa): designed by engineer Carles Buïgas and opened in 1973, with 100 jets and up to 210 combinations of water, light and music. In 2026 the show runs every evening at 23:00 from 24 June to 14 September, and on weekends and holidays the rest of the year.
• Torre Vella: a tower built in 1530 by the Archbishop of Tarragona as a defence against pirates, now an exhibition centre.
• Camí de Ronda: a coastal path above the cliffs of Cap Salou, from the town beaches to the coves.
• Barenys: the site of a Roman workshop that produced amphorae.
• Cap Salou coves: Cala Crancs, Cala Vinya, Cala Font and others, set among pines below the cliffs.

Roman Tarraco, with its amphitheatre and UNESCO-listed walls, is in neighbouring Tarragona, 13 minutes away by train; the city has its own article, Tarragona.

Salou beaches

Of Salou’s 7.9 km of coastline, 7 km are beaches and coves. According to the tourist office there are 25 in total, nine of them with services: Ponent, Llevant, Capellans, Cala Llenguadets, Platja Llarga, Cala Penya Tallada, Cala Font, Cala Vinya and Cala Crancs. The three town beaches, Ponent, Llevant and Capellans, stretch for about 2.5 km together, with Ponent alone at 1,115 m. The sand is fine and the water deepens gently, which is why families with children choose Salou.

No Salou beach appears on the 2026 Blue Flag list. Neighbouring Cambrils has five, and Vila-seca has one at La Pineda.

PortAventura World

PortAventura opened in 1995 on the border between Salou and Vila-seca. Today it is a resort of three parks, PortAventura Park, Caribe Aquatic Park and Ferrari Land (opened in 2017), with its own hotels. It is the main attraction of the whole Costa Daurada, and for a family living in Salou it is a weekend outing close to home. Its railway station is called Salou – Port Aventura.

How to get to Salou

• Train from Barcelona. The direct R17 runs three times a day in each direction: 1 h 28 min to Barcelona Sants and 1 h 43 min to Estació de França (Rodalies timetable from 8 June 2026). Other trains require a change in Tarragona.
• Train to Tarragona: line RT2, about ten trains a day, 13 minutes.
• Station. The old station in central Salou closed in January 2020; the only one now is Salou – Port Aventura, between Salou and Vila-seca. A permanent station building with parking opened there in June 2025.
• Reus Airport is the nearest, in the neighbouring municipality. It is seasonal: in January–October 2025 it handled 1.33 million passengers, about half of them in summer. There are few winter flights, so year-round travel goes through Barcelona.
• By car: the AP-7 motorway runs along the coast.

There are no direct flights from Russia; travellers connect, most often via Barcelona.

Costa Daurada: what this coast is

The Costa Daurada (Costa Dorada in Spanish, the “Golden Coast”) is a tourism brand for southern Catalonia promoted by the Patronat de Turisme of the Diputació de Tarragona. There is no administrative unit by that name. It takes its name from long beaches of golden sand.

• Territory: six comarques of Tarragona province, Baix Penedès, Tarragonès and Baix Camp on the coast, and Alt Camp, Conca de Barberà and Priorat inland.
• Coastline: according to the Patronat, 81 km with about 60 beaches.
• Coastal towns from north to south: Cunit, Calafell, El Vendrell, Roda de Berà, Creixell, Torredembarra, Altafulla, Tarragona, Vila-seca with the La Pineda resort, Salou, Cambrils, Mont-roig del Camp with Miami Platja, and L’Hospitalet de l’Infant.
• Further south, around the Ebro Delta, begins a different brand, Terres de l’Ebre.

In 2003 Salou became the first Costa Daurada town to receive the Catalan government’s “family holiday destination” certification; Cambrils, Vila-seca, Calafell and El Vendrell now hold it too. If you are looking at coast closer to Barcelona, compare its seaside suburbs in the article on how to move to Barcelona.

Cambrils

Cambrils is Salou’s neighbour to the west along the coast, in the Baix Camp comarca. It had 37,068 residents on 1 January 2025, more than Salou, with noticeably fewer foreigners: 20.5%. It is a former fishing village: every afternoon except in May and June the boats unload in the port and a fish auction is held, and the town is known as the coast’s gastronomic capital, with many seafood restaurants.

• Beaches. About 9 km of coastline. Five beaches hold the 2026 Blue Flag: Cavet, La Llosa, L’Esquirol, Prat d’en Forès – El Regueral and Vilafortuny.
• Parc Sama: a late 19th-century garden of 14 hectares a few kilometres inland, listed as a cultural heritage site.
• Property: an appraised value of €2,426/m² in Q2 2026, slightly below Salou; the average rent on new contracts in Q1 2026 was €729 a month.
• Russian nationals: 528 Russian and 259 Ukrainian citizens on 1 January 2022, the province’s second-largest community after Salou.

Cambrils is quieter and more lived-in than Salou: over half of its homes are second residences, but the share of permanent residents is higher, and over the year visitors add about a third to the population rather than doubling it. Residents of Cambrils file their immigration paperwork with the same provincial foreigners’ office as Salou, and the taxes are the same Catalan ones.

Moving to Salou: what to know

There are no Salou-specific rules: you move on a standard Spanish residence permit, and general-regime applications go to the foreigners’ office of Tarragona province. How it works, where fingerprints are taken and how Tarragona differs from Barcelona is covered in the article Tarragona.

Which residence permit suits life in Salou

Digital nomad visa: for those working remotely for companies or clients outside Spain. Income from €2,849 a month, plus €1,069 for the first family member and €356 for each additional one. You can apply while already legally in Spain through the UGE, in which case the permit is issued straight away for up to three years. The fee is €73.26. Details in the article on the digital nomad visa in Spain.

Non-lucrative residence permit: for those living on savings, dividends, rental income or a pension. It requires €2,400 a month (€28,800 a year) for the main applicant and €600 a month for each family member. You apply at the Spanish consulate in your country of residence; the fee is €10.94. Work of any kind, including remote work, is not allowed on this permit. Conditions are on the non-lucrative residence permit page.

Once the permit is granted, you obtain a TIE residence card in Spain; the fee is €16.08. After five years of legal residence you can apply for long-term residence.

What to settle before moving if you have capital

Catalonia is one of Spain’s most expensive regions for taxes on capital, so the order of steps matters. You become a Spanish tax resident by spending more than 183 days in the country in a year, and from that year you pay wealth tax on your worldwide assets and declare foreign holdings. Sales of major assets, gifts to children and restructuring of investments are usually planned before the first year of residence. If you are coming as an employee or company director, look at the Beckham Law: it replaces progressive IRPF with a flat rate and exempts foreign assets from wealth tax. The overall picture is in the article on taxes in Spain.

How much property costs in Salou

• Buying. According to the Ministry of Housing, the appraised value of housing in Salou in Q2 2026 was €2,569/m², up 12.3% year on year. That is 9% above the Spanish average (€2,355/m²) and almost 40% above Tarragona (€1,851/m²), but half the price of Barcelona (€4,602/m²). New homes under five years old are appraised at €3,244/m². A 100 m² apartment at the average appraisal comes to about €257,000; asking prices are usually higher than appraisals.
• Renting. According to the Catalan government’s deposit register, the average rent on new contracts in Salou was €657 a month in 2025 (544 contracts) and €568 in Q1 2026. In Cambrils it was €683 for 2025. These averages include small studios by the beach; a spacious family apartment or house costs considerably more.
• Rent cap. Salou and Cambrils are in a stressed housing market zone: rent on new contracts is capped by the state reference index. In July 2026 the Catalan government extended the zone for another year, and both towns remain on the list.
• Seasonal lets. In practice, renting on the coast is easier and cheaper in winter than in summer, but landlords often ask for a contract or several months’ rent in advance. A long-term contract is also needed for the padrón registration. How to search and what to check is in the article on renting an apartment in Spain.
• Holiday lets. Salou and Cambrils are among the 262 municipalities covered by Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023: a new tourist apartment needs a five-year licence from the town hall, with no more than 10 such apartments per 100 residents, and existing ones must obtain a licence by 7 November 2028. If you are buying for short-term rental, check this before signing.
• IBI. Salou’s property tax under the ordinance in force since 2024 is 0.802% of cadastral value. For a cadastral value of €150,000 that is €1,203 a year before any discounts.

Where to live: Salou neighbourhoods and urbanizations

• Centre and Llevant: Passeig Jaume I, Llevant beach, shops and restaurants. Easy without a car, but noisy and crowded in summer.
• Ponent and Barenys: the western part of town by Ponent beach and the Cambrils boundary, closer to the station and PortAventura.
• Cap Salou: the headland of coves, pines, villas and residential complexes with pools. The quietest part of town and where families most often look for a house. The Xalets de Salou and El Mirador de Salou urbanizations are here too.
• La Pineda: the resort area of neighbouring Vila-seca, with a Blue Flag beach, closer to Tarragona.
• Cambrils: if you want a town with more year-round residents, look at the port area and Vilafortuny on the Salou boundary.

If a full urban life in winter matters, people on the Costa Daurada also consider Tarragona or Reus and drive to the Salou beaches at weekends. If work or school pulls you towards the capital, look at Barcelona: property there costs twice as much, but the city lives the same way all year round.

Taxes in Salou: Catalonia

• IRPF (income tax). Catalonia’s regional scale runs from 9.5% to 25.5%, with the top rate on taxable income above €175,000. The state portion is added on top.
• Wealth tax. The tax-free allowance is €500,000 per person, a main home is exempt up to €300,000, rates run from 0.21% to 2.75%, and there is no general relief. Example: a married couple with €3 million in capital, each holding €1.25 million in investments and half of a €500,000 apartment in Salou. The apartment is exempt as the main home, each spouse’s taxable base is €750,000, and the tax comes to about €3,400 a year per person, €6,800 for the family. In the Valencian Community the allowance is €2 million from 2026, and the same couple would pay nothing.
• Buying a resale home (ITP): progressive by price band, 10% up to €600,000, 11% on the portion from €600,000 to €900,000, 12% up to €1.5 million and 13% above. A €400,000 apartment means €40,000 in tax; an €800,000 villa, €82,000. A reduced 5% rate applies to the main home of buyers under 35 and large families, if income in the last tax return was no more than €36,000. A buyer who owns more than ten residential properties in Catalonia pays 20%.
• New build: 10% VAT (IVA) plus 1.5% stamp duty (AJD).
• Inheritance. A spouse receives a 99% reduction. For children the reduction depends on the amount: 99% on the portion up to €100,000, less above that, an average of 94.2% on a €500,000 base and 84.6% on €1 million. Catalonia has no full relief for children of the kind found in Madrid or Andalusia. Details in the article on inheritance and gift tax in Spain.
• Gifts to children and a spouse, executed before a notary, are taxed on a special scale: 5% up to €200,000, 7% up to €600,000 and 9% above.
• Tourist tax is paid by guests of hotels and tourist apartments, not by residents. From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 on the coast: €1.75 per person per night in a tourist apartment, €1.80 in a 4-star hotel and €4.50 in a 5-star hotel, for up to seven nights. From April 2027 the rates rise to €2.50, €2.40 and €6. From 1 October 2026 town halls may add their own surcharge; as of early October neither Salou nor Cambrils is on the list of municipalities that have done so.

An owner who lets an apartment without living in Spain has separate filing obligations, covered in the article on property taxes in Spain.

Schools: international, British and the Catalan language

• Language in state schools. The main language of instruction in Catalonia is Catalan; Spanish is taught as a subject and used according to each school’s language project. Recently arrived children who do not know the language get support for their first two years in a reception class (aula d’acollida) with intensive Catalan.
• Escola Internacional del Camp (EIC): a private international school in Salou itself for ages 1 to 18. It teaches in Catalan, Spanish and English; in the final years students can take the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, the Catalan baccalaureate or both.
• The British School of Costa Daurada: a British school in El Catllar, in the Tarragonès comarca, for ages 0 to 18 and a member of the National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS).
• Russian-language school. We found no school with a Russian curriculum in Salou in official sources. Children study Russian in private clubs and graduate from a Spanish or international school.

How to enrol a child in a Spanish school and how to choose is covered in the article on schools in Spain.

Healthcare and transport

• Health centre. CAP Salou at Carrer del Carrilet, 12, with a 24-hour urgent care unit (CUAP) open every day.
• Hospital. For Salou this is the Joan XXIII University Hospital in Tarragona; Reus has the Sant Joan University Hospital.
• Health card. In Catalonia the public health card (TSI) is issued on the basis of padrón registration. Those who work or are self-employed (autónomo) and pay contributions need no separate entitlement. The non-lucrative permit requires private insurance from a Spanish insurer.
• Padrón registration. It is done at Salou town hall with a rental contract or title deed; the town hall may check that you actually live at the address. How it works is explained in the article on padrón registration in Spain.
• Transport. A direct train to Barcelona three times a day and 13 minutes to Tarragona. On the coast most people live with a car.

Russian-speaking community in Salou

According to INE, on 1 January 2022 Salou had 765 Russian and 286 Ukrainian citizens. That is a quarter of all Russian nationals in Tarragona province (3,043) and more than in the city of Tarragona itself (294), even though Tarragona is over four times larger. Together with Cambrils (528), the two towns are home to 42% of the province’s Russian nationals. Russians are Salou’s third-largest foreign nationality after Senegalese (1,002) and Romanian (778) citizens.

The community grew from 154 people in 2003 to a peak of 876 in 2020 and had shrunk slightly by 2022. INE publishes no more recent nationality data for Salou; for Tarragona, where it does, the number of Russian nationals rose from 545 to 654 between 2024 and 2025, which suggests people are still moving to the province.

Downsides of living in Salou

• Seasonality. Two thirds of homes are second residences or empty. The Catalan statistics institute estimates that visitors double the town’s population over a full year. Summers are crowded and loud; in winter the town empties.
• Jobs are almost all in tourism. In June 2026, 94% of salaried jobs in Salou were in services. Anyone looking for local work will find a narrow choice.
• Chemical complex nearby. Salou and Cambrils are covered by the emergency plan for Tarragona’s chemical industry; Salou lies in the zone where residents are told to shelter indoors during an alert. Sirens are in place and drills are held.
• Catalan taxes. Wealth tax from €500,000, resale purchase tax from 10% and incomplete inheritance relief for children.
• Catalan at school. A child will have to learn two new languages at once.
• Weak winter connections. Reus Airport is seasonal, and there are only three direct trains a day to Barcelona.
• No Blue Flags on Salou’s beaches in 2026, unlike neighbouring Cambrils.

If you would like to go through your own case, from the basis for a residence permit to taxes on capital and the choice between Salou, Tarragona and Barcelona, book a consultation.

Frequently asked questions about Salou

Where is Salou?

On the Mediterranean Costa Daurada in southern Catalonia, between Tarragona and Cambrils. The town belongs to the Tarragonès comarca in Tarragona province. A direct train reaches Barcelona Sants in 1 h 28 min.

What is the Costa Daurada?

A tourism brand for the coast of Tarragona province: about 81 km of shoreline and 60 beaches from Cunit to L’Hospitalet de l’Infant. The main resorts are Salou, Cambrils, La Pineda and Calafell, and the main city is Tarragona.

Can you live in Salou all year round?

Yes. The town has 31,018 permanent residents, a 24-hour health centre and an international school. But Salou is a resort: two thirds of homes are not primary residences, and much closes in winter. Those who want city life in winter are better served by Tarragona or Cambrils.

Which residence permit suits life in Salou?

Remote workers can use the digital nomad visa with income from €2,849 a month. Those living on savings or passive income can use the non-lucrative permit: from €2,400 a month for the applicant and €600 for each family member.

How much does an apartment in Salou cost?

According to the Ministry of Housing, the appraised value of housing in Salou in Q2 2026 was €2,569 per square metre, 12.3% more than a year earlier. A 100 m² apartment at the average appraisal comes to about €257,000; asking prices are usually higher.

How much is rent in Salou in winter?

The average rent on new contracts in Salou in Q1 2026 was €568 a month, and €657 for 2025 as a whole. There is more choice in winter, but landlords often ask for a contract or several months’ rent in advance.

How many Russians live in Salou?

On 1 January 2022 there were 765 Russian and 286 Ukrainian citizens, a quarter of all Russian nationals in Tarragona province. Neighbouring Cambrils has another 528.

What is the wealth tax in Salou?

The Catalan one: a tax-free allowance of €500,000 per person, a main home exempt up to €300,000 and rates from 0.21% to 2.75%. There is no general relief of the kind Andalusia offers.

Is there an international school in Salou?

Yes, Escola Internacional del Camp in Salou itself: ages 1 to 18, teaching in Catalan, Spanish and English, with the International Baccalaureate. The British School of Costa Daurada is in nearby El Catllar.

How is Cambrils different from Salou?

Cambrils is larger (37,068 residents) and less of a resort: 20.5% foreigners against 33%, and more permanent residents over a full year. Prices are similar, five Cambrils beaches hold the Blue Flag, and the town is known for its fishing port and restaurants.

Sources

• Idescat, “El municipi en xifres”: Salou and Cambrils: population 2025, foreign nationals, seasonal population 2024, housing from the 2021 census, employment
• INE, table 33928: population by municipality and nationality, Tarragona province: Russian and Ukrainian nationals on 1 January 2022
• AEMET, climate normals 1981–2010, Reus Aeropuerto
• Ajuntament de Salou, history of the town
• Ajuntament de Salou, beaches and coves and Turisme de Salou, beaches
• Turisme de Salou, illuminated fountain and 2026 schedule
• ADEAC, 2026 Blue Flag beaches
• Patronat de Turisme Costa Daurada, press kit
• Rodalies de Catalunya, R17 and RT2 timetable, 2026
• Aena, Reus Airport: passengers January–October 2025
• Ministry of Housing, appraised housing values by municipality and for Spain and provinces, Q2 2026
• Generalitat de Catalunya, average rent by municipality (deposit register)
• Generalitat, report on extending the stressed rental market zone, July 2026
• Catalan Decree-Law 3/2023 on tourist apartments (BOE)
• Ajuntament de Salou, tax ordinance No. 1 (IBI)
• Ministry of Finance, “Tributación autonómica. Medidas 2026”: IRPF, wealth, inheritance and gift tax in Catalonia
• Catalan Tax Agency, ITP rates
• Catalan Tax Agency, tourist tax rates
• Escola Internacional del Camp (Socrates Educa), baccalaureate programmes
• NABSS, The British School of Costa Daurada
• Institut Català de la Salut, CAP Salou
• Generalitat, PLASEQTA protection plan, 2026 edition