Pris Adventures: Berlin - Tropical Island

A panoramic view of the beach area

One of the best things we did this time in Berlin was to go to this man-made tourist attraction called the "Tropical Islands".

It's basically a huge dome that houses a man-made beach with play area for little kids, huge water slides, an indoor playground, beach volleyball, mini golf course, restaurants and even accomodation for people who want to stay overnight. There's even a hot air balloon for people who want to explore the dome in the air!

I know it does sound a bit cheesy, but I'm all for cheesy if that means that I get a taste of a tropical beach vacation without having to fly my kids halfway across the world and pay a bomb at that!

And the best part about this place is that one can have a tropical holiday any time of the year. It was even great in summer because since the internal temperature is regulated, we had a very comfortable time without melting in the intense heat outside.

We didn't have to slather sunblock like crazy on the kids either and guess what? They still got a suntan! I guess its partially due to their 50% Asian genes (yay!) as well as the fact that the dome can partially open to allow natural sunlight in, so one is not completed shut off from the outdoors.

VERY nice concept if I may say. I need to add a disclaimer though. On the website, the tropical island looks humongous but in reality it ain't as big as it looks. That's not to say that it's tiny, but it's definitely not as huge as the dome in the film "The Truman show" by Jim Carrey .

Another plus point of this place is its cashless system. Obviously one can't be carrying a wallet when one is on water slides or lazing on a beach. Hence, instead of getting a key for your locker, you get this "watch" which also doubles up as a cashcard, so you can order food and drinks and make miscellaneous expenses during your stay.

Tropical Islands is about an hour's drive from Berlin so it makes for an easy day trip. We made it there around lunchtime but in order to make your money more worthwhile, (it cost about 30€ per head, children under 6 go in for free), it make sense to go there in the morning.

There was even a salsa dance group from Cuba whose intermittent entertainment (singing and dancing) gave the place a very holiday feel. My boys love music, so needles to say, they were enthralled by the performances.

I'm not sure how old this place is, but I really liked the fact that the changing and bathing facilties were very clean and well-kept. I hate public bathing areas that feel dirty. You know, those that you would rather not take a shower there but go home in your dirty clothes just so you can shower in the comfort of your own home. Everything here felt new and very clean.

We spent about 6 hours there in total and the kids were completely exhausted! They slept so well on the way back to Berlin AND continued sleeping when we placed them on their beds. Sammy had a whale of a time on the giant slides and Gabriel couldn't get enough of the baby's pool.

Gabriel was so tired that he even fell asleep while I was breastfeeding him in the kids' pool area!

This place has totally got my thumbs-up! Would highly recommend it for families with young kids, teenagers and anybody who just wants to relax on a beach without going for a full-blown beach holiday.