Where in Costa Brava?

Bawnmore

Hi All,

Was having a look around, but thought it wise to ask here before making a decision. 6 of us (3 couples) have booked flights to Girona airport for the middle of October for 3 nights. The plan is find a house/villa we like on ownersdirect.co.uk and book it for the 3 nights.

We're not looking for a city break, just a few days in a relaxing town/village by the sea or pool really with some activities thrown in maybe. Can anyone recommend any of the coastal towns north of Barcelona/within driving distance of Girona airport? Everyone going are around mid twenties and looking for the opposite of a wild nightlife, but not so much that we'll get bored.

jt_dublin

Hi Bawnmore,

We are heading there ourselves in a few weeks time, spending 2 nights in Girona & then a week in Begur on/near the coast. I did some looking on the interweb to see where best to stay and Begur seemed to offer the best in terms of not being too big & touristy, but still having enough choice of bars & restaurants.

We also have rented a villa from Owners Direct and managed to get a bit of the quoted price as well. It can sleep 6, so if you want details, let me know and I will PM you.

Have you found any gems of places that are must see or do when there?

Thanks,
JT.

Bawnmore

jt_dublin wrote: »

Hi Bawnmore,

We are heading there ourselves in a few weeks time, spending 2 nights in Girona & then a week in Begur on/near the coast. I did some looking on the interweb to see where best to stay and Begur seemed to offer the best in terms of not being too big & touristy, but still having enough choice of bars & restaurants.

We also have rented a villa from Owners Direct and managed to get a bit of the quoted price as well. It can sleep 6, so if you want details, let me know and I will PM you.

Have you found any gems of places that are must see or do when there?

Thanks,
JT.

To be honest, we've really only started looking as we just booked flights yesterday. Begur looks ideal and might be just what we're looking for. It'd be great if you could send on details, would really appreciate it.

We're looking to find somewhere suitable before looking into what we do when we get there, but we're hoping to get some diving in maybe and other than that just eating and drinking really well I guess

I have my eye on a skydive too, but it might take some persuasion to get one of the other to join me.

Realistically, I think any of the small sleepy coastal towns would suit what we're looking for, so I'm just trying to find out if any are a little less sleepy than others.

jt_dublin

Bawnmore wrote: »

To be honest, we've really only started looking as we just booked flights yesterday. Begur looks ideal and might be just what we're looking for. It'd be great if you could send on details, would really appreciate it.

We're looking to find somewhere suitable before looking into what we do when we get there, but we're hoping to get some diving in maybe and other than that just eating and drinking really well I guess

I have my eye on a skydive too, but it might take some persuasion to get one of the other to join me.

Realistically, I think any of the small sleepy coastal towns would suit what we're looking for, so I'm just trying to find out if any are a little less sleepy than others.

Bawnmore,
I have just sent you a link to the villa we are renting. But there are plenty of them on Owners Direct and you should have no problems finding something suitable for October.

I do scuba dive but am not planning any on this trip, so I havent any info on that for you.

For restaurants, I have looked up tripadvisor to see what is recommended. The 2 that we will definitely be trying are the Aiguaclara and the Pizzeria Pizzeta.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g609015-Begur_Costa_Brava_Province_of_Girona_Catalonia-Vacations.html

There are also lots of other small historic villages around there, so our plan is to head to a different one each day for lunch, have a stroll around, glass of vino etc... So it's just a chill out holiday and dont think we will be doing anything as adventurous as a skydive! Good luck with that if you do it.

There are a lot of nice coves & small beaches around there too, and even thought we are not sun worshippers, after the complete lack of sunshine here this summer, I think we will manage a few hours on the beach!

I will be back before you leave, so if I have any other tips for you about the area, I will let you know.

JT.

Bawnmore

jt_dublin wrote: »

Bawnmore,
I have just sent you a link to the villa we are renting. But there are plenty of them on Owners Direct and you should have no problems finding something suitable for October.

I do scuba dive but am not planning any on this trip, so I havent any info on that for you.

For restaurants, I have looked up tripadvisor to see what is recommended. The 2 that we will definitely be trying are the Aiguaclara and the Pizzeria Pizzeta.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g609015-Begur_Costa_Brava_Province_of_Girona_Catalonia-Vacations.html

There are also lots of other small historic villages around there, so our plan is to head to a different one each day for lunch, have a stroll around, glass of vino etc... So it's just a chill out holiday and dont think we will be doing anything as adventurous as a skydive! Good luck with that if you do it.

There are a lot of nice coves & small beaches around there too, and even thought we are not sun worshippers, after the complete lack of sunshine here this summer, I think we will manage a few hours on the beach!

I will be back before you leave, so if I have any other tips for you about the area, I will let you know.

JT.

Got the link thanks for that! We've rounded it down to 3 different villas at this stage so it's just picking one now and start planning then. The decision we need to make is between a really nice, high end villa with a pool and a nice (but not as nice) villa with a heated pool. Price is similar, so it's really down to the pool heating. Will it be warm enough in October to use the pool without heating? It's really a much nicer villa

jt_dublin

Bawnmore wrote: »

Got the link thanks for that! We've rounded it down to 3 different villas at this stage so it's just picking one now and start planning then. The decision we need to make is between a really nice, high end villa with a pool and a nice (but not as nice) villa with a heated pool. Price is similar, so it's really down to the pool heating. Will it be warm enough in October to use the pool without heating? It's really a much nicer villa

I'd go for the better villa... I dont think you will be swimming too much in October, so I'd go for the comfort! Heading off that direction myself tomorrow, so will give you an update when I'm back!

Bawnmore

jt_dublin wrote: »

I'd go for the better villa... I dont think you will be swimming too much in October, so I'd go for the comfort! Heading off that direction myself tomorrow, so will give you an update when I'm back!

Cheers, and enjoy!

oldscoil

Hi Bawnore.
Tossa de mar. Just back after two weeks.
Beautiful!!
There’s the old town, the castle and the new town. Nice and small. Pop: 5-6 k.
You can use it as a base to Lloret de Mar if you wanna liven it up for one or two nights.
Bus is €1.30 and 15 minutes journey.
Its tack-central. Well worth a laugh …I mean look.
Loads of water sports on all of the coves and there’s loads of them.
http://www.infotossa.com/eng/platgesnatura/secplatgesnatura.php?idseccion=2
Went through a few of the other places Blanes etc, looked boring and manufactured. Tossa has loads of history.
Go to Café Berlin, (great food esp meat) and tell the Maître De, Kiko his Irish friend sent you.
We’re deffo gonna go back (me, mrs and 16 month old baba)
b

Unshelved

+1 on Tossa da Mar - it's really lovely. Loads of good places to eat and excellent value.

jt_dublin

Hi Bawnmore,

Mrs JT & I are back from our trip to the Costa Brava. We were really impressed by the area. First of all we had a few days in the lovely old town in Girona. Then we spent a week in Begur. It is the end of the season now, so it wasnt too busy but still enough people around to create a bit of atmosphere. So maybe it's the sleepy but not too sleepy that you were looking for! Have you decided on where you are staying. If it is Begur, then let me know and I will give you some recommendations for restaurants. There were all really good anyway.
We toured around a bit as well. There are lovely old medieval towns such as Pals & Peratallada. The coastline is spectacular with lots of little coves as well as some fine long beaches too, and you have the Pyrenees in the background. If you go scuba diving, then the sea is so clear here that I'm sure the visibility will be great. I did see a sign somewhere for sky-diving but can remember exactly where. Are you still planning on doing one?!

We plan on going back but wish it was soon!

Bawnmore

jt_dublin wrote: »

Hi Bawnmore,

Mrs JT & I are back from our trip to the Costa Brava. We were really impressed by the area. First of all we had a few days in the lovely old town in Girona. Then we spent a week in Begur. It is the end of the season now, so it wasnt too busy but still enough people around to create a bit of atmosphere. So maybe it's the sleepy but not too sleepy that you were looking for! Have you decided on where you are staying. If it is Begur, then let me know and I will give you some recommendations for restaurants. There were all really good anyway.
We toured around a bit as well. There are lovely old medieval towns such as Pals & Peratallada. The coastline is spectacular with lots of little coves as well as some fine long beaches too, and you have the Pyrenees in the background. If you go scuba diving, then the sea is so clear here that I'm sure the visibility will be great. I did see a sign somewhere for sky-diving but can remember exactly where. Are you still planning on doing one?!

We plan on going back but wish it was soon!

Thanks for the info everyone. We decided on l'Escala in the end.

JT - you're right in that we're looking for a bit of a sleepy holiday - good food and good company sums what we're looking for up nicely We're off on Friday morning until Monday afternoon so counting down the days on this dark Monday morning. Sorting out the final points now like car rental etc and plan on taking off from work Thursday afternoon to prepare.

one question - how was the weather over there? It looks like 19C/20C is the norm for this time of year, but was it shorts and tshirts or trousers and long sleeved kind of weather?

We went for the villa with the heated pool in the end so we'll get some swimming doe regardless!

jt_dublin

Bawnmore wrote: »

Thanks for the info everyone. We decided on l'Escala in the end.

JT - you're right in that we're looking for a bit of a sleepy holiday - good food and good company sums what we're looking for up nicely We're off on Friday morning until Monday afternoon so counting down the days on this dark Monday morning. Sorting out the final points now like car rental etc and plan on taking off from work Thursday afternoon to prepare.

one question - how was the weather over there? It looks like 19C/20C is the norm for this time of year, but was it shorts and tshirts or trousers and long sleeved kind of weather?

We went for the villa with the heated pool in the end so we'll get some swimming doe regardless!

We didn't go in to L'Escala but did pass by there on the way to Cadaques & Port LLigat where we went to Dali's house. Right next to L'Escala is Sant Marti d'Empuries and we did stop in there. It's a lovely old medieval village and is worth a visit, even to eat there. You also have the Greek & Roman ruins of Empuries right next to it.

For car hire I usually use http://www.arguscarhire.co.uk and this time got a fantastic price of 122 euro for 9 days. It was meant to be a Fiesta size car and when I got there, Alamo upgraded me to a rather large Citroen C5 for free! Happy days.

We had good weather except for the last day. The week started at 28 degrees and was rarely below 24 during the day. But it does cool down in the evening. So it was shorts & t-shirts by day and jeans & sweater by night. We even managed to eat outdoors a few evenings with the help of some patio heaters. But there was a bad storm in the south of spain and I think we go the tail end of it, as we had a day of wind and rain, & only 14 degrees. That helped us re-acclimatise for out journey back home the following day! if the villa's heated pool gets too hot, you should be still able to swim in the sea to cool off. It feels a bit chilly when you get in but after a minute or so it is fine.

If you like seafood & tapas, you are in for a treat. Maybe have a look here on tripadvisor for some recommendations.

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurants-g580329-L_Escala_Costa_Brava_Province_of_Girona_Catalonia.html

Enjoy and let me know how you got on.

Bawnmore

jt_dublin wrote: »

We didn't go in to L'Escala but did pass by there on the way to Cadaques & Port LLigat where we went to Dali's house. Right next to L'Escala is Sant Marti d'Empuries and we did stop in there. It's a lovely old medieval village and is worth a visit, even to eat there. You also have the Greek & Roman ruins of Empuries right next to it.

For car hire I usually use http://www.arguscarhire.co.uk and this time got a fantastic price of 122 euro for 9 days. It was meant to be a Fiesta size car and when I got there, Alamo upgraded me to a rather large Citroen C5 for free! Happy days.

We had good weather except for the last day. The week started at 28 degrees and was rarely below 24 during the day. But it does cool down in the evening. So it was shorts & t-shirts by day and jeans & sweater by night. We even managed to eat outdoors a few evenings with the help of some patio heaters. But there was a bad storm in the south of spain and I think we go the tail end of it, as we had a day of wind and rain, & only 14 degrees. That helped us re-acclimatise for out journey back home the following day! if the villa's heated pool gets too hot, you should be still able to swim in the sea to cool off. It feels a bit chilly when you get in but after a minute or so it is fine.

If you like seafood & tapas, you are in for a treat. Maybe have a look here on tripadvisor for some recommendations.

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Restaurants-g580329-L_Escala_Costa_Brava_Province_of_Girona_Catalonia.html

Enjoy and let me know how you got on.

Fantastic - thanks again for the info. I went with hispacar.com in the end for car rental as they were the cheapest by far for a 6 seater. Much easier for us than renting 2 separate smaller cars. Great deal on the C5 though!

I'll update this thread with how we get on. Cheers.

FunkyDa2

Hi Bawnmore

l'Escala is a pleasant small town with a good selection of places to eat/drink. I stayed in l'Estartit, just down the coast, a few years ago. It's a centre for scuba diving, with the Medes Islands(a marine reserve) just offshore.

Skydiving is practised in the airfield in Empuriabrava, just up the coast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes_Islands

http://www.skydiveempuriabrava.com/

Hope that helps

Bawnmore

FunkyDa2 wrote: »

Hi Bawnmore

l'Escala is a pleasant small town with a good selection of places to eat/drink. I stayed in l'Estartit, just down the coast, a few years ago. It's a centre for scuba diving, with the Medes Islands(a marine reserve) just offshore.

Skydiving is practised in the airfield in Empuriabrava, just up the coast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes_Islands

http://www.skydiveempuriabrava.com/

Hope that helps

Cheers FunkyDa2, it certainly does. From the info above l'Escala sounds like it'll fit the bill perfectly.

If you're going to L'escala def go to Empúries which is a few k outside the town or you can walk there along the beach/coast. some really nice restos there although not sure if open this time of year.

Figueres is worth going to if you have a car or get a bus/other to go to the Salvador Dali museum.

I imagine that l'escala will be closing up for the season at this time of year.

was there a couple of years ago and met a 50-ish guy working in a bar on beachfront, called Bruno who claimed to be a former lover of Miriam O'Callaghan when she was 19 or 20 - so random that it had to be true!

Empuriabrava is a freakshow of a place - like a crappy Florida keys - avoid.

Bawnmore

glasso wrote: »

If you're going to L'escala def go to Empúries which is a few k outside the town or you can walk there along the beach/coast. some really nice restos there although not sure if open this time of year.

Figueres is worth going to if you have a car or get a bus/other to go to the Salvador Dali museum.

I imagine that l'escala will be closing up for the season at this time of year.

was there a couple of years ago and met a 50-ish guy working in a bar on beachfront, called Bruno who claimed to be a former lover of Miriam O'Callaghan when she was 19 or 20 - so random that it had to be true!

Empuriabrava is a freakshow of a place - like a crappy Florida keys - avoid.

Cheers for the info - we'll be on foot as well as in the car, so everywhere in the near area will be reachable. I've heard good things about Dali's museum so will definitely give it a look. Good to hear about Empuriabrava too, we very nearly book there but decided on L'Escala in the end.

Bawnmore

Bawnmore wrote: »

Cheers for the info - we'll be on foot as well as in the car, so everywhere in the near area will be reachable. I've heard good things about Dali's museum so will definitely give it a look. Good to hear about Empuriabrava too, we very nearly book there but decided on L'Escala in the end.

yes nothing there (Empuriabrava) except over-priced shops to cater for mixed ageing expat population. maybe worth going to see just to see how strange a place it is with all the canals throughout the place.

The Swordsman

Thanks for all the info.

Heading back to Costa Brava for the second year running. This year we're going to Pals whereas last year we were in Calella de Palafrugell. Beautiful spot - great coastal walks and great little villages (Llafranc, St Roc) perfect for the evening time and eating out.

What I didn't do last year but would like to do this year is to take a train to Barcelona and spend the day sightseeing. Has anyone done that? Any tips. Where do you get the train, etc?

Unshelved

There's a bus from Palafrugell to Barcelona that's okay. If you're travelling from Calella you'll have to get a bus or taxi from there to Palafrugell first. The bus journey takes about 1hr 45 mins and leaves you in either in the city centre at Rondo San Pere (2nd last stop near Placa Catalunya) or Estacio del Nord. Some buses go on to the airport as well. More details here

Never tried the train.

Boulevardier

I'm just back from Cadaques. It is in a rather isolated spot on the coast. Communications in and out are not good and the beaches are stony and uninviting.

On the other hand it is on a lovely bay with the Cap Creus natural park all around it and there are plenty of places to eat and drink. Dali's last home at Port Lligat is within easy walking distance.