KittyKautz

Hi all! I was wondering, if I stayed in Barcelona, got a car and did day trips from the city would I be able, lets say to drive to Costa Brava and many other towns in one day? In other words would I get a feeling of the countryside and not end up really exhausted? Since I will be travling with a friend I am concerned there will be not enough to do if I am based in Girona. If I were with a boyfriend it would be very romantic of course....

sparkchaser

The answer to that depends on how easily you get exhausted now. Fodorites don't know how much energy you have and how hard you can push yourself until you're exhausted.

Right now, today can you do a 2 hour drive, spend 6-10 hours walking around and seeing stuff, then drive 2 hours back? If the answer is yes, then by all means go for it.

Rubicund

It's very feasible and we've done it a number of times. There are lots of places around the area to visit for the day, although I have to say that train links are quite good from Barcelona to parts of the region. Other areas need a car for both convenience and time planning.

You don't say how long you are spending in the city, but here a few of the places you can visit:

Sitges-seaside resort further down the coast(Good train link)
Monsterrat Monastery (excellent train link)
San Sadurni d'Anoia-Cava producing area, car preferred
Rioja region for wine -car much more useful
Girona (good train link)
Figueres for the Dali museum-again good train link
Bay of Roses car preferred
Tossa de Mar seaside resort Costa Blanca car preferred

bluesphee

My wife and I visited Montserrat from Barcelona on a day trip via the train and enjoyed it. It's a scenic mountainous area if that is your cup of tea.

sueblue

This is a very interesting thread, KittyKautz. I was wondering the same thing in terms of planning my trip to Barcelona and Northern Spain (posted recently below).

Rubicund, do you think there are also enough day trips out of Girona to fill 5 days? (I am actually KittyKautz's travel partner!) I'm not sure we want to be traveling more than 60 minutes each way everyday and that's why we were thinking of situating ourselves in a central place outside of Barcelona near some interesting towns.

Rubicund

Girona isn't that far north of Barca and you'd expect to get there in less than an hour. However, you are still near enough to all of my list except Sitges, which is south of Barca. There's plenty to fill 5 days.

Pvoyageuse

Driving in and out of Barcelona is difficult, especially at rush hours, and parking is expensive in the city. Gerona is a very good base for :
Olot and the volcanic park
The lake of Banyoles
The Costa Brava : Rosas, Cadaques, L'Escala, the stunning monastery of San Pere de Rodes
Dali : Cadaques and his Port-Lligat house , Figueres and the Dali museum and Pubol castle (Gala's castle) near Gerona
Medieval villages: Pals, Monells, etc....