We are planning a trip to Spain June 24 to July 3, 2002. We have two nights in Madrid, and then to Barcelona for 6 nights. The question is, should we stay all 6 in Barcelona and do day trips to surrounding areas or stay only 3 nights there and 3 in Tossa de Mar and day trip from there? We are interested in sightseeing, but also relaxing and getting sun. Any advice would be helpful.<BR>Also, any suggestions on wineries in these ares?

Sounds like your answer is right in your question. You want to do both, so split your time half and half. Two separate stays of three days each isn't too much packing and unpacking and saves some travel. Try Cordonui and Frexeneit wineries in the Sant Antonia (sp?) area just outside Barcelona.

Julie,<BR><BR>Thanks for yor reply. I think I was looking for reinforcement of my plan! My boyfriend is concerned we may miss out on a lot of Barcelona by going to Tossa, and he thinks we can do beaches much closer to the city. He's flexible either way, but we don't know that much about the beaches very close to Barcelona. Any feedback on them?<BR>Thanks- Elaine

The closest (nice) beach is at Casteldefells. The beaches IN Barcelona are not that nice.<BR><BR>Casteldefells (or even Sitges, which is nicer) can be easily done as a day trip from Barcelona. Even the beaches on the Costa Brava (to the north, where Tossa de Mar is) can easily be done as a day trip if you get a car.<BR><BR>Maybe you could get a car for your last 2 or 3 days to go to the beaches and the wineries. Maybe even to Montserrat or Poblet (monasteries). Just be sure to stay in a hotel with parking.

We summer in Tossa each year. It has the best beach on the Costa Brava. The water is crystal clear, the snorkelling is excellent as well as the diving. The mountains come right down to the water. Tossa is small and quaint. The prettiest village on the Costa Brava. I recommend you spend your 3 days here. I don't think you will be diasappointed. It is only a 50 minute car drive or 60 minute express bus ride from Barcelona.

Have any of those of you familiar with Tossa stayed at the Hotel Diana? Pictures I've seen make it look like a very pretty art nouveau building, but it's only 2 stars, which concerns me. Feedback?

We just got back from Barcelona and Tossa and loved it! Spent 4 days in Barcelona and 3 in Tossa. (Since you have more days, I would spend a couple relaxing at the beach in Tossa) In Tossa, we stayed at the Best Western Hotel Gran Reymar which was perfect. It is on the beach, in an area that was separated from the huge crowds, but still plenty of people to watch! <BR><BR>We rented a car in Barcelona and drove it to Tossa (1 hour drive). Trust me, if I could drive in Spain, anyone can!) <BR><BR>From Tossa, we took a day trip to Girona. (Another day, we drove through the French Pyreneese. (We followed the road to Perphignan, but stopped in Port Vendres, Coulliere, around there...)There should be wineries there, but we did not go to any. We saw miles and miles of grapes, and signs for Chateaus, so it may help to use these city names for a search. It took around 3 hours to get to Perphignan, but we had no game plan, so you could always get a map ahead of time and pick one place to save driving time. The drive is beautiful, but there are some scary parts! (One lane roads through the higher parts of the mountains. ) <BR><BR>

I would also recommend dividing your time between Tossa and Barcelona. We spent 3 nights in each place two summers ago, and it was wonderful. We also stayed at the Best Western in Tossa; right on the beach, and very nice. We rented a car for our trip, and the travel between Barcelona and Tossa was excellent. I can't say enough about our trip, especially our time in Tossa.

The Hotel Dianna is Old, used to be a mansion but elegant. Don't let the 2 star rating put you off. The main entrance is off the main shopping street (pedestrian ) while the bar entrance is on the beach side. The lobby is small but the common areas are elegantly decorated. We usually sip expresso and brandy in the outdoor bar people watching every evening even tho we stay at the Best Western Mar Menuda or Grand Reymar.<BR><BR>By the way in Spain the main differences between 2, 3 or 4 star hotels are what they have to offer such as pool, spa , restaurant etc. The star system seems to apply to coomon areas as the rooms in spain tend to be plain in all categories. Don't be afraid to try the Dianna. Only draw back is you have to park in the municipal lot, make sure you don't park in the dry river bed, in the past 10 years i have twice seen a flash rain fill this area that they use as a parking lot when the main lot fills with cars usually on the weekends. We go to Tossa every year and will be back this Summer. Enjoy.

Going to Barcelona next month and wanted to know if it's easy to get to Tossa de Mar. Are there trains or buses? I could rent a car but want to avoid that considering I'm a North American driver.

The easiest way to get to Tossa from Barcelona will be by SARFA bus, from the Estacio del Nord bus terminal. Almost hourly departures, taking around 1.5 hours, fare 7.55 euro. Details at http://www.sarfa.es/ingles