caroltis

I need recommendations for two - three star hotels that can serve as a 3 day base for us to explore Costa Brava on our way down to Barcelona. Would prefer to be on the beach and it would be nice if restaurants, etc. were in walking distance. Thanks in advance!

desmccarthy

I would check out Cadaques as a good base to explore the Costa Brava. Cadaques is a pretty fishing village with lots of restaurants.

Sher

We stayed at the Santa Marta several years ago. It is a three star.

Pro: It is located on the beach in a lovely setting.

Con: You need a car and there are only a couple of restaurants within walking distance, as I recall.

It is located between Blanes and Lloret de Mar.

caroltis

Thanks - I had considered Cadaques but I think I recall a poster once said it was not a good base because the road in and out of Cadaques was a bit tedious and if you were trying to go in and out each day for exploring the region it might not be a good base afterall. If it's not all that time consuming - I'd love to stay there.

desmccarthy: do you have a place in Cadaques that you have stayed in?

sher: I'll check out the website for Santa Marta - that might be a little closer to Barcelona than I would want to base but who knows!

traveller1959

We stayed at Hotel Rocamar in Cadaques, which is the best hotel in town (3 stars, pool, beach, good restaurant, magnificent view, easy walking distance to town, parking).

www.rocamar.com

See our trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35086408

Cadaques is a good base because it is one of Spain's most attractive towns and an excellent place to spend three days. Cadaques is a must-see, the Salvador Dali House in Port Lligat also and Cap Roses too. It is right that you reach Cadaques by driving a winding and often congested road - but if you stay IN Cadaques you are always driving in the direction WITHOUT traffic jams!

From Cadaques to Figueres it is about 20 min driving time - that's not bad.

JulieVikmanis

We enjoyed Cadeques very much but I do not think I could get my husband to drive in an out of that town for day trips and certainly not for evening dining. The road in is a white knuckler. We found Lloret de Mar way too touristy but liked Tossa de Mar, smaller, cuter, etc. but I can't give you a hotel suggestion there. What we really enjoyed was Llafranc. It's directly on the beach, small, but with two nice looking hotels in town. We ate at Llevant and found it excellent. The hotel looked to have nice rooms as well. We had a drink ta Llafranch hotel and it also looked nice. We actually stayed at El Far, by the lighthouse 2 km above the beach and the town, and while it was a very nice hotel, excellent in fact, it was a distance from the action of the small town and if I were staying there again I'd opt for the Llevant, directly on the promenade by the beach. Check the Llevant's website at www.hotel-llevant.com You'll see a nice picture of the small town as well as of the hotel.

Maribel

caroltis,
A compromise between party town (and highrise) Lloret and somewhat isolated Cadaqués (I agree-it wouldn't be my choice, despite its picturesque setting, for lots of easy exploring of the coast due to the endless curves on the road in and out):

Choose a small hotel in the prettiest part (and most upmarket) of the Costa Brava, the northern section between Palafrugell and Begur.

In the picturesque fishing village of Llafranc, you have 3 reasonably priced family-run small hotel with restaurant options, all right at the water's edge, just a few steps from the town beach:

3 star Hotel Llafranch
www.hllafranch.com

3 star Hotel Llevant
www.hotel-llevant.com

2 star Hotel Casamar
www.hotelcasamar.net
(whose restaurant rates a Bibi Gourmand designation for good value in the '08 red Michelin)

Or next door in the fishing village of Calella de Palafrugell (which looks like a Greek village to me), you have further options:

3 star Hotel Sant Roc
www.santroc.com

3 star Hotel Garbi
www.hotelgarbi.com

(but both of the above are on the hill overlooking the town).

See all options in the Calella, Llafranc, Tamariu villages here:

www.turismepalafrugell.org/


If you don't mind your room not facing the beach, the wonderful, lively, very pretty hilltop town of Begur (with castle ruins, palm trees, "indiano" mansions and stunning coastal views) has some reasonably priced options as well:

3 star Hotel Rosa
www.hotel-rosa.com

(same owners as the restaurant Fonda Caner)

3 star Hotel Bliss Begur
www.blissbegurhotel.com

(with adjoining Italian restaurant)

See all the Begur and surrounding cala (cove) lodging options here:
www.begur.org/turisme

Since you specified 2 and 3 star, I haven't recommended the 4 star Aiguablava Parador or 4 star Hotel Aiguablava. In addition, in summer the rates are very steep and on certain dates require half board. Also both book up quickly in the winter for the entire summer.

Nonetheless, the area around Aiguablava, Begur, Sa Tuna and Aiguafredda (pine scented coves) is just very pretty (but also congested, like virtually any place on the Costa Brava, in summer).


Hope this helps.

Maribel

Oops, didn't see Julie's post while I was composing mine. Agree completely with Julie that the Hotel Llevant would be a very nice choice for you.

But in case it's booked already for your dates, you have more options!

enroute

I second Tossa - loved it, but don't have a hotel recommendation.

Maribel

One more option in Llafranc if the above are booked:

3 star Hotel Terramar, also on the beach, with restaurant.

www.hterramar.com

Although we enjoyed the incredibly scenic drive down from Sant Feliu de Guixols to Tossa de Mar, and it has a lovely, well preserved old quarter...

in summer Tossa, to our eyes, was *almost* overrun with visitors, giving it a kind of "cruise port" atmosphere.

It's extremely popular with families due to its very expansive beach, much loved by sun worshipers and water sports enthusiasts. (The upper northern CB has mostly diminutive, pebbly cove beaches).

But Tossa handles its crowds well, as it has the necessary infrastructure to do so (gobs of parking for cars and many, many tour buses, a vast beach promenade for the crowds to disperse), but getting in and out can be time consuming due to the constant stream of traffic, particularly on wkds.

But if your dates are off season, Tossa changes character, but it's still built up with high rises to the north-just not as quaint or low key as Llafranc, Tamariu or Calella.

In Tossa the family run Hotel Diana right on the promenade in the center of town would be a good budget option.
www.diana-hotel.com

Again, I much prefer the less hectic, less overdeveloped northern Costa Brava fishing villages to the Tossa-Lloret resort area, but that's just me, and it's your trip! You have plenty of choices! O

caroltis

Thanks to you all - this is exactly the advice I was seeking - you Fodorites always come through!

artlover

We stayed at the Parador Aiguablava just outside of Begur and loved it. Restaurant was top notch as well. Check it out at parador.es.

Patricia

Hi,

Last year we stayed in Calella de Palafrugell, it is gorgeous and relatively unspoilt without high rise hotels etc. I agree with Maribel that it certainly does look Greek. Llafranc is just around the headland and is an easy walk along a very scenic clifftop path. There are many restaurants to chose from either in Calella or Llafranc.

Cannot recommend a hotel as we stayed in a fabulous bed & breakfast which we can thoroughly recommend run by a couple from the UK. The house and bedrooms are immaculate, very spacious, breakfasts to die for, great garden and pool, we would go back in a heartbeat. Website is www.casadotorres.com/

johnthedorf

My Villa was in Platja d'Aro which was a short drive to Palamos. Took the drive to Tossa and also the water Taxi. The next town was S'Agaro which was beautiful with a beautiful walkway along the cliffs. The Dali museum in Figures surprised me since I didn't know that his talents were so diverse. While I enjoyed the Costa Brava my preference is still the Basque country. JulieV's hotel looks a lot like S'Agaro! Very nice Julie.

megdean

We will be taking a cruise out of Barcelona in December, and have 3 days following the cruise to spend in the Barcelona area. We've been to Bar. so are thinking of Costa Brava, many of the towns mentioned in this thread. My question is what it will be like in Dec.? We don't mind cold weather and quiet, but will be kind of bummed if everything is shut down. From the posts, I'm thinking of somewhere like Begur, Calella de Palafrugell or Llafranc. Thanks.

caroltis

The website www.tutiempo.net/en/
will give you weather history for the past several years. You can look to see what the weather pattern for December has been in recent years and get an "idea" of what to expect.

JulieVikmanis

carolitis, what a great weather site. I've been looking for data on temps over the last several years for Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia and the usual sites have been quite useless. This one is great. Thanks.

Maribel

megdean,
About winter in the Costa Brava:

We vacationed in the Begur-Palafrugell area just after New Year's and got quite lucky with temps in the 50s, creeping up to the low 60s during the day.

Yes, quiet is was-these coastal towns were back in the hands of the locals with only a few tourists. But the tourist office in Begur did give us a handy list for the month of Jan. of restaurants and other things that remained open. We had more than enough from which to choose.

The only museums not open were 2 on the Dalí triangle, the Castell de Púbol, closed Jan. 1-March 14, and Dalí's home in Port Lligat, closed Jan.-mid March.

The Greco-Roman ruins of Empúries and Iberian ruins at Ullastret remained open (we loved wandering around the ruins without crowds) as well as the Dalí museum in Figueres. And the city of Girona was quite lively.

We really enjoyed having the country roads to ourselves as we meandered around the Catalonian "tuscan" countryside. We only had to share them with the cement trucks that keep very busy during the winter with new villa construction and seasonal repairs (it appeared they were building a big underground car park in Sa Tuna).

The towns of Llafranc and Calella de P. took on a totally different character, since the beaches were empty and outdoor terraces closed. We found them much quieter than the market town of Palafrugell and Begur.
But the hotel restaurants that face the beach were open.

We stayed at the Parador in Aiguablava enjoying the low off-season rates, using the 5 night coupon plan only available in the winter. But we didn't have the hotel to ourselves, as several other retired couples were there for the same reason-low tariffs, peace and tranquility. Since Begur was only a few minutes drive away, we used it as our shopping headquarters.


I have the winter closing hrs. in front of me, and I see that Jan. finds many more restaurants and
hotels closed than December. Life seems to go into semi-hibernation in Jan. after the holidays.
But I loved the Costa Brava and all of the Catalonian countryside in winter without the crowds (Aug. brings real congestion) and am eager to return next Feb.

megdean

Thank you for the feedback - actually it sounds perfect. We prefer the off-season, and as long as hotels and restaurants are open, we are happy with peace and quiet. I'm going to start looking at the hotels mentioned earlier in this thread.

caroltis

Thanks to all for the advice about accomodations on Costa Brava. I have reserved a room with terrace and view to the sea at the Hotel Llevant in Llafranc which Julie and Maribel spoke of. Looks like our kind of place!