Hello,

My husband and I are looking to rent a car (next tuesday!) from Barcelona after staying there a few days, and drive to meet up with family about an hr east of Perpignan. We have never been to Spain before and would like to rent a car to take a full day to get there and stop somewhere along the Costa Brava on the way, and stop in Girona on the way back (we are flying out of Barcelona the following Sunday so will be staying overnight our last night there).

We have been told by a local friend that it's relatively easy (with proper maps etc) to rent a car from Sants station so we have a rental secured to/from Sants. However I am a little worried it will be stressful getting in and out of the city. We are staying in the Eixample-would we be better off renting a car somewhere closer to Ave Diagonal? Or even taking the train to Girona and renting the car there...although I don't want to overcomplicate things.

Additionally if we were to stop in one town for lunch along the coast on the way up would you recommend Cadaques or Tossa Del Mar? I know they are a bit out of the way but as I mentioned we don't mind if it's a fairly long day of driving.

Any advice from locals or other tourists who have done a similar trip would be greatly appreciated!

It's not difficult and your choice of rental cars is better in Barcelona. Just turn onto Tarragona and left onto the Gran Via, heading straight out of town on the C-31, picking up the B-10 to the AP-7 towards Girona.

If you're from the States or Canada, then I'm assuming you already have an IDP (International Driving Permit) issued by AAA. If not, it shouldn't be a problem if you happen to get stopped by the police for some reason.

If I remember correctly, Tossa del Mar might be too close to Barcelona so that it might not make a good lunch stop, meaning you might arrive there too early for lunch. According to my notes, it took us 2 hours to get from Barcelona to Tossa del Mar, but that is because we told the GPS we wanted a non-toll road, so it took longer, and the drive wasn't that interesting. So I recommend taking the toll road. Tossa is beautiful, so you should visit it. We spent about 2 hours exploring the walled medieval town.

We had lunch in the town of S'Agaro at Villa Mar, Passeig Sant Pol, 95. This restaurant is directly across the street from the Mediterranean. We were there in 2010.

We also loved Cadaques, but it does take longer to get there because you have to drive over the mountain.

We rented our car from Avis in downtown Barcelona, and we also rented a GPS. We didn't have any problems getting out of Barcelona. My husband does all the driving. I do all the trip planning, the fun part!

Personally, I would not plan on lunch in Cadaques – the roads are narrow, twisty, and so wind-blown that travelling on them can be quite a challenge.

As KarenWoo notes, whether Tossa del Mar would work would depend on when you leave Barcelona and how much time you spend visiting places en route. If you opt for Tossa del Mar, you might consider Can Simon:
http://www.restaurantcansimon.com

And if you stop in Girona, you might consider Cal Ros
https://calros-restaurant.com

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!

<<. If not, it shouldn't be a problem if you happen to get stopped by the police for some reason.>> There is a 250E fine for not having an IDP for Spain. Why would you say police will be okay with you not having it?
Better to have it than not, and it doesn't take long to get from AAA.