macdogmom

We will be in Barcelona for 4 nights and would like to spend our last 2 nights outside of the city probably on the coast. Does anyone have any suggestions for an interesting and easily accessible place to get to? I went to Ibizia in the 70s--would that be a good place to go back to?

teacherCanada

About 20 minutes south of Barcelona is a resort town called Sitges. There are nice beaches, hotels, restaurants in town. It is easily accessible by RENFE. It depends how far from Barcelona you want to get.

macdogmom

We need a place that we can get to by train and is not too difficult to access the Barcelona airport. Do you have any suggestions for good hotels in Sitges?

Thanks.

teacherCanada

We stayed at the Mediterraneo Sitges Avenida Sofia,3 Sitges 08870, tel: 01134938645134, Fax: 01134938946545. I am sure you can google the name and Sitges and you can find the hotel website. It was a 4 star hotel and we quite enjoyed our stay. It is very well situated beside the beach and near lots of restaurants. It has its own pool.

The Barcelona airport is about 25 minutes away, but I am sure the hotel will have advice on how best to get there.

Good luck with your planning.

artlover

We were there last year at this time and stayed in Begur at the parador and it was fabulous. Check out parador.es.

macdogmom

Begur looks like a wonderful town but I don't think there is a train that goes there from Barcelona.

Molloy95

Both Sitges and Begur are great - but different. Sitges is much more of a beach town; Begur is a cool, winding town on top of a hill a bit of a drive from the small and lovely cove beaches nearby. Sitges is FAR easier logistically. We stayed at the Hotel San Sebastian Playa, which was nice but not quite as nice as the website made it appear (we did have a view of the ocean if we craned our necks on the balcony ) We got a good deal using Bancotel coupons (do a search here for info) so it was well worth it. (Just checked price on venere.com for random days in June and got a rate of 138E -- not much more than the 100E we paid.) This hotel was on a smaller stretch of beach north of the main beach in town. That had the obvious pros and cons - but it was not a far walk at all to the main part of town. All in all, I'd consider it but would look into other options as well, maybe closer to the main beach area. (Tripadvisor rates it 13 out of 39.)

Robert2533

If you would like to spend some time relaxing near Begur, then I suggest you check out Mas Salvi (http://massalvi.com).

It is not the least expensive retreat, but well worth the time and money. It's located close to Pals and is accessible via taxi from Girona.

artlover

And don't miss Pals...it is magical.

macdogmom

Are these towns acessible by train from Barcelona?

Maribel

Pals and Begur can be reached from Barcelona by Sarfa bus, but not by train. The trip takes about 2 hrs. 15 min.

www.sarfa.com

Molloy95

We also stayed in the Parador mentioned above on our trip. It was a lovely setting, but you would need a car unless maybe you could taxi from Begur (not far, but seemed a bit b/c of the winding roads). I agree Pals is lovely, as is Begur itself. And Girona is absolutely magical, if you are considering that at all -- inland though, and you mentioned the coast.

The two options suggested (Sitges and Begur area) are two completely different "feels." Begur is pine trees and Sitges is palm trees.

Neither Pals or Begur are right on the water, and I'm not exactly sure how you'd manage if you are taking the bus -- taxis to the beach/coastal areas I guess? And getting back? The Parador is on a cliff (gorgeous views), has a great pool, and a steep walkway down to a small cove beach. It could all feel a little isolating if you didn't have a car, but it would certainly be beautiful and tranquil. I could have spent two days at the pool in the Parador just reading and looking at the ocean!

Sitges has a long, expansive beach and everything you would be interested in is walkable. It will have plenty of night life. Doesn't have the same feel of "old medieval town" like Pals (which was indeed beautiful, but not exactly lively), but there are interesting pedestrian shopping streets and a museum or two and it is certainly not devoid of beautiful buildings or sights -- if you go to Google Images and put in Sitges, you will come up with some nice photos. I don't know if any tours to Cordorniu or Freixenet (Penedes wineries famous for cava) run out of Sitges as they do out of Barcelona, but if that interests you, you may want to explore that option too. (Recent NYTimes travel article features the cava makers and Sitges: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/06...ringbreak.html )

Really depends on what you are more interested in experiencing after being in Barcelona for four nights.

ati2d

In the heart of Costa Brava, 800 metres from the medieval village of Pals and only five minutes from the beach.......

This renovated 17th century manor house, by the name of Mas Salvi, is surrounded by it’s own private woods and lush gardens, and situated close to three golf courses, this resort is as beautiful as it is functional. Boasting a host of facilities and offering exquisite traditional cuisine with a modern twist.

This location offers the opportunity to stroll through the coastal fishing villages and the medieval towns of the past.

You can feast your eyes on more detail from the hotel’s website here www.massalvi.com