Traveling to Barcelona this July with my wife and teenage son. We're dividing our time between the city and the country, with Tossa being our second destination. We have a total of six nights, arriving late in Barcelona to begin night one. Assuming we're going to take a day trip by bus from Tossa to see Girona, how many nights would folks recommend we spend in total at our Tossa hotel versus Barcelona? Right now, we have it split 3 and 3 which means we get two full days in Barcelona and three full days in Tossa (of which one spent in Girona). Because there are more "attractions" in Barcelona at least on paper, and more tourists per capita in Tossa, we're tempted to spend only two nights in Tossa. On the other hand, we're not sure how long we want to be "on guard" against pickpockets in the big city. Comments? Thank you

I'm not familiar with Tossa, but recently spent a week in Barcelona and loved every minute of it. We did take a day to drive to Girona. I could have easily stayed another week there BUT it wasn't in July, it was in November. July heat and a teenage son may make it a bit less desirable. (this was our first Europe trip without our kids, and traveling with teens is definitely a different kind of experience than traveling w/o)

As for pickpockets, we had absolutely no problem at all, and we did do a lot of wandering around, even into quiet little streets in the evening (usually looking for 'off-the-beaten-path shops or restaurants).

I think Tossa is a very nice beach village (but it's not more than that). It's a good place for some down time, where you can hang out on the beach, or walk around the town. If you spend two nights in Tossa I think you will have "seen" everything, and it's more a question of how much time you want to spend doing nothing vs. doing "something" and how much time you would have to spend traveling (I seem to recall that the trip to the Costa Brava was pretty quick, but the last bit from town to town took some time).

Thank you both very much.

We just returned from Spain. Barcelona has much to see and u will barely scratch the surface in 2 days. We didn't stay in Tossa but did visit it -- lovely beach town. Didn't appear to be much there beyond the beach. Girona was great and we only spent a late afternoon and evening there and wish we could have had more time to spend there. We had no trouble with pick pockets or any crime while in Barcelona.

Hi there!
It depends upon your preferences really, but I would reccommend spending 3 days in Barcelona and 2 days in Tossa De Mar. With so much to do in Barcelona, even 3 days will seem to go incredibly quickly. Tossa De Mar is a gorgeous beach town, so if you prefer to just relax beachside without the hustle and bustle of seeing sights, shopping, etc. you may want to spend more time there. If it is the pickpockets that are deterring you from staying in Barcelona longer, as long as you are aware of your surroundings and try to steer clear of sketchy looking people and avoid people who may be creating a distraction for others to come up from behind and rob you, you really should not have a problem!

Have a wonderful trip!

Jenna

I also have just returned after a 6 day visit in Barcelona. No pickpocket sightings or any worries in the least! Have a great time! I could easily spend another 6 days there and find more to do.