I thought I would try this as a soundboard for a one week itinerary on the Costa Brava, as we have never been before. We would be driving a rental car from Toulouse and would return the vehicle in France to avoid drop off fees. We are thinking of doing 2 lodging bases looking at a mid-May time frame. We are fluent in Spanish (I actually teach it) but not in Catalan, are slow travellers (retired) and also consider ourselves culture vultures. We do not swim nor lie on beach for hours.

Current thinking is this:
- Spend 3 nights in the Roses general area. Cadaqués and the Dali house are a must for us, as well as the Sant Pere de Rodes monastery. We would complement with Cap de Creus lighthouse and other (for example Empuriabrava?).
- Spend 4 nights in Girona. Apart from the town itself, maybe side excursions to botanical gardens (Tossa and Lloret del Mar), Begur, medieval Sant Feliu and others would be options.
- Drive back to somewhere close in France in anticipation for rental car return.

In my overthinking head, some considerations and doubts would be:
- Does the 3 night and 4 night apportionment sound ok? The 2 sites are not too close together as to justify the move?
- Begur seems to be a popular place based on reviews. However it seems to me that going to Cadaqués is quite the ordeal from there and would burn a lot of time. I also really love the Aiguablava Parador renovations and original artwork, but despite having stayed in many Paradors and being part of their Amigo program, it does seem prohibitively expensive. Also Begur appears quite close to Girona, so it would seem to be rather pointless to change lodging for such a short distance.
- How much is there to do in actual Girona? 4 nights perhaps too much?
- We do not necessarily need waterfront lodging but would certainly want a view of the water. (But not in Girona obviously)

I have been looking at posts here on Fodor’s and they have indeed been quite helpful in many ways. Looking for reactions to the above.
Gracias de antemano.

Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be a wonderful trip!

I can’t really help with some of your decisions – for example, how far is far enough to relocate is such a personal choice! (For me, if it’s an hour or more, I relocate. I think I’m unusual in that.)

How to divide your time really depends, I think, on which day trips you priorities. FWIW, I found more than enough to keep me happily busy in Girona for the better part of a day. Note that I pack a lot in!

I think you can visit Cadaques on your way to Punta de Cap de Creus. If you are interested in Dali, consider a stop in Figueras. I really enjoyed Besalu, another place you haven’t mentioned.

If you haven’t seen it, you might find some useful information in my old trip report. You might start with post #12, days 20 to 23. Four Awesome Weeks in the North of Spain and Catalunya

I hope that helps!

BTW: I don't speak Catalan and my Spanish is nominal. I did not find it a problem.

Thank you so much kja. I now did have a look at your trip report and this is very helpful. Besalu was off my radar screen and somehow Figueres had skipped my mind but now definitely a must. I will need to have a closer look at Girona, I see that it has a flower festival in mid-May which hopefully we may be able to catch.

I appreciate this input from you, it does help with the logistics of it all.

Your itinerary looks good.
Figueres is interesting for the Dalì museum, but apart from that there isn't much to see.
Empuriabrava is nice for a stroll around.
From Roses you could so stretch of the Cami di Ronda, the walk along the coast which is very pleasant
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...o-good-to.html
Check with your car rental people that you are ok to cross the border - some charge more, others don't let you....

We really enjoyed staying in Girona. We stayed there for 2 nights because that was all the time we had but there is plenty to do in Girona. You can walk along the walls, visit art museums, visit cathedrals, and just wander and enjoy this medieval city with a river running through it. There was a wonderful outdoor market when we were there. We also did a one-day driving trip from Girona that included Besalu, driving over the Eastern Catalan Pyrenees to Ripoll to visit a 9th century monastery. Also stopped in Rupit, a town made of medieval stone houses. Vic is another nice stop. We then continued on to Barcelona all in one day, so you could easily do this driving tour in one day from Girona and return to Girona.

We loved staying in Cadaques! It is beautiful! We only had one night here. We visited Cap de Creus, the Dali house in Port Lligat (you need to make advance reservations) and enjoyed strolling around Cadaques.

If you want to stay in Girona during the flower festival, book accommodation sooner rather than later. It is a busy period because of the festival. Also, book Dali's house in advance. I am sure you knew that, but I have been there when people did not and were turned away...

Will you spend much time on the French side of the border? We were impressed by Narbonne and the fresh water canal that passes through a salt water lake. We also hiked up to the border where Pompey rested his men on the withdrawl from Spain. Not itself very imposing but the views are good and the emptiness of the space is wonderful

Wow this insight is just the type of thing I was looking for.

just_tina: that walk along the coast looks gorgeous! Do you remember if there were many steep inclines along the path? (partner has knee issues, small (shallow) or very short inclines are OK). I duly note your comments on Figueres and Empuriabrava. And yes of course, I am aware of the car rental surcharge - I often book with EuropCar and in their case, from memory at around 35 or 40 euros it is inconsequential. Thanks for mentioning it though, it is pertinent info.

KarenWoo: you have sold me even more on Girona! I highly appreciate your detailed comments. Re. Cadaqués, I was debating whether to look for lodging there or in Roses which appear larger i.e. more services, restaurants, etc. within walking distance. Perhaps Cadaqués is fine in any case (or other village nearby).

rialtogrl: I did not realize that the flower festival was that popular … this likely means crowds hmmm ... I appreciate the heads up, it is not a must for us but simply might be interesting if things align themselves to that. And of course I am aware of he advanced booking for the Dali house on their official site, thanks! Presumably things are different for the museum in Figueres (now also a must for us, thanks again kja).

bilboburgler: I remember you provided many useful comments for our stay in Toulouse last fall, which included your glowing recommendation for Narbonne. We sadly did not make it then (so much to see and do), but are indeed spending time there again and are planning additional side trips, to Montauban for the Bourdelle-Ingres museum and also of course aiming for Narbonne (!), for which I have studied the Gallo-Roman site but have never actually seen it (and would love to!).

In my evolving planning effort, we are currently intending to return our rental car at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport the night prior to our morning flight and just sleep at an airport hotel where we would arrive after our dinner in Castelnaudary. Therefore I am now thinking of taking a night away from Girona (from 4 to 3) to accomodate the drive back to Toulouse (or keep the rental for an additional day). The logistics of planning always seem to be a bit of a challenge, and indeed makes me appreciate this forum.

Girona will definitely be more crowded for the flower festival, but it never seems that crowded! The thing is accommodation, they don't have the number of hotels that, say, Barcelona does. Hence my comment. But it won't be wall to wall people or anything like that! It is more about finding the room you want at the price you want to pay.

I would book the Figures museum in advance too.

About the pathm maybe not a good idea if your partner has knee issues. Maybe just do the first few hundred metres for the views. Instead in the other direction Roses has a long and flat promenade which will be ok

I think you’ll be fine basing in Girona and not going to Begur. I would encourage you to visit the Dali Castle in Pubol, less than an hour from Girona. The castle is interesting, and the countryside around it quite lovely ( vary your routes on the way there and back). If you’re interested, there are wineries to visit in the upper and lower Emporda, and the village of Pals is a popular stop. Enjoy - it sounds like a great trip!

I appreciate these additional thoughts. And thanks for the tip on the Dali castle in Pubol, I had no idea! My partner will be absolutely thrilled

I am now looking at accommodations in the latter part of May (a few days in each Girona and also Roses/Cadaques area) and am a little surprised that many places seem already unavailable, particularly in Girona., at 4 and a half months out! Pickings are getting slimmer even for mid-week dates, funny that I never thought of the Costa Brava as such a strong magnet at that time of year, July and August I would understand …. or perhaps some availability schedules have not yet been updated.

Anyways I will be searching some more over the w-e.

Yes, I had the same problem finding accommodations in Girona for approximately the same time frame, so we ended up basing longer near Begur and spending a few hours in Girona ( but Girona would be lovely for longer!). This forum told me that the Hotel Historic is good if they have availability ( only rooms left were too many $$ when I was looking). Keep checking and good luck!

The family that runs Hotel Historic also runs the more budget friendly Casa Cundaro - https://www.casacundaro.com

If you have a car it might be better to find a place with parking or somewhere in the newer part of town where there is street parking.

I just booked 10 nights at a hotel on the Costa Brava for early September; it's just outside the town of Begur, on the water. The name is FINCA VICTORIA and it is a new hotel.

I began a thread about hotels; maybe some off the info here will be helpful:

COSTA BRAVA HOTEL with heated pool?

Wow thank you I will definitely look into these suggestions, and yes we will have a car so parking is a consideration. This is new territory for me so all practical insight is extremely useful. Driving Begur to Girona appears to be just under an hour, does that sound right? However driving to Cadaques seems prohibitively long, so would warrant a different base for that leg.

I think that Cadaques is absolutely essential for you. But the drive is a killer...since you have a limited time, would you ever consider skipping it this time?

There are so many pretty towns around the Begur area--I visited only Pals and Peratallada, but there are others...you could visit them from Begur. We did just that on a trip a long time ago, but I do remember that these two towns were very quiet in the middle of the day..but gorgeous, both of them:

https://costabrava.org/en/blog/the-a...d-peratallada/

I don't know this area well at all, but I had the impression that Roses was kind of built up and attracted many people from the UK looking for beer and fish and chips. I am probably way off base here, however.... Would love to learn more..

ekscrunchy, thanks for the diplomatic warning about Roses; even if it turns out to be only half true it is definitely not our kind of place. I also note that Maribel does not recommend a base right in Cadaques due to its isolation and winding road.

I'll be so eager to read about your trip!!
If I read interesting articles that I can link here, I will!!

Yes, Girona to Begur is about an hour, and is an easy and pretty drive regardless of the roads you take. It’s a great area to explore. A good tip about the Casa Cundara ( I’ve noted it!). OP - I think since you’ll be coming from France and have specific things you really want to see near Cadaques, then you should go there. If you want to avoid the serpentine drive, there is a bus or also a boat which goes to Cadaques from Roses, but then you wouldn’t have your car there if that’s important. I can’t comment on Roses because I didn’t go there. We didn’t make it to Cadaques because we were coming from Begur = too much driving (but I would still love to see the Dali house/museum!) Regarding the lower CB, I don’t think you’d be sorry if you based nearer the coast, in or around Begur, with a day trip to Girona, but that’s a decision you’ll need to make. Eks that hotel you booked looks fabulous!
OP please keep us posted on your trip. Can’t wait to hear about it!