Eurocamp Spain Costa Brava: Resorts, Weather and Flights

The Costa Brava is the northern end of Catalonia's coastline, a chain of seaside towns rather than one long strip of hotels. In the south, Blanes and Lloret de Mar are sizeable places of around 40,000 and 37,000 residents; further north the scale drops sharply, to Begur with about 4,000 people and Calella de Palafrugell with fewer than 800.

Ask me what the best of Costa Brava is and I will point to the mix. You get beaches such as La Fosca at Palamós, castles at almost every turn (Castell de Sant Joan above Blanes, Montgrí Castle at Torroella de Montgrí, Castell de la Trinitat in Roses), and real history: the Dolmen de la Creu d'en Cobertella and the Visigothic settlement of Puig Rom, both near Roses. If you want a Costa Brava must-see list, the Salvador Dalí House Museum in Cadaqués and Tossa's Vila Vella belong at the top.

Inland, Girona is the best city in Costa Brava terms for a day of streets and cafés rather than sand, and it is also the airport most British travellers land at.

Lloret de Mar is the resort most British visitors book, with the largest choice of places to stay and 21 minutes from Girona airport. Blanes, next door, is a working town with its hilltop castle. Tossa de Mar is smaller and prettier, built around its medieval walled quarter. Calella, further south towards Barcelona, is another popular resort base.

The best part of Costa Brava for a slower pace is arguably the middle stretch. Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Palamós have harbours, with Palamós home to the Museu de la Pesca and the beach at La Fosca. Calella de Palafrugell, Begur and Pals are small, and Pals has The Jam Museum for a rainy afternoon. If you are hunting for the best calas Costa Brava offers, this rocky middle section around Palamós and Begur is where to start looking.

In the north, Roses gives a broad bay with Castell de la Trinitat and the monastery of Santa Maria de Roses, Empuriabrava is a smaller resort nearby, and Cadaqués, with its Dalí museum and Castell de Sant Jaume, is the one people drive out of their way to see. Torroella de Montgrí has the Museum of the Mediterranean beneath its castle.

The best time to visit Costa Brava for beach weather is July and August, when average highs reach 29°C and nights stay around 21°C. July is noticeably the drier of the two, with about three rainy days against seven in August, so if you can choose, July is the safer bet.

June and September both average 25°C and suit anyone who prefers walking and sightseeing to lying on the sand, though September turns wetter, with around ten rainy days. October is the wettest month by rainfall, at 87mm, despite highs of 23°C. Winter is mild but cool, around 14°C to 15°C by day, which is fine for Girona and the castles but not for swimming.

So the best time to visit Costa Brava, Spain, depends on your plans: high summer for the beach, early summer for a gentler balance. Remember that July and August coincide with UK school holidays, when demand and package prices rise in general.

Two airports have direct flights from the United Kingdom. Girona is the closest: Lloret de Mar is 21 minutes by road, Tossa de Mar 22 minutes, and Blanes and Sant Feliu de Guíxols about 23 minutes each. On a package, that means a short transfer and more of your first day on holiday.

Barcelona is the other option, and often has more flight choice. The best way to get to Costa Brava from Barcelona airport is by road: about 64 minutes to Blanes, 69 minutes to Lloret de Mar and 75 minutes to Tossa de Mar. The northern towns such as Roses and Cadaqués are further, so car hire makes sense if you plan to base yourself up there.

If you are already staying in the city, the best way to get from Barcelona to Costa Brava is the same coastal drive north; Barcelona's ferry port is roughly 38 miles from the heart of the coast, useful for anyone arriving by sea.

Most British travellers book this coast as a package: flights from a UK airport into Girona or Barcelona, a hotel in the resort you choose, and the transfer in between. You will usually pick a board basis too, from room only through to half board or all inclusive, depending on how much you want to eat out in town.

On this page you can compare package deals from Jet2holidays, TUI, loveholidays and On the Beach side by side, check hotel prices, browse tours and tickets for sights such as the Dalí museum, and compare car hire if you want to explore the northern towns. Prices and availability change daily, so compare dates around the school holidays carefully.