Catalan Coast and Mountains In Style

8 Days & 7 Nights

Discover Salvador Dali's Spain on 'wild coast' and mountain trails
Treat yourself to boutique hotels and upgraded rooms
A special locally-sourced Catalan tasting menu included on day 7
Explore Greek and Roman ruins at the ancient cities of Empuries
Dine out at world-class restaurants and sample the region's highly regarded food

Uncover the wild coast of Catalonia and treat yourself with our selection of luxurious and boutique hotels, as you make your way along coastal and mountain trails at a relaxed pace. Each accommodation is unique and handpicked for their variety, such as a stunning location, historic building or stylish interiors. You'll follow trails alongside the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean, past ancient ruins and wetlands teeming with birdlife, before ascending over the coastal, monastery-clad mountains to Palau-saverdera with far-reaching views of the Pyrenees. The Alt Emporda region of Catalonia offers wild, varied coastline and rustic, medieval mountain villages. Take it slow and fully experience everything this beautiful walkers paradise has to offer.

What To Expect

Travel restrictions and resources, to and from any destination

If you enjoy great, relaxed-pace walks in good weather combined with luxurious accommodation to unwind in each evening, then this is the tour for you. Reward your efforts each day with authentic Catalan food and local wines, in pretty white-washed coastal villages and stylish historic or boutique-style hotels. We also include Girona airport or Figueres station transfers to ensure you're able to relax as soon as possible.

Tour Type:

In Style | After a day of exciting adventures and soaking up unbeatable scenery, retreat to stylish accommodations and unwind with fine food and wine. This trip type is for those who like sophisticated places to stay and are looking for active routes but still want the holiday to feel special.

Activity:

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

This trip is suitable for:

Solo Travellers

As a guide, we would suggest that the minimum age of traveler this tour would be suitable for is: 5 Years

Ideal if you have an interest in:

Foodie
Wine
Coastal Walking

Activity Level & Terrain

This walk is graded Moderate. The days walk to Cadaques from Platja Canyelles is a little steep in places and may require a little more effort. On these isolated occasions a grade of Moderate to Strenuous is slightly more suitable. For the most part, the entire holiday is on terrain that is either on-farm tracks, coastal paths or mountain trails. Occasionally you may encounter a few moderately steep sections, especially on coastal trails. However, the ascent is not too difficult or prolonged. There are also some sections with steep drop-offs where extra care is required and for this reason, this tour is not suited to anyone with vertigo.

Navigation

The trails on this holiday are a mix of local paths and “GR” (Gran Recorrido) routes - which are marked with characteristic marks consisting of a white stripe above a red stripe. Some local paths are signed and some are not. However, the route notes that accompany each day's walk give a step by step, turn by turn account of your route and are complimented with photographs to give you points of reference.

Accommodations

The stylish, unique and boutique-style hotels en route are one of this tour's highlights. We carefully select superb quality accommodation and upgraded rooms to give you a wonderful place to relax and unwind at the end of a rewarding day of walking. Each accommodation is different and full of character, from a converted 12th-century convent to avantgarde styling, yet you can anticipate a warm welcome to walkers, traditional Catalan hospitality and delicious food at each one. To make your stay really special, at some hotels we've upgraded your room to superior, junior suite or suite rooms, so you can relax 'in Style'. Full accommodation details can be found in the itinerary. Many of our clients choose to add extra nights as a luxurious treat or to sample more of the wonderful attractions and culture this vibrant region has to offer.

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

If you require single rooms within your party we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable. Unfortunately this holiday is not available to solo walkers due to safety reasons.

Meals

A traditional Catalan breakfast is included each morning. Breakfast is a leisurely affair and adequate time should be allocated. Lunch is not included. Most accommodations are happy to provide a packed lunch - this should be requested on arrival. Dinner is only included on night 7, as we highly recommend sampling some of the world-class restaurants on offer in this area. Castello D'Empuries is home to a Michelin-starred restaurant, Cadaques has many great dining options, and Port de la Selva offers a wonderful array of local seafood. Dinner may also be available at your accommodation on some evenings. We strongly recommend booking any restaurants, you particularly want to visit, in advance to avoid disappointment.

Included

Arrival and departure transfers from/to either Girona airport, Girona centre or Figueres train station
Welcome meeting
7 Nights accommodation in ensuite rooms
7 Breakfasts and 1 Dinner
Door to door baggage transfer
A detailed info pack, route notes and maps
Full information pack on local history, culture & traditions as well as advice on restaurants, bars and local attractions
Emergency telephone support from our office in the UK as well as from a local office in Catalonia with English speaking staff
Taxi transfer at the end of the walk on day 2 and start of day 3

Excluded

Lunches, some dinners, snacks and drinks
Entrance fees (where applicable)
Travel Insurance
Transport should you need to skip a stage

Extras

Extra nights along the route

When To Go

This tour is available to start on any day of the week subject to availability, from April through to June, and then again from September through to the end of October.

Time of Year

The climate in Catalonia can be summarised as Mediterranean, total rainfall here is lower than in the rest of Spain, and it is concentrated in the late autumn-winter period. Temperatures are higher than the rest of Spain in both summer and winter. We recommend wonderful walking in the Spring and Autumn. We don't offer this holiday in the months of July and August as the temperatures are too high for walking.

Getting to the Start

By Air: The closest regional airport to Catalonia is Girona-Costa Brava and, as part of the package, we offer return airport transfers from Girona airport. You can also fly to Barcelona-El Prat and take a bus or train to the city's main train station, from here you can take a fast train (AVANT) to Figueres Vilafant where our local partner can collect you and transfer you to the first accommodation. Alternatively, you can take a regional train or MD train to Figueres. Figueres and Figueres Villafant are fairly close so pick up is possible at either, but please specify. Tickets can be bought at http://www.renfe.com

By Train: If you are arriving by train then the best station to arrive into is Figueres or Figueres Villafant. See above.

Getting from the End

By Air: The closest regional airport to the end of the walk is again Girona-Costa Brava and, as part of the package, we offer return airport transfers from Girona airport. You can also fly out of Barcelona-El Prat - please let us know if you require a transfer to Barcelona instead of Girona which we can book for a small additional cost.

Luggage Transfer

Your bags will be transferred from your accommodation onto your next overnight stop. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20kg per person. Please make sure they are clearly marked with your name and next nights accommodation.