This post was originally published on August 29, 2018. Updated on May 20, 2025 for accuracy and up-to-date travel info.
Barcelona is an amazing city. But one of the best things about living in Barcelona is being able to venture OUT of the city from time to time and explore the gorgeous coastline.
Costa Brava is a region on the coast of Catalonia, known for its beautiful beaches and rugged landscape (hence the name: Costa Brava. “Brava” means “rugged” or “rough” in Spanish).
There is so much to see and do in Costa Brava…
If you can, I highly suggest renting a car and spending at least a week exploring the coastline (something which I have yet to do myself).
But if you don’t have much time or just want to get out of Barcelona for the day, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar make for the perfect day trip. The two towns are only 20 minutes apart by car, making it easy to explore both in the same day.
How to Get to Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar
So I took the bus from Barcelona with a friend. Our trip was organized through her language school, which made things easy. But there are busses that run pretty much every hour from Barcelona Nord station to both Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you could also catch a ride with someone via BlaBlaCar (a carpooling app). It’s often cheaper and faster than public transportation. I’ve used this several times and had only positive experiences.
The bus from Barcelona to Tossa de Mar takes about an hour and a half without traffic. But we went on a Saturday morning (leaving at 10:30AM) and ran into a bit of traffic towards the end of our trip. So the whole trip ended up taking about two hours.
What to do in Tossa de Mar
Our first stop was Tossa de Mar, a walled-off medieval town and ancient fisherman’s village that is incredibly charming (albeit completely overrun with tourists).
The narrow, cobblestoned streets are lined with little shops and restaurants, leading to a massive 12th-century castle that sits atop a hill overlooking the adjacent beach and coastline.
Lots of photo-ops (despite the hordes of tourists lol).
While there, you’ll definitely want to check out the neighboring beaches as well. My friend and I hopped on a boat from the main beach, which cost 10 euros round trip (but that was in 2018 so it’s probably more expensive now). It took about 40 minutes to get to the beach and 30 minutes back.
On the way, we checked out some caves…
And shortly after, we arrived at our destination:
Gorgeous right? I thought so too.
Yes, it was super crowded… but beats Barcelona beaches by a landslide.
We stayed there for about an hour before heading back to the main beach at Tossa de Mar. Then we hopped on the bus to our next destination: Lloret de Mar.
What to see in Lloret de Mar
Lloret de Mar is known for its nightlife, so there are some trashy-looking discotecas all along the main strip. And the main beach was so crowded that there was barely anywhere to sit.
My first impression? Not so impressed.
But THEN we walked down a path off the right side of the main beach that led us to the other side of the hill. And the difference was like night and day. It was calm, peaceful and way less crowded. And just look at that view…
We walked down that path for a few minutes and then stumbled upon this restaurant, which had gorgeous views of the coastline…
We treated ourselves to a pitcher of sangria…
Perfect way to end the day.
But that’s not all there is to see!
When I went back to Lloret de Mar a few years later, we walked along the opposite side of the main beach (so turning left at the main beach instead of right). And reached this gorgeous castle at the end:
Can’t believe I missed that the first time around!
The path continues and wraps around the coastline, offering more stunning views:
So if you go to Lloret de Mar, be sure to check out both ends of the beach. Especially the side with the castle.
One final tip: If you can, visit in the springtime or early fall to beat the crowds.
Have you been to Lloret de Mar or Tossa De Mar? What did you think?
