Holidays in Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava - 2021

Lloret de Mar: Real Spain or Resort Spain? The most popular city on the Costa Brava in detail: where to stay, what to see, and which beach is the best?

Europe, and indeed abroad in general, began for us precisely from this get-together place in Spain.

Lloret de Mar perfectly matched our input data: Schengen in the passport, a couple of hundred euros in your pocket and a burning fuse to relax brightly and see sunny Spain.

Lloret de Mar, Spain - features of the resort

The history of the former fishing village of Lloret de Mar in Spain continues today, primarily as a beach resort.

Real life here begins at nightfall: there are more than 400 bars, restaurants and clubs in the city, each of which strives to stand out with an original program and spread tourists to more cocktails 🙂 World-famous DJs, music from the 80s and 90s, salsa motifs, laser shows and themed parties - there is no limit to the entertainment frenzy. Therefore, mainly young people come from all over Europe. By the way, the Germans admirably call Lloret de Mar the second Spanish Ibiza.

Surprisingly, pensioners are also frequent guests here, who are attracted by inexpensive hotels - good "troikas" - and the Mediterranean Sea. By the way, we also rested in 3 stars. Family vacations with children, as practice shows, are also relevant, but only when living in a quiet part of the city near the Fenals beach (Platja de Fenals). There is just a choice of 4-5 * all-inclusive hotels, which is ideal for traveling with a child.

Coming to Spain in Lloret de Mar is definitely worth it for three reasons:

1. Relaxed pace of life on the beach. During the day, everyone relaxes by the sea, at night they gather in nightclubs along the coast.
2. The city is convenient as a starting point for trips to completely different directions: shopping outlets, Girona, Barcelona, ​​Andorra and even France.
3. Well, and the main thing is that it is much cheaper to relax here!

Weather in Lloret de Mar - when is the best time to go?

When is the best time to go to Lloret de Mar? The high season, in theory, runs from May to October. In fact, the peak of the tourist pilgrimage is in July-August. We went on a tour in early May, swimming at this time is cool, but for walking and lying on the beach, the ideal temperature is +20 degrees Celsius. Therefore, we liked visiting Andorra, Montserrat, Barcelona and Girona doubly

The autumn and spring months are not super popular, the water does not warm up, then the rain will wet. However, the weather in Lloret de Mar is conducive to beach holidays and these "unclaimed" periods. We, on the contrary, advised you to go exactly at this time - tours are much cheaper 🙂 The climate in the region is very mild: in winter the air temperature even at night is practically never lower than + 10 ° C, and in summer you rarely see more than + 28 ° C on the thermometer. Although on our trip alone in 2017 it was more than + 30 ° C. Once upon a time it is not necessary. We also went to Barcelona in May 2018 and the weather was great! (+21 .. + 24 ° C)

In principle, everyone sets his own priorities, but, in our opinion, to fully enjoy the picturesque nature of Lloret de Mar - bays with rocks protruding from emerald water, green hills, pine forests - and Spain as a whole, it will turn out exactly in the initial and final intervals. season.

Where to buy tours to Spain? (Costa Brava)

We went on a tour, and at that time it cost a ridiculous amount - about 20,000 rubles per one for 7 days. Then we went to the agencies in search of the cheapest tours, there were no online booking sites. In 2021, the price tag is slightly higher, but you can find the best deals online yourself:

• Travelata
• Level.Travel
• Onlinetours

Firstly, the best deals from all tour operators are collected on one site (like on Booking). Secondly, there is no extra charge for travel agent labor / room rental / office cookies. Thirdly, you are the master of your choice, fenced off from the skillful pressure of third parties 🙂 Read honest reviews about hotels, see photos and decide whether to take or look further. Often, having seen a tour on the agency's website and having come to their office, such a price is no longer found. There are no problems with this online.

Tours to Lloret de Mar in 2021 cost an average of 48,000 rubles per week for two, subject to early booking at least 2 months in advance.

You can count on last-minute tours to the Costa Brava, but, of course, closer to the height of the hot season (July-August). By the way, you can buy a tour to Spain before the start of the season in May even cheaper.

Things to do in Lloret de Mar

What to see in Lloret de Mar? Sightseeing tours will undoubtedly offer a rich program, but you probably know how it usually happens. If not galloping across Europe, then with the delivery to all kinds of places for shaking money

Building your route is easy. Specifically in this corner of Spain, first of all, it is worth seeing the symbol of the city - the Castell de Sant Joan castle, located on a hill. Also noteworthy are the picturesque gardens by the sea of ​​Saint Clotilde, an unusual cemetery (Modernist Cemetery), where you can see the real Catalan Art Nouveau of many family tombs and tombstones, the Maritime Museum in a mansion on the city embankment. Also of interest will be the "Cat's House" - a unique museum dedicated to purring animals.

As for the surroundings:

• Montserrat Monastery with the Black Madonna - the patroness of Catalonia, towering on the mountains of amazing shape. Here we went up the hiking trails and saw the monastery from the top of the mountains. Fresh mountain air upstairs 🙂

A little advice: it is better to look for Russian guides on the spot, not from a travel agency. If you are the two of you, then you can unite with other tourists and in the 4th-6th go to explore the places in comfortable conditions, and it will be easier to decide to leave faster or stay)

First trip abroad

• Girona - an hour's drive from Lloret de Mar by bus. We went there for 1 day on our own without guides. We walked around the city, sat in a cafe. A one-way bus ticket then cost around 3-5 euros.

Went for 10 euros round trip to Girona

• Andorra - it is also beneficial to go here with a personal guide by car (you can use the same one with which you went to Montserrat). Ideal for shopping, walking with mountain views. My friends really liked it, but they left about 300 euros there, buying a lot of good clothes.
• Barcelona - we went to the capital of Catalonia on a tour from the hotel, I don't remember exactly the cost, but next time I would also gather a company and rent a car. I remember that the bus was not very convenient, you strongly depend on other groups and you are afraid to be late and be left alone. 🙂 We advise anyone to go to Barcelona for at least 1-3 days, now it is our favorite city.

On our first trip, Park Guell was still free

• Port Aventura - a must-see if you love amusement parks. So far, and we have visited more than 24 countries, this is the best and cheapest park in the world 🙂 In the same Universal Studio (we were in Los Angeles) there is no such thing. Then (in 2013) a ticket cost about 23 euros, now from 55 euros for an adult (though it's worth noting that Ferrari Land was added). Be sure to take a ride on Shambhala. We rode it 2 times.
• Church of Sant Romà (Sant Roma) in the style of Catalan Gothic
• theater-museum of the genius of surrealism Salvador Dali in Figueres and Castle Pubol (Gala Dali)

With children, you can still go to Water Park, Marineland water park or watch animals in the Aqualeon mini-zoo.

In Spain, tourists will also be interested in numerous sculptures, fascinating with their monumentality. Do not forget to make a wish at the monument to the fisherwoman, and it will certainly come true. Donna Mariner is installed at the end of the Central Beach, and there is a magnificent observation deck nearby.

Excursions from Lloret de Mar

We will provide the most popular excursions and indicate the approximate prices from local travel agencies so that it is more convenient for you to navigate. Of course, the tour operator will ask for an order of magnitude more expensive for a similar trip.

Where to go in an organized way from Lloret de Mar?

• Girona and Salvador Dali Museum - € 45-50
• Sightseeing in Barcelona - € 35-45 + entrance to the Sagrada € 22

For comparison: from a tour operator, this excursion costs € 100

• Montserrat - € 50-55
• Port Aventura amusement park - € 63-65 (transfer and entrance ticket)
• Andorra - € 55-65
• South of France (Collioure and Perpignan) - € 50-55
• 2-day trip to France (Nice, Monaco, San Remo and Cannes) - € 215-225

If you get to Barcelona / Girona on your own, and you still need a tour of the area, then the treasure trove of all the cool excursions in Russian is Tripster. Look ↓

Beaches in Lloret de Mar

What to do besides sightseeing in Lloret de Mar? Spain is traditionally loved for sea waves and sun!

First trip to Europe (Lloret de Mar)

The beaches of the Costa Brava are officially recognized as some of the best in the world. The most popular ones are:

• The central beach of Lloret de Mar, 1630 m long (in the photo, just it). The noisiest, crowded and haunted by night in nearby hotels
• the second largest is Fenals Beach, surrounded by a pine forest and especially visited by Russian tourists. Here the situation is calmer, and the beach itself is clean and well-groomed.
• especially beautiful and secluded - Sa Boadeya beach - with a "children's" area in one part and a nudist area in the other
• cozy beach located on the way to Blanes - Santa Cristina
• beach in the picturesque bay of Sa Caleta near the Central Beach.

The weather in Lloret de Mar allows you to go to the beaches and "get" a golden tan in spring, but it is better to wait until the end of May or the beginning of June with swimming.
The price for an umbrella and a sunbed is € 14 (7 + 7).

The best hotels in the resort

Where to stay? We have compiled a selection of good hotels in the resort. Regarding "all inclusive" and Lloret de Mar: Spain is generally not famous for the quality and adequate cost of all inclusive (except Mallorca), so it is better to choose the good old half board (breakfast and dinner) or full board (3 meals a day) ...

Please note that the price is for a tour for two in the season for 7 nights with a flight from Moscow.

You can book each of the hotels on your own on Booking or RoomGuru.

How to get to Lloret de Mar?

With the tour, of course, there is a transfer from Barcelona airport, but what about independent outings? There are several options for getting from Barcelona to Lloret de Mar and back.

1. Regular bus: from Lloret bus station to Estacio del Nord station. Travel time is 1 hour 30 minutes, runs from 6:30 every hour. The cost is € 9.7 one way.
2. A train: from the train station in Blanes and to the Saints train station. Travel time is 1 hour 20 minutes. Price - € 6.95 one way + € 1.65 for a bus to Blanes.
3. Taxi: it is worth booking in advance (price from € 123)
4. The cheapest way to book a car is in this search engine. We described our experience of renting a car in a separate article.

Public transport in Lloret de Mar, although not the most developed, runs regularly. The schedule is available on the station websites.

Reviews of tourists about Lloret de Mar

In general, the reviews about Lloret de Mar make it clear the following: rest here is a difficult choice: either budget or comfortable, you cannot combine.

Lloret sells the cheapest tours to Spain. Right here:

• inexpensive accommodation by the sea (for self-booking),
• a bunch of clubs
• and low prices compared to other resorts.

All three seemingly pluses attract a certain contingent - European students, for whom, the main thing is that it is 1) cheap, 2) fun, 3) a lot of alcohol. They settle near the central beach and yell at night like "slaughtered pigs" (approx. Direct quote). It is not hard to guess which part of the town the cheapest tours are throwing tourists to.

The resort of Lloret de Mar is for the constant bustle and sand, although it is only worthwhile to reasonably approach the area of ​​residence. For example, Fenals - away from the din-din, around mom-dad with children, the beach is even better than the central one. But it is no longer so financially attractive if you know the minimum possible amount.

By the way, beaches, the sea, a more or less tour program (attractions, excursions) are the great advantages of Lloret de Mar. Vacationers, of course, grumble, but after weighing them and adding budget, they come back again. They also advise friends 🙂

Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava, Spain - on the map: