Costa Brava (Platja d'Aro, Llafranc, and Calella de Parafrugell)

Took a day trip to Costa Brava (Platja d'Aro, Llafranc, and Calella de Parafrugell) with our friend, Daniel, and his brother, David.

Kevin, Me, Daniel, and David in Llafranc

August 22, 2026

Our day started by getting picked up by the guys around 9:30. We had stayed up pretty late at the last night of Fiesta de Grácia the night before, so I was a little skeptical we would still go, but we all rallied and made it out the door!

Daniel rented a car and drove us about 1 hour and 20 minutes to our first stop, Platja d'Aro! Daniel had gone to Costa Brava with his friend that was from Girona last year, so he essentially took us on a similar route. It took us a bit of time to find parking, but once we did, we headed down to Platja de Belladonna and got our first glimpse of the coast.

Platja de Belladona

All I can say is WOW! For being just over an hour away from Barcelona, it is crazy how different the water looks! It was a bright, beautiful, clear blue. This beach was nestled in a cove (cala), so it was surrounded by rocky cliffs and had pebble-like sand. We walked down the stairs and then proceeded to walk along the coastal path towards the main part of the city (Platja d'Aro). 

The trail walked us right along the coves and we passed beautiful beach after beautiful beach. It was generally not too tiring (except a lot of stairs!) and we passed through little caves along the way. Some of us were ready for some caffeine (and a bathroom), so we decided to peel off and explore the city center when we arrived at Platja d'Aro. It was pretty clear when we made it there, because we were met with a large, expansive beach and boardwalk, very different than the smaller calas we had been passing. 

Along the coastal trail

We mapped to a specialty coffee shop (and every time we checked the map, it didn't feel like we were getting closer), which ended up being closed, and finally ended up at Artea. We took a seat outside in the shade, and enjoyed the cool sea breeze and good coffee. We chatted for a good while, because sitting in the shade felt sooooo good. Kevin and I started to get hungry, so before leaving the more dense part of town, we decided to stop and get some focaccia sandwiches at 8 focacceria italiana. 

Daniel and David sat back to back, and we enjoyed some sandwiches in the shade outside of the to-go restaurant. I took half o my sandwich on the road after the rest finished, and we walked back to Platja de Belladonna to relax for a bit. 

Just twin things

Because the beach was in a cove surrounded by rock, the rock walls shaded part of the beach. I made a beeline for the shaded area and we plopped our towels down. Kevin laid down for a nap, the guys took a swim, and I relaxed and later took a swim. Sitting in the shade felt so incredibly good. It wasn't too warm and it wasn't too cold and it had been awhile since we had experienced that (about 26°). Kevin and Daniel did some puzzles, the four of us started a game of Spades, and we all had a lovely afternoon.

Photos from a perfect beach day

Once we were ready to go, we packed our things, walked back to the car, and headed out for a different town. Honestly, I had no idea where we were going most of the day and just trusted Daniel to choose some nice spots-- he didn't disappoint! 

We parked the car in a town called Llafranc and headed towards the beach. It was very hilly and sloped. We popped into a few shops along the way and we made our way to a very narrow and crowded beach. The sun was setting and there were lots of shipped parked in the bay. Daniel told us there was a nice coastal walk to the neighboring town, so we took in the main square (and heard so much Catalan around us), and headed up the stairs to walk to Calella de Parafrugell. 

View of Llafranc

The coastal walk was indeed beautiful and we got nice views of both of the towns during golden hour. The weather conditions were also perfect! We chatted and enjoyed the views along the way. We spent some time at a nice look-out point and then headed into the town. It was a little bit bigger and more lively than Llafranc, children were selling beads and bracelets along the sidewalks, and we enjoyed walking through the town and listening to some live music.

Calella de Parafrugell

I was starting to get hungry and prompted us to try to find some dinner. We spent a bit of time debating whether we should stay in town or find something slightly outside, and the decision was made to try a restaurant a little outside of the city center. We ended up at a restaurant called, Degust Llafranc, just a 7 minute drive from where the car was parked. It was a restaurant attached to a tennis/padel club, so we were initially very skeptical, but overall, pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food for the prices. The calamari was a stand out dish for me! We had a lovely dinner overlooking the padel/tennis courts before piling back in the car to head back to Barcelona (a little later than expected!). We got home around 11:30 or so and quickly showered and prepared our things for an early volleyball wake-up the next morning. 

(part of our) Dinner at Degust Llafranc

Overall, I had a great time relaxing and taking in the beautiful scenery in Costa Brava and I can't wait to go back and explore more of these smaller, coastal towns.