family summers in spain

We traveled to different parts of Spain before and have heard about Lloret de Mar from different sources - friends, blogs, youtube, etc. We did a lot of research about this 'relocation' to Spain for the summer and discovered even more reasons to pick Lloret for our base. Things that attracted us were: amazing beaches, international culture, 45 minutes from Barcelona and 25 minutes from Girona's airports, fun cheap soccer camps for kids, a lot to see and explore around, and last but not least, amazing seafood!

When we first arrived to Lloret, we stayed in a modest 3-bedroom apartment that we booked on Air B&B a few months in advance. Lloret is super popular with tourists, especially youth, and gets completely sold out for summer. To reserve a decent place near the beach for a reasonable price, you have to do it as early as possible.

When our extended family from Boston joined us for the second month, we moved to a large villa where we all stayed together and also had space to host friends when they visited.

When we returned to Lloret for the second summer, Peter, myself, and the kids stayed in this apartment while the rest of the family with the growing circle of like-minded friends stayed in the same villa from last year. 

Lloret has amazing beaches, miles of my favorite large grain sand with some cliffs and reefs on the sides, perfect for kids snorkeling and diving, a super fun floating obstacle course, playgrounds, water parks, restaurants, bars, live concerts on the beach... just unlimited entertainment for all ages. :) You can come here for a two-week vacation, or if you are lucky and your employer doesn't care where you are physically located and you can handle the time difference, you can have the whole day to yourself for sight-seeing, beach, or whatever else you might fancy, and then work from 5 pm until midnight (3 pm for my sister-in-law who lives in Boston). Not for everyone!! But totally doable for a couple of months if you want to believe us. :)

The food in Lloret is absolutely great, especially if you like seafood. There are plenty of great affordable restaurants in Lloret itself as well as nearby towns.

Food recommendations:

AL FRESKITO, Lloret de Mar

Bodega Pa amb Tomaquet (Simple and yummy everyday food, € 14 three course meal)

SEINA ESPAI GASTRONÒMIC, Tossa de Mar

LA CUINA DE CAN SIMON, Tossa de Mar (One Michelin star)

Peter found this villa on some inconspicuous property list online. He communicated with the agent via email and arranged our stay there for a month. We were very happy with the place, especially the location! It's literally a 2-minute walk to the beach and is very private tucked away at the same time. You get absolutely gorgeous sunsets, can walk downtown, both main beaches, fireworks, beach concerts, etc.   

The place is huge, it has 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a swimming pool, a large dining room, balconies, laundry room, and a cozy outside area with a grill and a huge table. I think three families can be comfortable here. We really enjoyed the outside dining area with the grill. The kids absolutely loved the pool.   

Now a bit of negative feedback. The place is a bit outdated. Be prepared for things like power outrages due to failing breakers or jets not working in the master bathroom. Also, make sure you negotiate cleaning and linens/towels supply beforehand. 

As I mentioned before, there are plenty of yummy inexpensive restaurants in Lloret, but our favorite thing to do was buy a few doradas (gilt-head bream fish) in the supermarket, throw them on the grill, make a large salad, and have abundant healthy delicious dinner in our super cozy outside dining area. Another favorite was getting a couple of amazing paellas from the nearby restaurant. If you leave a 20 euro deposit, you can bring the paellas in the pans home. When you return the empty pans, you get your deposit back. Super easy, convenient, and incredibly delicious option as well.

Kids generally enjoyed our family dinners, but their favorite was walking to the town to MacDonald's, a very popular spot for Lloret's youth, and getting ice cream on the way back. We gave in from time to time and allowed these social escapades. :)

I think it's always so special meeting up with friends in some exotic vacation place and having friends over in Lloret was awesome! My dearest childhood friend came to visit from the UK both summers. We had the most amazing time together! Our friends from San Francisco visited only for a day, but what a day that was! It was so much fun to take them to some of our favorite spots, to walk around oh-so-lively Lloret, grab a bite in a cheap yummy dive AL 

Bodega Pa amb Tomaquet, watch kids catching up and meeting the family, and having a big crazy dinner all together in the end. Magical. 

If you are willing to drive for 1 - 2 hours, you can find a lot of musical events in Spain and bordering France. We enjoyed our all-time favorite band Manu Chao in a live concert both years. Last year when my best friend was visiting from the UK, the three of us drove to a very interesting venue near a town called Tortosa and had an absolute blast. Before the concert, we had a fantastic dinner in DMIQUEL CUINA DE TEMPORADA, Tortosa. This year we caught them in the neighboring town.

We also drove south of France for a couple of hours for a music festival Les Deferlantes. Very cool experience. We are spoiled in CA with yearly music festivals like Bottlerock in Napa or Outside Lands in San Francisco, but to be able to experience the "European way" while enjoying bands like Indochine was cool. 

Four-hour Catamaran cruises are super popular and super fun. We did Catamarans Sensation Costa Brava a couple of times. It's a great value for money in my opinion - unlimited drinks and lunch (simple but good enough), the views are incredible, and there’s plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the views, music and dancing if you are in the mood! The crew is young, friendly, and really good at getting the party going. :) 

The kids LOVED swimming and snorkeling. The crew provided floating mats and snorkeling gear. All the kids from the boat were having fun together, fighting for the floating mats, meeting and chatting (in all languages :)), and admiring the colorful variety of fish swimming all around the boat. 

Boys attended a diving school Diving la Casa del Mar conveniently located right on a nearby beach. It was easy, fun, and a really good deal moneywise. The boys had a few dives with an instructor and a final boat dive. In the end, they were very proud to get certified. They've seen a few octopi and plenty of fish of all colors and sizes. 

There are two main beaches in Lloret, Fenals and Lloret Beach, plus a few smaller ones. I can't say enough about how much I LOVE them. We traveled along Costa Brava and visited many other beaches. I have to say Lloret has the best ones! 

Sometimes the water was calm, it's so clear that you can see a variety of fish all around. Sometimes there were waves and kids were so happy, they loved playing in waves so much that we couuldn't get them out for hours. The sand in Lloret is my favorite. It's this large grain sand that is clean and super pleasant to touch, and it also gives you a nice massage when walking. There are cliffs and rocks on both beaches that are perfect for diving, snorkeling, and exploring with a hand net.

There are showers every few meters (except when there is a drought), a range of shops for food and drinks, and a lot of gelato! There is also a range of water sports available for a fee, and of course, there is free unlimited snorkeling.

This doesn't happen very often, but on a rare occasion you might want a break from the sun. A great option for such a case is Balneari Vichy Catalán Thermal Center. It's an easy 20 minute drive, you can just purchase a day pass when you arrive. We had all the wonderful facilities to ourselves when we went and had so much fun! I have a soft spot for mineral springs, so I was definitely very happy. :)

The Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres which features the works and passions of Salvador Dali is my favorite museum, especially when I visited with kids! It is a bit of a drive from Lloret, about 55 minutes, but so worth it. It's a unique building that is set up in a way that it's a pleasure to walk around the rooms, the hallways, the stairs admiring his work, his unimaginable creativity. Kids especially enjoyed the illusion art and interactive installations.

Montserrat is a spectacularly beautiful Benedictine monk mountain retreat about one and a half hour drive from Lloret. At 4,055 feet (1,236 meters) high, the summit of Montserrat offers the most glorious views of Catalonia. Hiking can be fun, but let’s be real, it’s not for everyone. I would definitely take the cable car where you’ll see breathtaking views of the mountain and the stunning valley below, as well as the village of Monistrol, the River Llobregat and the famed shrine of Santa Cove. You can see the famous Black Madonna in the Monestery, the patron saint of Catalonia. It’s said that the statue can provide healing powers and perform miracles, which can be achieved by touching the exposed hand that isn’t kept behind a pane of glass. Both kids and adults will enjoy that trip!

This was such an amazing day trip! We drove to Cardona for a couple of hours. Peter booked us a tour of  Cardona Castle, wich unfortunately was all in Catalan, but even through only Peter could understand the tour guide, he interpreted for us and we still enjoyed all the dark and bloody legends. The views were truly amazing, the church was very interesting and beautiful.

Cardona Salt Mountain visit was super fun. The kids were amused right from the beginning with the special hats we were given to wear and ride on a minibus. It was fascinating to see all the salt layers, stalactites and stalagmites, and learn the history and the importance the mine had for the region and the country. 

Tossa is Lloret's lovely neighbor. It's only 20 minutes away and is always so much fun to go there for an afternoon or even just for dinner. The town offers panoramic views across the Mediterranean Sea and is famous for its sandy beaches, lighthouse, and, of course, historic fortified medieval village with a castle. Tossa's beach is almost as good as Lloret's and swimming with the medeival casle in the background is pretty cool!

There are a lot of good restaurants in Tossa, two that became our favorites are:
Seina
Lo Cocina de Can Simon 

Another really memorable trip was to Provence, France for 5 days to see the lavender fields. The drive was a bit long, about 4 hours, but you can do it! 

We stayed in Farm Saint-Martin-de-Castillon for 2 nights. Really great place - big, gorgeous, nicely located, with its own little pool and a lavender field. It's a real farm with geese, chickens, horses, and a little dog who kept our kids entertained for 3 days. The owner (who lives in the house on the same property) was very friendly and kept bringing us gifts: a bottle of lavender essence, fresh eggs from the chickens, etc). 

We visited Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque and a lot of lavender fields of all shapes and sizes. Beautiful! I guess just one word of caution - be aware of millions of bees. Those flying beasts cut all our otherwise gorgeous walks in the lavender short. 

On the way back we stopped by for one night in Arles, France. Once a year, the Roman Amphitheatre in Arles hosts a unique form of man v. bull: the Cocarde d'Or. This occurs on the 1st Monday in July. Flowers are attached to the bulls' horns and the contest is for the gardiens (French cowboys) of the Camargue to remove both flowers within a certain time. No weapons are involved. The only danger, therefore, is to the men. 

The opening ceremony was very grand, a big medieval show with elaborate costumes, music, etc. Really nice! The stadium holds about 20,000 people but the event is tough to get into. Buy your tickets in advance here. The restaurants outside the stadium will also be packed, so make a reservation beforehand. 

We stayed in Hotel Arles Plaza. It's a very modern slick hotel with a very nice covered pool, hot tub, sauna, and steam room. It was perfect to relax there a couple of hours after a long eventful day!

I am not going to say a lot about these adult-only getaways. I just wanted to briefly mention them as an option for anybody who decides to spend a summer in Lloret. Travelling to Germany is super easy. You just find a flight from Barcelnona or Girona, hop on the plane, and a couple of hours later you can be exploring Munich, Humburg, Berlin, etc. Flight are very affordable as well. 

We were lucky to have my Dad to watch the kids, so Peter and I went for a weekend to explore Munich and Regensburg. 

Munich is all amazing - the meuseums, the historical sites, the shops and markets (OMG, the best strawberries EVER!), the architecture, etc. I also really recommend a day trip or an overnight trip to Regensburg. It's only a couple of hours train ride away and it's super cute and unique.

Recommendations:

We really liked our hotel in Regensburg Hotel Das Regensburg and we had a fun dinner in Weltenburger am Dom restaurant.

Once Peter's family joined us in Lloret and kids were busy with the cousins, we sneaked away for another trip to Germany. This time we went to Hamburg, Lübeck, and Lüneburg. 

Hamburg blown us away and we also met up our old friends from Belgium. We had an amazing time exploring Hamburg and Lübeck together. 

Recommendations:

Our favorite breakfast place in Hamburg Cotidiano. 

Alt Helgolander Fischerstube (really good fish restaurants, especially nice after a couple of days of sausages!)

Lüneburg is an absolute beauty, and I would definitely recommend visiting if you are in Hamburg. It's really close, only about 40 minutes by train. We came in the morning, spent an amazing day there walking around everywhere, and returned to Hamburg in the evening.