i agree with you.cider...........but we go to santa susana.in may .
i still like the area but there many other places in the world to see as well.
regards........john.doe

I love the costa brava coastline , and return each year. We always travel by coach, and each journey seems to be different . Have stayed in all the resorts, and each has there own little something . However last year i noticed for the first time that hoteliers and animacion team seemed to be more sociable to european families than the brits.

I agree Llindy .... we always go by coach, love the journey, and love the area surrounding Estartit (where we usually go!) - we love going for long walks in the nice weather, up the hills, along to the Castle on the hill, etc ... but then a lot of Brits tend to take a different attitude to us, and i can see maybe why some hoteliers, etc, take a dim view of the Brits abroad

With my height, build, and broad Scots accent, i sometimes get mistaken for a German ... and i tend not to correct them these days!! Whilst i love holidaying at Castell montgri, some of the behaviour of the fellow brits is embarrassing at times!

i too have been round all the resorts and like different things about each of them.
at the moment i seem to be going to lloret a lot.
i think that the main change is the reduction in the number of families going to all the resorts particularly at easter and half term -i know there are less during term time because of school regulations - and the increase in stag and hen parties, because of the cheap flights and internet booking.
i think other areas of spain/ the islands and other countries can provide more child friendly beaches and activities at a comparable cost.
the increase in AI hotels is also bringing in more and more of the "lets get our moneys worth at the free bar brigade" which does little for the economy of the local resort, meaning shop/restaurant closures, followed by less choice for the other non-AI tourists, then less returning tourists as the resort has little left to offer.
i know i frequently use AI hotels,but my bank manager can testify that i do contribute quite a lot to the local bars and restaurants

I love the Costa Brava. Last year we holidayed in this country but it simply wasn't the same. We're back to Fanals again in August!
I have noticed though in recent years, that the Spaniards are sometimes less than welcoming. The first time I went to the Costa Brava, 11 years ago, it was a different story. Also, back then it was pre-Euro and everything seemed so cheap. Eating and drinking can be quite costly these days - especially drinking. Quiet Spanish bars are usually the best value for money, sometimes you can even find a friendly one!

I would agree ... i think a few areas in Spain have a choice to make .... they either want the tourism dollar, or they look for something else to subsidise the local economies (which would be quite hard in the short term!!) What i find is that we are (at least) a generation on from the original people who welcomed the tourists into spain, and the country has prospered to the point where some of the younger generation feel they can do without us ... i think they need to find a balance

Although i can sympathise as to why they sometimes find it hard to be warm and friendly to some of the lager swilling louts we send over!!

We still love the area too, though .... but like a lot of the people on these forums, we have respect for the area and it's people (if only everyone did!)

The last time we were on the Costa Brava we found that some of the waiters and bar tenders looked put out to serve us! These were mostly the younger people. They would have us waiting for ages then begrudgingly take the order with a grunt. As for a polite smile- forget it! Of course they weren't all like this. We always manage to find somewhere nice and welcoming - then go back every night for the duration of the holiday!

Aye, that's always the good thing ...... if you get treated badly, there are plenty of places to move onto the next night

Is the Costa Brava losing its appeal? - I'd have to say yes. The main reason is the region only gets a few pages in the main tourist brochures and unless you go by coach it is quite hard to get a package deal there.
I've been quite a few times over the years the main reason being sentimental value as it was the first place that I visited abroad. Some of the resorts such as Blanes and Estartit hardly get a look in and the only resort that seems to be in the brochures is Malgrat/Santa Susanna.

Every time I go back some of the favourtae places I used to visit when I was younger have closed down or have changd nationality as there is a big Italiian/Dutch/German presseense now that was not there at the end of the 80's/early 90's. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing; the region is now probably more popular with these nationalities than the British. I did look at going back this year, but for the same price of flying for 2 weeks in Malgrat or Calella I got 2 weeks in Thomson super family hotel in Benidorm (a resort I have never been to, but I'm looking forward to). I've heard a lot that the hotels on the on the Costa Brava are quite pricey in comparison to the rest of the Mediterranean, but this has confirmed it for me.

I think it's unfair to say that the likes of Estartit don't get a look in, as my experiences would say that the Campsite at Castell Montgri is usually majority British at any time of the season ... what has slipped, though, is the fact that there isn't the same presence from the Brits in the town of Estartit, and like you say, each time i've went back there have been less and less of my favourite places open. If less Brits go, or the holidays (school holidays in particular) become more restrictive, then it narrows the season, and the British holiday season tends to be more stretched. Compare that to the dutch, etc, who just seem to all up sticks for the same 3 weeks in July each year .... a lot of these places in the Costa Brava are now opening for less time each year and concentrating on the non-Brits instead!

Hope you have a great time in Benidorm, but i don't think i'd swap this view for their beachside skyscrapers



If the Costa's does lose a bit of it's appeal, it isn't necessarily a bad thing ... means the areas need to reassess what they offer, and freshen things up to get people back .... can't be a bad thing

thats the problem now, package deals to the costa brava have finnished with the big travel agents, but i know a lot of people are finding their own way to the costa brava. we still meet plenty of people in malgrat.

I for one will still take my main holiday on the Costa Brava and travel by coach which is my way of un-winding . I agree that tour operators dont do it justice in their brochures.

A lot of people will just organise their own trip now ... package tours to this area are becoming rarer, and it's just as easy now to book your own accom and flights i suppose!

Maybe it's a good thing though, that it isn't over-run with boozy Brits, eh? Although places like Estartit are quite touristy, you don't have to go far to experience the real Catalan life

I agree that the Campsite at Castell Montgri in Estartit does have a big presence in a few of the coach operators brochures, but that is it. I meant that if I look through every holiday brochure to find Estartit I would be struggling to find it.

The one thing that British tourists do bring is money to spend which keeps all the local restaurants in business. I went to the Costa Del Sol this August and it was full of Spanish holiday makers as they have the month off and the local Spanish owner of a very nice restaurant that we ate in a few times said that the Spanish and Italians don't spend big money and they can make a bottle of water last all night.

I know you can easily make your own way there, but what's the point in going somewhere that is shut. I remember going to Calella about 12 years ago in early May and had a fantastic time. I went in early May (cheap holiday) 3 years ago and the resort was hardly open. Talking to a few locals they said that most places didn't open up until the end of May - How they make money in such a small time frame is beyond me - unless that is the reason why it seems to be a lot more expensive there.

I think everyone I know in their time has been to somewhere on the Costa Brava, and most are like me and go hunting for their favourite waterhole, and hope it will bring back memories of fun they had years ago, only to find it shut

With the price of cheap flights, it has made the cash advantage of travelling by coach immaterial and looking by the comments on this forum I think the people who use the coach do so because they don't like flying or enjoy the journey, but that is a minority.

I do hope the resorts on the Costa Brava do revamp themselves as it is a Ghost of its former self. You only have to look at Costa Dorada on the other side of Barcelona to see what can be done

I agree with a lot of that ... although i would pretty much bet that the days of low air fares might just have peaked ... don't think they will be around for too much longer, so maybe a cheaper coach holiday might just make a comeback!

I guess i had best of both worlds .... ten (or so) years ago i enjoyed Estartit with it's busy square of pubs, and now (ok i aint pipe and slippers yet!) i get to enjoy a quieter resort!!
... but you are right about investment ... a stroll through the centre of Estartit where the busy square was is a very poor advert for the place, and unless they start putting some money back in, then it will just continue to slowly die off (actually, some of these resorts might be happy to see the back of British tourists and return to attracting a different type of person - divers for the Medes islands, etc!)

We are heading to Sant Susanna for the 1st in October for a week on our own!! Can't wait.

It's certainly been the quietest i have seen the costa brava forum in here for a long while .... and as someone who will be looking for a bargain coach break in mid May, that may just be in my favour

I will be having a coach holiday this year(couple) so should I look to costa dorada instead of brava, ??

have never been to the costa dorada, but i think there are some lovely places to visit when there .... so if you have never been give it a go