Hi Rosie, we have found that not many operators are doing Costa Brava any more and we heard that people wanted to travel further afield and to other parts of Spain. I can't understand it its a beautiful part of Spain, maybe the Spanish tourist board should market the area a bit more. Another knock on effect is that there are not as many flights going there, we are wanting to go back to Tossa in June as like you we fell in love with it but we are struggling to get decent flights. There are plenty of them going out in the early hours but we don't like travelling at those times. I think its only Thompsons and Airtours that are still doing packages at the moment, lets hope they don't pull out

I think one of the reasons is probably how cheap and easy it is to do the Costa Brava on an independent basis. With the cheap flights to Girona and Barcelona they TO's cannot compete anymore. Then there are the coach holiday companies..........

I can think of 3 reasons.....

1) People want a change, and it's a lot easier to get to a lot more destinations now

2) The costa brava ISNT cheap anymore......they got a tad greedy, and it hasnt helped....neither has the Euro........although you can still live quite cheaply when you are there if you do your homework

3) Image....Spain just has this image of being full of a certain type of British holiday.....and also just has this typical bucket and spade package holiday image.....blackpool in the sun. Sadly, this is true of a lot of people who go there.........but if you take the time, like we always do, there are plenty of great walks, great days out, walks to nearby towns, villages, etc.......i would advise people to see the REAL costa brava when they are there!

It is a shame, and this part of Spain was the first bit of Spain that many UK holidaymakers travelled to back in the 1950s and 60s. We went to Lloret last August, expecting it to be all tacky Blackpool-style, but it was lovely with plenty of places to see away from the tacky side of things. We found there weren't as many UK holidaymakers there as we'd expected, it seemed to be mainly Spanish and Italian with a fair sprinkling of French, German, Dutch etc.
As other people have said, it's cheap and easy to get there now on your own without the big package companies, and there are lots of smaller tour companies still doing good offers - a lot of the coach operators will have a "By Air" option on their booking form. We travelled with Sunways who are mainly a coach company but they had a special offer on a package deal with a Monarch flight - we paid £289 each for a week All-Inclusive - not bad at all!
People these days want to travel to more exotic locations and when we were in Lloret I kind of felt the Spanish were glad to be getting the place back for themselves after all those years - they were friendly and helpful enough, but everything seemed to be geared towards the European tourists (particularly Spanish and Italian) I would certainly go to the Costa Brava/Maresme again, we only had a week and there were lots of things we didn't get time to see, but considering the relatively short travelling distance it can still be an expensive holiday compared to other places much further away.

I thought it was partly due to the area being hit several times by E.T.A. by means of bombing etc..Its a shame because its such a beautiful area

I didnt think that the costa brava had really been hit too bad by ETA? I didnt think they targeted any areas within Catalunya

The announcement by some tour operators to drop Costa Brava from this year's brochures was made back in April 2004. Poor quality and overpriced hotels, as well as the expansion of no frills airlines, were the main reasons given.

One of the news articles at the time can be read HERE.

David

Having been to Malgrat twice this year (my only visits to Spain), I fell in love with the place. But before having read this thread I had already made up my mind to "side-step" the Travel Operators next year and book with the Hotel, Airline and Bus Shuttle from the Airport on a direct basis next year, thus saving myself about 30-40% in the total cost.

Just noticed the article featured indicating the Travel Operators dropping the Costa Brava, was actually written last year April, 2004 and not this year. So in fact the Costa Brava has been dropped from the 2005 Brochures/Holidays on offer not just next years, 2006.

What a shame. Went to Tossa this September for the first time, and fell in love with the place. Also went to Lloret, but can't say I liked it there at all. Will definitely be back to Tossa de Mar.

Totally agree about Lloret - spent about four hours there and was relieved to step off the train when back in Malgrat - I found Lloret very built-up compared to some of the other local towns.

I can never believe that when we go to Castell Montgri in Estartit, that some people can spend a fortnight without leaving the campsite!!

We go all over the place, walk to as many areas as we can, and enjoy the wonderful weather and scenery!!!

The Costa Brava is lovely

I also fell in love with Tossa after we went this year. It was so cheap too! We paid less than £300 each for SC for two weeks! The hotel was basic, but comfortable and clean. I have paid more for less quality. I love Catalunya, it's a short trip to Barcelona. Yes Lloret is a bit tacky in parts, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. Sun and fun!

To say that they are getting greedy is a little unfair Cider Monster. After joining the euro, the people who worked in Costa Brava wanted a decent liveable wage! They saw the relatively rich tourists from the rest of europe and want more! Who can blame them? These costs of increased wages and then passed onto tourists.

I dont think it's unfair at all.....im not talking about people's wages, im talking about some of the unfair price hikes that were sneaked in via the euro (rounding up, etc, and taking advantage of people's unfamiliarity) plus the fact that certain bars and pubs, etc, have become very greedy in recent years, in my personal experience. I think in some places even if you take a good wage into account, there is a good bit of 'creaming off' on top of that!!

totally agree,i wouldnt fancy working the hours they work in the hotels and bars.certainly not for the wages they get.

im talking about some of the unfair price hikes that were sneaked in via the euro (rounding up, etc, and taking advantage of people's unfamiliarity) plus the fact that certain bars and pubs, etc, have become very greedy in recent years,

It's still much cheaper than Britain. Besides, don't you think WE'D do it here in Britain when/if we get the Euro?

Actually, i could get a double vodka in my local wetherspoons cheaper......but i dont go to the costa brava for that!
Nah......in Britain we would do it even worse, we are right robbing so and so's!!!!

i didnt find that lloret de mar is that nice, and did find that it is overpriced, that's why i find cyprus a better place. Worked out cheaper to.

We are off to Aquamarina, Santa Susanna, for a change next year (we have done Cyprus twice before, did Cyprus for our wedding again this) because we got a pretty good deal for the kids and us (£1600 2 weeks, August school hols, half board, 4 of us), now I think I know why reading this thread although recent reviews are pretty good for this place!

Smiles