☰Platja d'Aro

Platja d'Aro's bar scene is seasonal and aimed squarely at summer visitors — beach bars and chiringuitos along the promenade open from June to September, cocktail bars along the main streets stay busy until late on summer nights. The pace is very different out of season when the resort essentially hibernates. For a coffee and a proper local breakfast (pa amb tomàquet — bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil), the cafes on the side streets away from the beach are better value and less tourist-oriented than the front-row promenade establishments.

Platja d'Aro's beaches range from the long, well-serviced Platja Gran in the centre of the resort to a series of smaller, quieter coves reachable by foot along the Camí de Ronda coastal path. Sa Conca to the north is the most beautiful of the coves, backed by pine forest with clear water. Cala Rovira, also to the north, is accessible and popular. For complete seclusion, small coves like Cala dels Canyers and Cala del Pi require a walk to reach but reward the effort with quiet and clean water.

The sea temperature is comfortable for swimming from late June through September, with August the warmest month. The water is generally clear along this stretch of Costa Brava.

Platja d'Aro sits at the centre of one of the most varied stretches of the Costa Brava. Girona, 40 km north-west, is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Spain — its cathedral, Jewish quarter, and Arab baths are well worth a half-day. The drive or bus ride takes around 45 minutes. The upmarket resort of S'Agaró, a twenty-minute walk north along the Camí de Ronda, has a spectacular clifftop promenade and a quiet, exclusive atmosphere entirely different from the mass-tourism beach of Platja d'Aro. Further along the coast, the Cap de Creus peninsula — the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula — offers wild, windswept scenery and the Dalí connections of Cadaqués and Portlligat, about 90 km north.

Platja d'Aro has no shortage of restaurants along the beach promenade and the main streets, ranging from Catalan seafood specialists to international holiday fare. The quality is variable — the best places are the smaller, family-run restaurants slightly off the main strip that serve traditional Catalan cooking: fresh grilled fish, arròs a la cassola (rice with fish and seafood), and fideuà (a noodle paella variant). In Castell d'Aro, 3 km inland, you find more authentic local cooking at more reasonable prices.

Platja d'Aro is compact enough to walk in a day. The beach strip runs about 2 km and the main commercial streets are behind it — all of it manageable on foot. Castell d'Aro, the medieval village 3 km inland, can be reached on foot (a gentle uphill walk of about 45 minutes), by bicycle, or by local bus. The SARFA bus company runs services connecting the resort to neighbouring towns including Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Calonge, and Girona.

A bicycle is a particularly pleasant option in this part of the Costa Brava — the flat promenade and the relatively quiet back roads make for easy cycling, and several bike hire shops operate along the main street. Car hire is available from local agencies. Taxis are available at the taxi rank on the main promenade or by phone.

Platja d'Aro is about 110 km north-east of Barcelona on the Costa Brava. By car, take the AP-7 motorway north from Barcelona, exiting at Platja d'Aro/Sant Feliu de Guíxols; the drive takes around 90 minutes outside of summer traffic. Girona is 40 km to the north-west — about 35 minutes by car.

The nearest airport with good international connections is Girona–Costa Brava Airport (GRO), about 40 km away; budget airlines including Ryanair connect it to many European cities. Barcelona El Prat (BCN) is a larger option with more flights, around 120 km away.

By public transport, take a Rodalies train from Barcelona Sants to Girona (38 minutes on the high-speed service), then a SARFA bus from Girona bus station to Platja d'Aro (about 50 minutes). Direct bus services from Barcelona's Estació del Nord also run in summer. Alternatively, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, 7 km south, has better bus connections and is a pleasant coastal town in its own right.

Shopping in Platja d'Aro is concentrated on Avinguda S'Agaró and the streets behind the promenade — a mix of summer resort fashion, local boutiques, and souvenir shops. The quality is what you would expect from a beach resort. More interesting are the local ceramic shops, which carry work by Catalan artisans; Ceramiques Anna and Ceramiques Mayolas are the two main options.

For a better shopping experience, the market in Castell d'Aro and the local produce stalls that operate in summer are preferable to the resort strip. Sant Feliu de Guíxols, 7 km south, has a more substantial weekly market.

The beach is the primary draw: Platja Gran is the long central sandy beach with all the services, while a string of smaller coves — Sa Conca, Cala Rovira — offer quieter alternatives a short walk or drive from the resort. Away from the beach, the Camí de Ronda coastal walking path connects Platja d'Aro to neighbouring coves and beaches with fine views. Inland, the medieval village of Castell d'Aro with its ruined castle is 3 km from the shore and worth the trip.