Travelling to...
Lloret De Mar
The Costa Brava has always been a place close to my heart. I spent many years with my family travelling to different towns on the coast and honestly, when I got to my adult years, the place became a fond, distant memory as I ventured to other parts of the world. I never really considered going back there again.
But with all the eventful stories I told my partner over the years, she also wanted to experience that, so we decided to go to Lloret De Mar.
Lloret De Mar (pronounced ‘Yoret’) was usually a place that we avoided when I was a child as it was more of an adult destination, perfect for alcohol-fuelled weekenders. Even as an adult, I was a little bit apprehensive to go based on its reputation as those types of holidays are really not my thing. I’ve also been to my fair share of hotels and resorts full of screaming kids and witnessed too many “mini discos”, so much so that I regrettably know a lot of the songs and dances…
Lloret pleasantly surprised me. Our trip was absolutely fabulous and is now a part of one of our holidays each year. I would definitely consider this to be a hidden gem so wanted to bring it to light a bit more and give it the attention it truly deserves! So here goes…
Travel
There are two airports close by. Girona Airport which is the closest and probably about 45 minutes away from Lloret or there’s Barcelona Airport, which is about 1-2 hours away (dependent on traffic). Ryannair serves flights to Girona Airport and Easyjet for Barcelona.
As we did a package holiday with Easyjet, we flew into Barcelona. Our package came with transfers to and from the hotel so our journey was a little different. Our journey actually took 3 hours and that was because we had drop-offs along the way and of course, our hotel was the last drop-off!
When you arrive, it’s on the busy strip so if you’re not for loud party strips you might think ‘oh my god, what is this place’ but once you go into the hotel which is tucked away, it’s like a peaceful little haven. You almost forget where you are!
Accommodation
Hotel Delamar is an adult only hotel that is really quite special in its ambiance. Every time I came from the strip and walked into the hotel, I just felt instantly relaxed. What made the second trip there even more special was that the whole team remembered me and my partner which really makes you feel safe. If you’re the type of holidaymaker that likes to spend their time solely in the hotel, then it’s the perfect place to do that.
Now, the hotel room. It’s a very comfortable size, with two big double beds and still lots of space to swing a cat (not that I’ve done that myself). There’s plenty of hanger space, and a space to put your suitcases and also has a decent sized fridge with tea making facilities. The bathroom is large, with a walk-in shower and again, lots of space to put your toiletries and the towels are crisp-white.
The reception team are super friendly and helpful so if there was anything you needed, they were always happy to help out i.e. we needed an iron and within 10 minutes, one of the housekeeping team was at the door with everything we needed. They also asked when they should come back to collect it which was super helpful. There’s also a large balcony attached to each room, with seating and a space also to dry off towels and other bits. The rooms have amazing sound-proofing so even if your room is facing the strip, you can’t hear a thing.
There are 4 pools in the vicinity, one is on the ground floor which I’ll admit was freezing cold but the biggest and deepest one if you want to have a proper swim. The other three are on the Adana Roof Terrace, which are all plunge pools but great to cool off or even sunbathe (if you want to speed up the tan). The Roof Terrace is also the place to sunbathe and chill. There’s a lovely, shaded space with lots of greenery and comfortable sofas where we spent a lot of our time playing cards and sipping cocktails. There’s also a bar at the top where you can order food and drink so you don’t need to go all the way downstairs.
Things to Do and Where to go
The amazing thing about Lloret De Mar is just how much there is to do. You can take your pick!
On the beach, you’ve got jet-skiing and other water sports to do. There’s a kiosk specifically for all of the water activities and the people speak English so it’s easy to communicate. Activities are relatively cheap for what they are, so we didn’t feel the need to barter the cost down.
There are also boat trips that you can take to other neighbouring towns, but one of the places that I would highly recommend is Tossa De Mar. It’s worlds away from the fast, chaos of Lloret and is a slower, quieter town with lots of history and the beauty to go with it. You can get the boat from the kiosk again or if you ask the reception at the hotel, they’ll be able to let you know when the boat departs. The boat ride takes about 20-30 minutes.
If you walk further inwards from the strip, you’ll come across the shopping district which has a lot of well-known brands, but also the localised brands and a tonne of gift shops too. If you are a smoker, you will need to go to a ‘Tabacs’ to get your tobacco or vape. There’s about 3 that are quite close-by, but their opening hours do differ so make sure to check before going there. They also don’t open on Sundays.
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There a lots of places to eat and drink – some are your usual fast food restaurants that are all on the strip and about a 5 minute walk from one another. There is a lovely strip along the beach which has a lot of different places to pick from like pizzerias, tapas, or seafood restaurants (which are usually locally sourced food due to the fishing port nearby) and if you go further into the towns, there are many different bistros and cafes to go to.
Now, the bars. You will get a lot of people on the street trying to get you to go into the bars and it can be really annoying, especially if you’re a woman. They often get men into these bars so they constantly want to even out the numbers so just prepare yourself to be hounded! There was one place that was a vibe and it’s called Grand Café Latino. It’s completely off the strip and a place where the local young people go to. The drinks are a decent price, and the music was good for the whole time we were there so I highly recommend to go if you want a good night.
Another place that is amazing to go to is Jardines de Santa Clotilde, which is a beautiful garden that is perfect for taking pictures but also just a lovely place to have a peaceful picnic. You have to pay for entry which was about €6 and you could stay there the whole day. It’s a little bit outside of the strip, so you’d need to either get a short taxi ride, or you can walk it which would take about 40 minutes (but a lot of it is uphill). It’s famously known for being a film set for Game of Thrones, so there are some nods to this when you go there. It also has incredible views of the coast and the neighbouring secret beach.
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Which leads me onto this secret beach called Cala Boadella. When we went the first time, we noticed the beach but wasn’t sure how to get there. On the second occasion, we did some research on how to get there and made it the mission to go there. After seeing a few bums and boobs, we quickly realised that we were at a nudist beach! Once we got over the initial shock and giggles, we found a little spot to sit and we ended up spending the rest of the day there sunbathing and swimming in its crystal clear waters and didn’t leave until the evening. There’s also a little restaurant and toilet also which probably helped elongate our stay there.​​​​​​
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As you can see I only had one picture of the beach, for obvious reasons...
One thing to know about the transport links in Lloret, is there are no trains that run to and from the town, but they do have great bus links to make up for it. The buses are regular and very prompt when departing. You can pay for tickets online, which we did when we went into Barcelona, and it’s probably the easiest method of doing this or you can go to the bus station itself, which is at the far end of the strip and can get tickets from there. The tickets to places like Barcelona, do get booked up very quickly, so it’s best to book in advance if you can. There are also local buses that stop off at the neighbouring towns like Blanes, Malgrat De Mar and Calella De Mar which you can pay for on the bus.
As you can tell, there’s a lot to do in Lloret and one thing is for sure, you won’t be bored!