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Voykit pocket guide · Spain
Tossa de Mar
Give Tossa 2 nights: one full day for the Vila Vella walls and Platja Gran, one for the camí de ronda coves. Skip it as a day trip from Barcelona — 1.5 h each way.
Tossa de Mar is a small Costa Brava resort of about 5,900 people, 40 km from Girona and roughly 100 km from Barcelona. Its draw is the Vila Vella — the only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan coast — plus a run of gravel-and-sand coves along the camí de ronda. It is quieter and more family-oriented than Lloret de Mar next door. Two nights covers the old town, the beaches and one coastal walk; three nights if you want diving or a boat day.
- Country
- Spain
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–early Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (crowds, peak prices), Nov–Mar (many businesses shut)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including tapas bars and taxis in the cities.
- Daily spend
- Budget €60–90 excl. bed · Mid €90–150 excl. bed · High €150+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EU and EEA plans roam at home prices; UK and other plans may charge — check before you land.
- Emergency
- All emergency services 112 · National police 091 · Guardia Civil 062
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; UK and US plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Bar or café: Leave small change or nothing.; Restaurant: Round up or 5–10% for good service; service is not usually added.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro.; Hotel porter: €1–2 a bag.; Guide on a free walking tour: €10–15 a person is the expected payment.
- Water
- Tap water is safe across the mainland; it tastes of chlorine in some coastal areas. Ask for 'agua del grifo' in restaurants — by law since 2025 they must offer it free (check local application).
- Toilets
- Few public toilets; use bars and cafés (buy a coffee). Stations and shopping centres have free or cheap toilets.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | €1.50–2.50 |
| Menu del día at lunch | €12–20 |
| Beer: caña at a bar / can at a supermarket | €2–3.50 / €1–1.50 |
| Glass-bottom boat trip | €15–25 |
| Lighthouse museum entry | €3 |
| Parking, Platja Gran car park | €1.60/hr |
| Internet café, per hour | €2–3 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- GRO · Girona–Costa Brava
- About 40 km; shuttle or taxi onward, roughly 40–50 minAbout 25 mi; shuttle or taxi onward, roughly 40–50 min
- BCN · Barcelona–El Prat
- About 120 km; bus or car, roughly 1.5–2 hAbout 75 mi; bus or car, roughly 1.5–2 h
Typical fares
- Girona airport → Tossa, shuttle
- €12–16 each way, about 40–50 min (check)
- Bus Tossa → Lloret de Mar
- about €1.30, 15 min (check)
- Parking Platja Gran
- €1.60/hr (check)
Get around
The centre is flat and walkable in 15 minutes end to end; the Vila Vella is up steps and steep lanes. Buses run to Lloret de Mar (about 15 min) and Barcelona from the bus station; buy return tickets, queues get long. Free parking exists in town (for example the aparcament dels bombers on Avinguda de Catalunya); the Platja Gran car park charges by the hour. Do not drive up to the castle — the road is narrow with tight turns and no parking at the top.
See and do
Known for
- Vila Vella fortified old town and walls
- Platja Gran and the castle-view beach
- Camí de ronda coastal path
- Diving and glass-bottom boat trips
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Lloret de Mar | Bus from Tossa bus station, about 15 min | About 30 min |
| Blanes | Bus to Lloret de Mar, then bus to Blanes | About 1.5 h |
| Sant Feliu de Guíxols | Bus or summer coastal boat | About 1 h |
| Girona | Bus or car via the GI-681 and C-65 | About 1 h |
| Barcelona | Direct bus from the bus station | About 1.5–2 h |
Sleep
- Centre / Platja Gran
- Steps from the main beach, promenade restaurants and the bus station; noisier in summer, everything walkable.
- Vila Vella and old town
- Inside or beside the walls; character and sea views, but steep lanes and limited parking.
- Mar Menuda side
- Quieter, 5–10 min walk east of the centre; good for families and divers.
- Hills above town
- Cheaper apartments, but a real climb down and back up each day — check the walk before booking.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | HolaOH-lah |
| Thank you | GràciesGRAH-see-es |
| The bill, please | El compte, si us plauel KOM-tuh, see oos PLOW |
| How much is it? | Quant costa?kwant KOS-tah |
| Can I pay by card? | Puc pagar amb targeta?pook pah-GAR am tar-GEH-tah |
| Where is the beach? | On és la platja?on es lah PLAH-jah |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Two kisses on the cheek (right then left) between friends and when introduced socially; handshake in business; avoid: Being stiff — Spaniards stand close and touch arms
- Meal times: Late lunch and dinner; long sobremesa (chat after eating); avoid: Rushing to leave or asking for the bill with the last bite
- Noise: Join in the lively conversation; avoid: Reading loud voices as anger
- Siesta hours: Keep noise down in residential buildings 15:00–17:00 and after 23:00; avoid: Phone calls to people at lunch time
- Dress: Smart casual in cities; locals rarely wear shorts in Madrid in town; avoid: Swimwear or bare torsos away from the beach
- Regional pride: Ask about local dishes and festivals; avoid: Assuming Catalan or Basque are dialects of Spanish
Scams and watch-outs
- Do not drive up to the Vila Vella: narrow, blind turns and no parking at the top.
- Many shops close 13:30–16:30 outside school holidays, then reopen until about 20:00.
- Beaches are coarse sand and gravel; the entry slope at Platja Gran and Giverola is steep.
- Book airport shuttles and confirm the day before; some run distant resorts first.
- Off-season, some hotels, bars and the tourist offices shut or keep short hours.
Very safe for a resort town; cars stop at crossings. The real risks are steep gravel beach entries, sun exposure on the camí de ronda, and pickpocketing in the busiest summer weeks.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Tossa de Mar yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Vila Vella fortified old town and walls
- Platja Gran and the castle-view beach
- Camí de ronda coastal path
- Diving and glass-bottom boat trips
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Telpark — Parking Platja Gran: www.telpark.com/es/ciudades/tossa-de-mar/parking-platja-gran/
- Wikivoyage: Tossa de Mar, revision 5212745 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5212745
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Tossa de Mar
A aquesta adreça, si us plau
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in town; the US has a consulate-general in Barcelona, the UK a consulate in Barcelona, and most countries keep embassies in Madrid.
Catalan is co-official here; Spanish works everywhere.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/tossa-de-mar). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.