Why Platja d’Aro has all round appeal for beach holidays

Platja d’Aro is a beach resort particularly popular with Catalans as well as foreign property owners and with a 2 kilometres of sandy beach there is always space for everyone, even at the height of summer.

The town is family friendly with the high street populated with shops, bars and restaurants that are open year long, unlike many tourist destinations on the Costa Brava.

One of the big plus points of Platja d’Aro in the summer is that despite the number of people in the town there is always plenty of parking. The one exception to this is on Friday mornings when there is the weekly market. It takes place in the main free car park, but if you arrive later this won’t be a problem and we have found parking on the street anyway.

The beach

While the long beach means that there is plenty of space and it doesn’t tend to get packed out like sardines in the summer, the high rise hotels and apartment blocks mean much of the east facing beach loses the sun early behind the buildings.

While the beach is spacious, the water gets deep quite quickly and so youngsters need to be watched. Stronger swimmers will enjoy being able to swim out to the floating platforms where they can warm themselves in the sunshine before diving off into the sea again.

In the summer there are also boat trips between Platja d’Aro, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa de Mar.

A rant

On the whole the town escapes the worst excesses typified by Lloret de Mar, although the one time I ventured to the small beach on the other side of the Hotel Costa Brava to see if it was good for snorkelling was a real eye-opener.

The holidaymakers there seemed to be intent in getting drunk as fast as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely fond of the local wines and have overindulged on many occasions. It’s just that I can’t understand why anyone wants to get blind drunk before lunchtime, particularly while on the beach; perhaps we were just unlucky that day.

In particular, one woman in her fifties was absolutely paralytic by midday. Somehow she made it into the sea but then passed out in the water. She had to be kept afloat by her husband and another couple with them, after which they struggled to drag her back onto the sand.

I have no idea what happened after that because we were out of there and I want to stress that on the many times I’ve been to Platja d’Aro this was the only time I’ve seen this type of behaviour.

Shopping, food and recreation

It is also a major shopping area, most of which are open throughout the year, and it is where we tend to do our Christmas shopping. The high street has shops from many major Spanish and international brands, including an official FC Barcelona store, while there is a cinema (Spanish) and Decathlon for sports gear. There is also a department store, Vall, which has a good selection of products of various types and a market every Friday in the free car park just as you arrive in the town centre.

Restaurants are numerous and the bars seem to be fairly well frequented even in winter. There are the usual choices that include Spanish and Catalan fish restaurants, tapas bars, Chinese, an Indian, Argentine, pizza and a MacDonald’s.

As well as the usual amusement arcades and minigolf there is a bowling alley and water park, while golfers may be attracted to the Club de Golf d’Aro, one of the oldest clubs on the Costa Brava. The course is 300 metres above sea level and boasts some fantastic views.

All in all, Platja d’Aro is not the most picturesque of resorts on the Costa Brava, but it has a good beach, plenty of free parking, excellent amenities and a good choice of restaurants. Catering for a wide variety of needs, it’s good for holidaymakers and residents alike.

There isn’t much of the original town left, with many high rise apartments along the seafront, but you do come across some houses that must date back to the early twentieth century that have some real character.

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