Portray of the Destination
Costa Brava is placed in the Southern side of Catalonia and covers a territory of 200 kilometres (124 mi). Named after the wild characteristics of its land, it is one of the most famous and visited summer destinations of Spain. In this area, full of magnificent beaches, there is also a great quantity of places of cultural and historical interest. Among the most important municipalities we have Girona, the largest one of the area. In this town we can find the Airport, the Salvador Dalí Museum, Cadaqués (the little and colourful town that hosted the great painter for many years) and Empúries.
Other important tourist destinations are: Roses, San Pedro Pescador, San Martín d’Empúries, La Escala, Estartit, Bagur, Palafrugell, Palamós, Platja d’Aro, S’Agaro, Sant Feliú de Guixols, Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar and Blanes.
Costa Brava is very well known for its diversity in landscapes and its crystal clear waters free of any type of pollution, considered to be of high quality by the European Foundation of Environmental Education. However, these are not the only marvellous features of the city since Costa Brava has also a great richness of monuments represented by prehistoric vestiges of ancient Greece and Rome and old medieval architecture. In any of the destinations of Costa Brava, the traveller can practise all kind of sports from horse riding or golf to any of the different variations of sea or underwater activities. In addition to all these, the city has excellent hotel facilties prepared to offer the travellers a comfortable, pleasant and safe welcoming.
We would like to thank the “Patronato de Turismo" of Costa Brava for the information and pictures provided.
Visit:
www.costabrava.org
Geography
Costa Brava has an extremely rugged relief due to its position between different mountain ranges and the sea. Because of this, the territory has multiple forms such as cliffs, remote coves, pine groves, forests, valleys and great areas of sand and beach.
Climate
Costa Brava is a very extensive territory thus having different climates between one destination and the other; nevertheless, temperatures are mostly mild and pleasant. Winter is rough but summer offers the opportunity of enjoying all the beaches and wonderful sunny days.
When to go
Most of the tourists prefer to travel to Costa Brava in summer between the months of June and September. It is also highly advisable to visit it in May and October.
History
In spite of its extensive history including valuable archaeological treasures of the Iberian, Roman, Greek, Visigoth and Arabian civilizations, the beginning of the “official history” of Costa Brava must be placed, at least for tourism, in the 50’s. At that time, when the territory did not have the present facilities, a great number of crews of directors and producers from Hollywood arrived at the area attracted by the cheap labour and the amazing landscapes. Actors like Ava Gardner, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift, among others, arrived at the city. Some of the movies shot in the land are “Chase a Crooked Shadow”, “Suddenly, Last Summer” “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman” and “The Light at the Edge of the World”. The shooting was always accompanied by fancy parties that slowly turned Costa Brava into a place of never-ending happiness and continuous entertainment. Ever since then, Costa Brava became a place of international fame and as the years went by the tourists of the whole world started crowding the city. Nowadays, it is one of the most visited destinations of Spain and Europe.
Traditions
In Girona just like in the rest of the municipalities of Costa Brava, the typical celebrations of Catalonia are the symbol of the customs and identity of the area. Among several different festivities we have the one of Sant Jordi on April 23rd (the Catalonia’s Saint’s Day) and the Day of the Virgin of Montserrat on April 27th, the other Patron Saint’s Day. On September 11th takes place the “Diada”, the National Celebration of Catalonia.
Gastronomy
Costa Brava’s cuisine perfectly combines the best fish and meat with the freshest vegetables of the mountains and plains. The most exquisite dishes full of pure, fresh and natural tastes are the result of this combination. Among the most popular dishes we have the chicken with crayfish, the fish stew, the exquisite seafood casserole and meatballs with shrimp. The wine selection is quite diverse and the delicious tastes change in every region.
Basic Dictionary
YES: si. NO: no. HELLO: hola. GOOD BYE: adios. GOOD MORNING: buenos días. GOOD AFTERNOON: buenas tardes. GOOD NIGHT: buenas noches. PLEASE: por favor. SORRY: lo siento. THANK YOU: gracias. DOCTOR: médico. PHARMACY: farmacia. NUMBERS: 1: un. 2: dos. 3: tres. 4: cuatro. 5: cinco. 6: seis. 7: siete. 8: ocho. 9: nueve. 10: diez. 11: once. 12: doce. 13: trece. 14: catorce. 15: quince. 16: dieciséis. 17: diecisiete. 18: dieciocho. 19: diecinueve. 20: veinte. 21: veintiuno. 22: veintidós. 30: treinta. 40: cuarenta. 50: cincuenta. 60: sesenta. 70: setenta. 80: ochenta. 90: noventa. 100: cien. 1000: mil. DAYS OF THE WEEK: MONDAY: lunes. TUESDAY: martes. WEDNESDAY: miércoles. THURSDAY: jueves. FRIDAY: viernes. SATURDAY: sábado. SUNDAY: domingo. COMMON WORDS: BIG/SMALL: grande/pequeño. HOT/COLD: caliente/frío. OPEN/CLOSED: abierto/cerrado. GOOD/BAD: bueno/malo. NEW/OLD: nuevo/viejo. PUSH/PULL: empujar/tirar. ENTRANCE/EXIT: entrada/salida. LADIES/GENTLEMEN: señoras/señores. FAR/NEAR: lejos/cerca. LEFT/RIGHT: izquierda/derecha. TAXI: taxi. BUS: autobús. MEALS: BREAKFAST: desayuno. LUNCH: comida. DINNER: cena. MENU: menú. WINES: vinos. DESSERT: postre. THE BILL: la cuenta. COMMON SENTENCES: DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?: ¿Habla inglés?. I DON'T UNDERSTAND: no entiendo. WHERE IS IT?: ¿donde está? HOW MUCH IS IT: ¿Cuánto es? WHAT TIME IS IT: ¿Qué hora es? COULD YOU HELP ME: ¿Puede ayudarme?
Eating: Breakfast:esmorzar – Lunch:dinar – Dinner:sopar – Menu:menu – Wines:vins – Desert:postre – The Bill:el compte –
Common phrases: Do you speak English?:Parla inglés? – I do not understand:no ho entenc – Where is it?:On és? – How much is it?:Quant val? – What time is it?:quina hora és? – Can you help me?:pot ajudar-me? –
Currency
The official currency is the Euro. There are bank notes of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 y 5 Euros. Also coins of 1 and 2 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents.
Currency Exchange
1 EUR (Euro) = $ 1.20 (United States Dollar) – 1 EUR (Euro) = 0.68 GBP (British Pound Sterling).
Prices
In comparison with Tenerife, Majorca, Menorca, Costa del Sol, Coast of Almería and Costa Blanca, Costa Brava is a relatively cheap destination for Spanish, Belgian, German, Dutch and British tourists. Just like every other tourist area, there are different kinds of hotels and restaurants adapted to every budget.
Useful Info
Official nameCosta Brava
CountrySpain
Time Zone+ 1 GMT
Official LanguageSpanish
Surface area200 square kilometres (77 sq. mi)
Population85,000 citizens (Girona)
Political RegimeConstitutional Monarchy
Public holidays
January 1st: New Year; January 6th: Three Wise Men Celebration; May 1st: Labour Day; August 15th: Virgin’s Assumption Day; October 12th: National Day of Spain; September 11th: National Day of Catalonia; November 1st: All Saints Day; December 6th: Day of the Spanish Constitution; December 8th: Day of the Immaculate Conception; December 25th: Christmas Day.
Religion
Though most of the citizens are Catholic, there is freedom of worship.
Religion90% Catholics, 8% Muslims, 2% Jews
Arrival / Departure
Costa Brava can be accessed by car, train, boat or cruiser and plane. Every choice is possible and they all depend on the destination you have to chosen to spend your holidays.
Safety
Just like in the rest of Spain, security is a high priority for the tourist industry. Costa Brava offers a safe environment since every destination is safe and pacific with low robbery rate. You must only take the common precautions regarding your personal objects such as purses or wallets.
Visa
Visas are not required to those tourists coming from the European Union, United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina or any other Latin American country, though a return ticket must be purchased in every case. Travellers from Australia, Anguilla, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, South Korea, Hong Kong, Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Israel, Japan, Macao Malaysia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Saint Helena, Singapore and Turks & Caicos Island do not either need visa provided they do not stay more than 90 days in Spain.
Clothing
Clothing depends on the time of the year you decide to travel. In winter, it is advisable to take coats, especially if you are making trips to mountainous areas. In summer, it is advisable to take comfortable shoes and thin cotton clothes.
Electricity
Electricity in Costa Brava is 220V, 50Hz.
Radio and Television
Radio Girona Ser, RNE Girona and Catalonia Radio are the favourite radio stations. As for television, most of the municipalities of Costa Brava have their own channels. Televisión Española (TVE) can be watched in each of them.
Telephone
The Spanish phone code is 34 and the Girona code is 972. In order to make international phone calls you must first dial 00 then the international code of the country you are calling to and finally the local phone number. If you wish to make phone calls within Spain you do not need to use a special code. In terms of mobile phones, the technology used in the country is GSM and the most important mobile service providers are Amena (
www.amena.com); Movistar-Telefónica Mobiles (
www.movistar.tsm.es) and Vodafone (
www.vodafone.es).
It is common to find phone booths along the streets and they work with current coins or with phone cards that can be bought in places called “locutorios”. In these places you will find several phone booths in which you can make phone calls without using coins or cards and paying after you finish your call. Besides, you will also find several services such as sending and receiving fax and Internet.
Police092
Ambulance410-010
Fire Brigade80
Tourist health care services112
Newspapers and Magazines
The most important newspapers that can be obtained in Girona are Diari de la Pau, Diari de Girona and, of course, the national ones. Every municipality of Girona has local newspapers with all the information of the area. As for magazines, it is possible to get all the best publications of Spain and some of the local ones.
Postal Service
The postal service in Spain is efficient: letters within Europe should take no more than 3 to 5 days to be delivered. Post Offices in Costa Brava are placed in the main tourist spots. In Girona, the main offices are in Ctra. Barcelona, 106-110 (Tel: (972) 240-884), Ronda Ferrán Puig, 17 (Tel: (972) 483-376) and in Av. Ramón Folch, 2 (Tel: (972) 483-272). For further information visit:
www.correos.esHealth Care Services
Just like in the rest of Spain, in the cities or towns of Costa Brava there is an efficient health care system, public or private. There is reciprocal health assistance agreement that Spain signed with the rest of the countries of the European Union. In the event of an emergency, tourists may access these public services if they have the E-111 document that must be obtained before the trip.
In Girona, there is a great amount of hospitals and clinics such as: Hospital Girona Dr. Trueta (tel: (972) 940-200); Hospital de Santa Caterina (tel: (972) 182-600); Clínica Bofill: tel (972) 204-350); Clínica Girona (tel: (972) 204-500) and SM Serveis Mèdics (tel: (972) 400-004).
Airport
Girona-Costa Brava Airport is located 7 miles away from the centre of the city in the municipalities of Aiguaviva and Vilobi D’Onyar. For further information call to: (972) 186-600 or e-mail:
gironainfo@aena.es. Some of the airlines operating in the area are: Air Europa, Iberia, Air Scotland, Air Malta, Britannia, British Midland, Czech Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Eujet, Rynair and Swiss.
Public Transport
The municipalities of Costa Brava are united by highways, railways and seaways. From Girona you might reach any of them by bus, train or cruise. The region is very well interconnected since the tours for tourists usually include several municipalities, cities or towns. Also, there are excellent bus and taxi services in every destination.
Railway
Most of the municipalities of Costa Brava can be reached by train except for a few of the coastal ones that can only be accessed by bus services that connect the inland train stations with the coastal towns. There are other small towns that are connected by different bus services. In order to get more infomation contact: RENFE (Tel: 902-240-202, website:
www.renfe.es); Carrilet de Lloret de Mar (e-mail:
info@carrilet.com); Carrilet de Tossa de Mar: e-mail:
tossa@vitviatges.com, and Tren Pinxo (e-mail:
banyoles@trenpinxo.com).
Bus
Bus Service Companies in Girona are: AMPSA Autocars, Teisa and Autobusos Interurbans. SARFA (
www.sarfa.com) and Ferners Bus cover the region.
Car
The roads that link the towns and municipalities of Costa Brava are in perfect conditions but in summer the traffic is heavy and it is advisable to be cautious.
Car Rentals
Avis: Girona-Costa Brava Airport, Tel: (972) 474-333
Europcar: Girona-Costa Brava Airport, Tel: (972) 186-618
Hertz: Girona-Costa Brava Airport, Tel: (972) 186-619
Ship
In Costa Brava there are almost 30 fishing ports and marinas. Some of the companies that offer their services are Creuers Mare Nostrum (
creuers@creuers-marenostrum.com) and Marina Princess (
info@marinaprincess.com.).
Destination Tourism Office in Spain Spanish embassy in the destination Taking pictures
There are no restrictions regarding the taking of pictures.
See climate
www.woldweather.orgCurrency converterwww.xe.com/uccA dinner25 Euros
A coffee1.30 Euros
The BusFrom the Airport to the centre of Girona: 1.75 Euros
The taxiFrom the Airport to the centre of Girona: 19 Euros; to Platja D’Aro: 40 Euros; to Lloret de Mar: 40 Euros; to Roses: 80 Euros; to L’Estartit: 60 Euros.
The trainPrices vary according to distances. Information: RENFE (Tel: 902-240-202, website:
www.renfe.es)
