The Costa Brava by Boat: Cala-Hopping the Catalan Coast & the Medes Islands
A Costa Brava sailing guide — pine-backed calas, the Medes Islands marine reserve, the Cap de Creus, and the Catalan seaside towns of Cadaqués and Tossa de Mar.
The Costa Brava — the "wild coast" — is the mainland counterpoint to the Balearics: a rugged Catalan shoreline of pine-clad cliffs, hidden calas and whitewashed fishing towns, with a marine reserve and some of the best snorkelling in the western Mediterranean. It's an easy, scenery-rich week close to Barcelona.
Cadaqués and Cap de Creus
At the northern end, Cadaqués — Dalí's whitewashed village at the tip of a rocky headland — sits below the dramatic, weather-sculpted Cap de Creus. Anchor in one of its coves and tender in for the artist's house at Portlligat.
The Medes Islands
Off L'Estartit, the seven Medes Islands form a protected marine reserve — the Costa Brava's underwater jewel, with the clearest water and richest sea life on the coast. Anchor on the authorised buoys and snorkel or dive the grottoes.
The calas of the central coast
Between the towns, the coast is a string of tiny pine-backed coves — Aigua Blava, Cala Sa Tuna, Fornells — with turquoise water and space to swim. This is the heart of a Costa Brava charter: anchor, swim, move on.
Tossa de Mar and the south
Medieval Tossa, with its walled old town rising straight from the beach, and the coves around Lloret make a picturesque southern finish, an easy sail from a Barcelona-area base.
Practical notes
- Marine reserve. The Medes require authorised moorings — no anchoring on the seabed; your skipper arranges it. See the best time to sail the Balearics & Spain.
- Pair it with the Balearics for a mainland-and-islands fortnight. Compare on where to charter.
- Ready to plan? Browse Costa Brava charters.
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