My husband and I flew for a week in February 2017.
The review will be long, so for those who are too lazy to read, I’ll say right away that the hotel is ideal for active travel, besides that the food is good, the rooms too, the service, the staff - I liked everything)) well, maybe only the soundproofing let us down, but this is not a priority ...
So, whoever is not too lazy to read, a long and detailed review of the hotel and the trip)
1) Arrival, meeting.
We flew with Russia Airlines... Hmm, I liked the flight there so much - a clean, brand new plane, friendly, highly professional staff, a pleasant flight and a soft landing that right after arriving back I wanted to write a laudatory review for the airline, but alas... we returned back to Russia, but not ours luggage, it is still sunbathing somewhere in Barcelona... like almost the entire plane... in short, while we are waiting for the luggage. For those who read this review, I strongly recommend taking warm clothes in your hand luggage; travelers arrived on our flight in light clothing - shorts, T-shirts, etc... I don’t know how they got home..
2) Hotel accommodation.
We arrived at the hotel late in the evening, around 6 pm, check-in was quick, we paid a tourist tax of a little less than 14 euros for two, 20 euros for internet for a week and 38 euros for a safe (of which 10 euros is a deposit, will be returned upon check-out), and were given cards for food and drinks, we checked in. The room itself is quite large, the room has 2 large beds, a wardrobe with a bunch of hangers, a chair, a table, a mirror, a TV with 4 Russian channels, no refrigerator. In the bathroom there is a hairdryer, a bathtub with a curtain, bottles of shampoo and shower gel are brought and replenished every day, there was a set with a toothbrush and paste, soap, a set of towels: for feet, 2 small, 2 large. It was possible to turn on the air conditioner in the room for heating, but we were already warm, so they didn’t turn it on.
3) Excursions.
The next day after arrival, we met with the hotel guide, by the way, she told us in detail about how to use public transport - the metro and trains. There are not very many tourists, so there are very few excursions offered; we took 2 – Barcelona-Montserrat and a trip to France: Perpignan, Collioure and an oyster farm. The excursions turned out to be wonderful, individual, we drove small Mercedes, the first time with seven of us, the second time with five of us. In addition, we traveled independently by train to the Dali Theater-Museum in Figueres and to Girona. I definitely recommend visiting all these places!!! If anyone is interested, I’ll tell you more, write)
4) Meals at the hotel.
We really liked the food, I’ve probably never seen such a quantity of fish and seafood in any hotel... Every day there were always several types of fish - fried, stewed (or baked), paella with seafood, or a salad with seafood, or whatever - like small kebabs on skewers made of seafood, mussels and clams, in short, paradise for fish lovers) there were themed evenings a couple of times - on the first evening, like American with burgers, Catalan with jamon and paella, Italian with pizza and all that, Mexican with fajitas and beans. Breakfasts were almost the same, but with a large assortment: breakfast cereals, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, sliced several types of sausage/ham/cheese, fresh vegetables, beans in sauce, several types of fried-boiled-sausages-blood sausage, bacon, vegetables baked, all kinds of pastries, pancakes, in short, there is something to profit from) my husband really missed porridge for breakfast, for some reason we didn’t find it there... Various lunches - soups, meat, fish, all sorts of nuggets - cheese sticks - fish sticks, vegetables , various side dishes, desserts, cold cuts... We really only went to dinner a couple of times, but we liked the times that we did)) well, I’ve already written about dinners. In addition, there was a separate table of steamed unsalted food. Drinks for breakfast include tea, coffee, and juices. For lunch and dinner, white and red wine, beer, water, soft drinks. The hotel has several food systems, we took Ultra All Inclusive (they have it Gold), there was a huge selection of drinks in the bar, according to the All Inclusive food system (silver), a small selection of locally produced drinks - beer, wine, sangria, it seems, everything, the rest is for extra charge. When you leave the hotel for the whole day, you can order the day before and take with you a picnic (well, a snack) - a sandwich, a bottle of water, jam, cracker, muffin, apple, orange.
5) Entertainment in the hotel.
We didn’t really delve into the animation during the day, but it seemed like European pensioners were playing bingo)) in the evenings we saw live music 2 times, once at a Flamenco show, the rest of the evenings there seemed to be just music playing.
6) Other information.
By the way, the contingent at the hotel is 70% European pensioners, but they are such lively people, they danced with such pleasure in the evenings) there were a few European youth, and children with their parents, and cyclists, and some other athletes)
The nearest supermarket from the hotel is Dia, located 7-10 minutes from the hotel. Another large excellent supermarket Mercadona is located about 30 minutes from the hotel, it’s really a long walk, but it’s worth it: strawberries, jamon, assorted cheeses))
In February, sooooo many cafes and shops are closed in the city, the ones that are open can be counted on one hand, so if you plan to eat outside the hotel, I warn you that the choice of establishments is limited.
We do not recommend renting a car, it is expensive - deposit, rent, insurance, parking, toll roads.
Bottom line: the hotel is excellent, but more likely for an active holiday, if you go in season, it’s a bit far from the sea for my taste... The beaches are pleasant, sandy. It’s not at all 15 minutes to the station, it seemed to me that it was 25-30 minutes, but who knows))) I give the hotel a five, we got exactly what we expected.
August 2009
Finally! The dream of a trip to Spain has come true. I have long wanted to visit this beautiful country, but somehow things didn’t work out for various reasons. However, this year such an opportunity presented itself, which my wife and I did not fail to take advantage of, despite the crisis and pig flu, which has been so actively scaring people from TV screens lately. By the way, my wife officially became one only recently; literally a few days before the trip, we had a wedding ceremony, so it was a real honeymoon trip for us.
We rested at the Balmes 3* hotel from 08/19/09 to 08/29/09 in Calella. Connoisseurs of the Spanish language know how to pronounce this, but for those who are not familiar with the language of Cervantes, I inform you that it is pronounced as something between “calella” and “kaleya” (in the future I will stick to the first version of the Russian spelling). This glorious town is located on the Costa del Meresme (it’s just beyond the Costa Brava to the south). The city of Calella should not be confused with the city of Calella de Palafrugell, which is already located on the Costa Brava.
I won’t describe the details of the flight, because... everything is quite standard here: registration, customs control, passport control, search, deutik, where you buy something tasty and fun so as not to get bored during the flight. This time we flew "Uddy". Nothing worse, no worse than Saira, I must say, and lunch is even better. In short, we arrived without any problems in 4 hours and a penny. At the airport, however, we had to wait for some time for our luggage. Then the information about our flight completely disappeared on the board next to the conveyor, which did not cause much delight among the passengers. However, after some time our luggage was safely unloaded, and onto the same conveyor. Yes, one digit of my wife’s passport number was also indicated incorrectly on the voucher and on the return ticket, which caused us some concern, but there were no problems with this.
We were met by a girl from the company "Terramar Tour" - a partner of our operator "Time Tour" in Spain. She had a list of tourists, which also contained some confusion with last names, which, by the way, also affected us. The funny thing is that we were both registered under my wife’s maiden name, although she, on the contrary, took mine. I just haven’t changed the foreigner yet. Then we “lost” two more tourists and began to look for them, but then it turned out that they were still there, but under a different name. The delay as a result of this incident, however, was minor, and after some time the bus safely departed from the airport to take tourists to hotels. On the way, the “transfer guide” (the same girl who met us; that’s what they call themselves) handed out envelopes to everyone with information about the proposed excursions (for example, an excursion to the Paddling Pool cost 51 Jews per adult and 35.5 Jews per child up to 10 years old, to Andorra - 65 and 55, sightseeing to Barcelona - 39 and 27.5, and to Montserrat - 41 and 27 Jews, respectively) and asked everyone to write down who should meet their “hotel guide” at what time, as well as phone numbers of these same guides. Our “hotel guide” named Andrey and I were supposed to meet at the Volga Hotel that same day at 18.30. However, either the “hotel guide” did not show up on time, or the “transfer guide” got something wrong, or we misunderstood something, but we never met Andrey (he, however, later called us on phone, more on that later). We were lucky that our hotel was the first one on the way from the airport, so the journey took about an hour, if not less. True, they dropped us off 150 meters from the hotel, because... otherwise it would be difficult for the bus to navigate the narrow one-way streets. Having dropped us off, the “transfer guide” indicated where the hotel was located and asked if we spoke languages. Just in case, I asked if Spanish would be suitable: D, to which the guide happily (I don’t have to accompany me to the hotel and act as a translator) answered that it would be more than suitable.
At the reception there were really no problems with the language, because... the aunt there spoke fluent Spanish (by the way, the “native” language for them in this region is not Spanish at all, but Catalan, but everyone speaks Spanish), and not only in it, but also in German, French and English. In Russian, alas, no. And in general, if anyone is friends with the great and mighty there, it is only at the level of “how are you, karasho.” Things are a little better, however, with Russian among sellers in resort areas (such as, for example, Montserrat), who can more or less clearly tell something in Russian about their product. English is easier, but the locals don’t bother much with it either. By the way, at the hotel we were also both registered under my wife’s maiden name. :D
In general, after filling out simple cards, we received a key card and went to the room. Yes, even on the bus we were told that if the hotel key is a regular one, then when leaving the hotel you can leave it at the reception, but if the key is a card, then you need to carry it with you at all times. By the way, there at the reception you can pick up a free magazine with a map of Calella, as well as information in several languages, incl. in Russian, about attractions and excursions.
There were no porters in that hotel, so we had to carry our things to the room ourselves. The room with a balcony facing the street, however, turned out to be quite good for its three stars: the beds do not fall apart (even if you do not just sleep on them), they only sometimes move in different directions, the bed linen is clean and fresh (it was changed regularly), the furniture is not shabby , the plumbing is convenient and in good working order, it flows and splashes only from where it is needed. The room was cleaned every day, and they didn’t even take the 1 Jew coin that we left on the table on the first day as a tip. So they took it back with them, unless they spent it on something. Towels were changed every day, even when we did not throw them in the bath, which means that they need to be changed (the corresponding announcement informed us about this). The air conditioner (with the remote control on the wall) seemed to work fine. There was no remote control for the TV; apparently, it had to be borrowed as a deposit from the reception. But we weren't interested. In the closet there was a chest without a larva. The larva with the key had to be rented at the reception. This pleasure cost us 26 Jews in 11 days. They also left a tweet as a deposit for the larva, which was later safely returned to us.
In general, the room is good, except for the quality of sound insulation: you can hear the neighbors coughing, snoring and going to the toilet behind the wall, as well as someone wandering around the corridor. Another minus: the water poured into the toilet tank too slowly, and unfortunately, it was not possible to correct this, as in Prague (see corresponding review).
Having settled in the room and changed clothes, we decided to immediately go to the beach, which had to be about 400 meters away, crossing the road and an underground passage passing under the railway. The beach is good: the sand, however, is coarse, and the closer to the water, the larger it is. Small stones also wash up on the shore. The shore is quite steep: about 4 meters from the shore the depth is already up to the neck of an adult. It should also be noted that our hotel was located at a distance from most other hotels, so local residents prevailed on the beach, and they, as a rule, used their own umbrellas and mats, so there were more than enough free sun loungers. For the same reason, there were few people on the beach, especially on weekdays. Before going for a swim, we decided to sit at the beach bar, where we grabbed a beer and then some sangria. The beer there is ordinary, although not bad, I would say (called Estrella; on the beach a can of 0.33 costs 2 Jews, but in the store it’s already 0.8 Jews for 0.5), but nothing outstanding. But sangria compares very favorably with the swill that is sold under the same name in bottles in Russian stores. A glass of sangria costs about 3 jews, and a liter jug costs somewhere between 6 and 11 jews.
By the way, in the shops there, Bukhara is quite cheap: much cheaper than in a hotel (and even a little cheaper than in a Moscow deutik). For example, on the first day at the hotel we took a bottle of some sparkling wine for 9.3 Jews, and the next day we bought the same one in a store for 2.95 Jews, and this with an extra charge for taking it from the refrigerator ( there was none in the room), and an unrefrigerated bottle of the same wine would have cost only 2.2 Jews, in my opinion. Mineral water in bars costs about 1 - 1.5 Jew per 0.5 liter, but in stores a 1.5 liter bottle costs about 1 Jew, and if you take a block of 6 such bottles, you can get it for 2.5, and then for 1.8 Jews. End of lyrical digression.
After sitting at the bar for a while, we finally went to the beach itself to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. There they offered sun loungers and umbrellas for 3 Jews (3+3), and on the neighboring beach this pleasure cost 3.5 Jews. That day we were ready to pay for 2 sun loungers and 1 umbrella, but this publican never came to us. Well, okay. Don't run off to look for him. There are also entertainments on the beach: a parachute (55 Jews for 1 person or 70 for two), a banana (I don’t remember the price), a catamaran (in my opinion, 20 Jews for an hour and 30 for 2). It's a pity that there was no scooter, because... I really love this type of water transport.
After enjoying the sea and sun, we went to the hotel for dinner. The food there is not bad: a fairly large selection of dishes for every taste, meat and fish, a lot of different vegetables, fresh and pickled, there are also pastries, ice cream and fruits (kiwi, pineapples, nectarines, peaches, melons, watermelons, etc.). There is also some kind of soup in the cauldron. Delicious, by the way. Drinks at dinner are extra charge. If you take a bottle and don’t finish it, they then attach a tag to it indicating your number, and it stands on a special table, so you can finish it next time. Or you can just take it to your room. However, I repeat, it is much more profitable to buy wine in local stores. There was also a bar in the hotel, where they offered cocktails for 3 Jews each, and sangria in a liter jug for 7.5 Jews.
On the second day in the morning we went there for breakfast. Nothing else either: sausage, ham, various types of cheese, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, even fried thin pieces of ham, which I found especially tasty with scrambled eggs. There are also plenty of baked goods. There are also all sorts of cereals, yoghurts and jams. And, of course, tea, coffee with or without milk, hot chocolate, as well as “juices” like “U-P” (orange, grapefruit and pineapple).
After breakfast we went to the beach and, like the locals, not wanting to pay for sunbeds and umbrellas, we went into one shop and bought the largest umbrella available (15 Jews), 2 mats (2 each) and a telephone card (5 ). The Indian salesman in that store was apparently very happy with this purchase, so he gave us another half-liter bottle of mineral water. While on the way, we called home from a street payphone using a telephone card purchased from this “Indian”. A call to a Moscow landline phone costs about 18 euro cents per minute, and to a mobile phone - about 33. A call from a payphone to the provider's number is free, as in many countries.
And while we were walking to the beach, we tried to find the sign “RENT A CAR”, but, alas, in vain (but we found a store where we took 2 bottles of liqueur: one called “Cream Catalunya”, the other called “43” - right as in Sovka: port “33rd”, “three sevens”... :D). However, even before this we inquired about renting a car at the hotel itself, and we were offered a choice of 2 offices, but we decided to compare rental prices at other rental companies. However, we managed to find one in the evening of the same day, but the prices there were clearly not for the better. On the same day (or the next - we don’t remember) the guide called us in our room and asked if we needed him, by chance. I also asked him about renting, but he replied that it would be difficult, I had to order the car 3 days in advance, and he quoted a steep price. Naturally, we also refused excursions, because, firstly, we expected to drive around Spain, the Paddling Pool and Andorra in a rented car, and secondly, at the hotel reception excursions were offered cheaper (although it is not known whether they would have been available Russian language or not), and thirdly, it was possible to travel around the above countries using public transport (trains and/or buses). It was by train that we decided to go to Barcelona on the third day, while harboring a small hope that we could rent a car there cheaper than at the hotel. Looking ahead, I’ll say: they broke off.
A round-trip train ticket from Calella to Barcelona cost 6.8 Jew. For traveling without a ticket, there is a fine of 40 Jews. I don’t know if they’ll be able to get away with it; we haven’t checked. The journey takes about an hour. The train runs along the coast and develops a fairly high speed. The air in the carriages is air conditioned. Each carriage has a toilet for the disabled. The cars there are long, but there are no direct transitions from car to car. The contingent of passengers on the train was diverse: we met a guy who earned his living by playing the harmonica, and a deaf-mute guy (or simply pretending to be one) who handed out pieces of paper to everyone with a tearful text about his difficult fate and a request for all possible financial assistance, and a drugged-looking girl, dozing, lying on several seats.
Stops on the train on the way back were announced only occasionally, and on the way there they were not announced at all. There are also screens on which, in theory, the names of the next stops should be displayed, but in practice they were also turned on only sporadically.
Having arrived in Barcelona, we went to a cafe there, where I ordered, among other things, a large mug of beer for myself, and a small one for my wife, but their measurements turned out to be different, and as a result they brought me a small bottle (0.33), and my wife a microscopic one (0.25). :D
Then we bought a map of Barcelona and went for a walk around the city. A very beautiful city, I must say. However, it has already been described many times before me, so I won’t repeat it, especially since it’s clear that it’s better to see it once... It’s just a pity that it was a little hot. We visited another park there called "Parc de la ciutadella", there was also a zoo there, we wanted to go there too, but the ticket, as it turned out, cost 16 Jews, so we decided that it was better to spend this money on something more worthwhile. Yes, there are also buses called “Bus Tourist” that take tourists to local attractions, so if you wish, you can use it (a ticket costs 21 Jew for 1 day or 27 for 2 days in a row, and for children 13 and 17, respectively) . The buses run along three routes that intersect with each other; you can get on and off at any of the 44 stops (during the validity period of the ticket), there is also an audio guide system in 10 languages, incl. in Russian. Well, they also give some kind of coupons, which provide discounts on visits to museums, which allow, as it is written in the magazine, to save up to 180 Jews.
We also took a ride there on the metro. It doesn’t look like something from Moscow - more like something from Helsinki or Prague. A ticket for one trip cost 1.35 Jews. You could buy a ticket there (including from a machine) for several trips, not only on the metro, but we decided not to delve into these details. The metro stations themselves are hot and stuffy, but when the train arrives, it’s like entering a freezer: the air conditioning there works so efficiently. I took ours, it’s too much, because you can catch a cold and get sick with pig flu (by the way, they themselves simply call it “Gripe A”, there are all sorts of warning posters there on this topic, like how to protect yourself).
After returning to the hotel and having dinner, we decided to watch the animation. On this day, some ballet group of three girls was invited (I don’t remember the name), who performed flamenco and other national dances. Very cool, especially with whiskey and cola and cocktails.
On the fourth day, we decided to take a pleasure boat ride from Calella to Tossa de Mar (28 Jews for a round trip ticket) - this is exactly the final destination. This steamer leaves Calella at 9.30 and arrives in Tossa at 11.40, then at 12.00 sails back to Calella, where it arrives at 13.55. At 14.00 he repeats his route again, i.e. arrives in Tossa at 15.55, departs back at 16.40 and returns to Calella at 18.30. Along the way, he also stops at 10 points, including Blanes, Malgrat, Lloret de mar and others, and on the way to Tossa, after each stop, more and more people appear on the ship, so that by the end of the trip there were more people on the ship than animals in Noah's Ark. However, the good news is that on the way back the dynamics are exactly the opposite, so if you manage to get good seats in time (on the way back you have to manage to do this; we managed, i.e. we simply got in without waiting in line - an old soviet habit, what can you do), then everything will be covered in chocolate. The ship there has two decks: you can sit on the lower, glazed one, or on the upper, open one (the vast majority prefer the upper one). There is also a “hold”, in which theoretically there should be a glass transparent floor in places, but this condition is fulfilled exactly half: it is really glass, but it is very difficult to call it transparent due to contamination (at least from the outside, and not from the inside).
There is also a bar on the ship, whose employees walk throughout the ship and offer everyone beer-Cola-Sprite for 2 Jews each (Sprite and Cola are 0.33 l each, and beer is “microscopic”, i.e. 0.25 l each) . The guy with the camera still walks around there and tries to scam everyone out of 5 Jews for a photo (like a professional one). With some he even succeeded. Along with the photo, he tried to sell these lucky ones a disk with a video of the sights, in my opinion, for an additional tweet.
Even on the way from Calella to Tossa, we noticed that the sand on the local beaches was becoming finer and finer (this is noticeable when the ship moored to the shore), but there were nowhere to spit on these beaches, much more than in Calella. And on some beaches, in addition, there is a lot of all sorts of garbage of various origins floating in the water, so we had a reason to be sincerely happy for our beach. Well, for ourselves, of course. :)
In Tossa the beach was also full of people, but you can find a place. There was also a section of beach between the rocks. Very narrow area. Everything there was absolutely packed, so we abandoned any attempt to deploy there and decided to deploy on the larger one. The city of Tossa de Mar itself is also very beautiful (like, I think, all, or at least almost all cities in Spain), there is a fortress wall with towers that you can climb near the shore. There are also more than enough shops, cafes and restaurants. Some catering establishments even have menus in Russian. In one of the cafes we tried paella (usually it must be ordered for at least two people) - it is also very different from what is sold in frozen bags in Moscow stores - by analogy with sangria, which we also naturally ordered there.
On the shore in Tossa there are also several booths that offer tickets for glass-bottom boats (12 Jews round trip). The trip lasts about an hour: 40 minutes there and 20 back, because... on the way there, the boat sails slowly and swims into coastal caves so that you can see the bottom (there the glass in the bottom was really clean and transparent, so the sea world could be seen in full beauty), and returns straight back, without going anywhere . You can return back on the same boat, or you can disembark at the final point (there is also a beach there) and return back on one of the following boats. They go there once every half hour.
On the fourth day, we had already firmly decided to rent a car, but since the fifth day of our stay was on Sunday, the rental office was not open, so we, as always, just went to the beach. Closer to noon, on the beach, in three languages (Catalan, Spanish and English), they announced the danger associated with the invasion of jellyfish, and warned that they should not be touched under any circumstances, even if they seem dead. A yellow flag was also flown along with an additional flag with a jellyfish image. However, this scared few people, and some lovers even caught these same jellyfish with nets and put them in plastic bags. By the way, about flags. On the same day, according to the same swear word, they announced that if the flag hangs green, then you can swim safely, if it’s yellow, then you can too, just be careful, and if it’s red, then swimming is prohibited. But, fortunately, we didn’t see a red flag during our stay, and the yellow one didn’t hang for long (several hours at most).
After the beach, we decided to get to know Calella itself better, fortunately we had a map of it, a magazine with which we were given at the reception on the first day. We took a walk through a local park with very beautiful nature; however, we had to climb to a hill there, which, however, we don’t regret, because... From there you can see a very beautiful view of the city and the sea starting right behind it. Almost immediately after entering the park, we saw 2 water taps walled into the wall. Nearby, 2 local women were walking their dogs. And since we were thirsty, and as luck would have it, we forgot the water at the hotel, we asked these women if this water was drinkable. To which they replied that it seems like yes, they feed their dogs with it, and that’s okay. Well, we also decided to have a drink. Looks like they're still alive. And they didn’t even turn into dogs.
Then we went down to the city, walked along the street with the mansions of local residents and hotels with a swimming pool on the roof, we even wanted to go to the local church, but there was just a service going on there, and there was a notice that it was not welcome to enter the church during the service. Well, okay. What do we, atheists...
On the sixth day, right in the morning (at about 9.30) we went to the reception in the hope of booking a car for the evening. And our hope, it must be said, was more than justified: an hour and a half after our appeal, they promised to provide us with a Renault Sandero with an air conditioner for 218 Jews for 4 days, and, most importantly, they kept their promise! The office, however, asked where we were from and whether we had a credit card. Having received the answer that they had a credit card from Russia, they agreed to give me the car. An hour and a half later, a representative of the rental office arrived, quickly filled out the necessary paperwork, stamped a credit card and copied the details of my driver’s license, Russian at that, and an international license, even though I got it a few days before the trip, was never needed (details of obtaining these licenses , as well as why they are needed, I will omit, but if anyone is interested, I will tell you in more detail). Then we asked him about the daily mileage limit (there was none) and insurance, i.e. Is it full? He stated that it was complete, but only valid in Catalonia. Having learned that we also wanted to go to the Paddling Pool, he charged another 29 Jews for additional insurance. Then he took us to the place where the car was parked, along the way suggesting places where it would be interesting to go. When we approached the car that was destined for us, I examined it and noticed abrasion on the front right fender, which I pointed out to this employee. The same one told me, don’t worry, everything is fine, the car is fully insured (then it was returned in the same condition without any problems, I’ll say, looking ahead).
The car was provided with a full tank, which is nice. And then last year in Tunisia they provided us with almost nothing, so there was a fear that we wouldn’t get to the nearest gas station and would have to drag it there with a tie or, worse, push it manually.
On the first day, we decided to go to a city called Girona, which is found in Russian atlases in various spellings: Girona (this is how it should be read in the Spanish version), Girona (most likely in Catalan), Gerona (in French Gérone, and Catalonia also affects the southern part of France) and even Heron (and that’s how HE already knows what IT can be called). It happens that it is even indicated in the atlas in one version, and then duplicated in brackets in another. Okay, for reasons of euphony, taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian language, I will henceforth call this city Girona.
You can go there either on the free highway N-11 or on the toll highway C-32 (it is wider and more convenient). The signs there are just frankly crap, they are quite difficult to understand without that notorious piece of utensils, which is contraindicated while driving (Crete and even Tunisia are much better in this regard). So it’s better to buy a card of Catalonia (either 6 or 8 Jews), which will have fewer problems. There are no gas stations at gas stations (unlike Crete and Tunisia), so you have to refuel the car yourself and then pay for gasoline (95 without Pb costs about 1.1 Jew per liter). Theoretically, you can even leave without paying. But in this case, I think, a problem with garbage will arise (not in the sanitary and hygienic sense, of course, but in the law enforcement sense).
Arriving in Girona, we looked at the dry river (in places where there was still enough water, there were even fish swimming, and not at all upside down, but moving quite actively) and the fortress walls. And in the city center we even managed to find a public toilet, and it was free. By the way, toilets in Spain are a mess, both free and paid (we never found the latter there, by the way). There are no fragrant blue booths or green houses where you need to put a coin (there are quite a lot of the latter, for example, in Finland and the Czech Republic). So, if something happens, you will have to go to a cafe and order something purely symbolically (otherwise they may not let you in) or get to the nearest gas station. There are also toilets in the underground parking lots, again, for clients. For bush lovers, I can’t tell you how the local cops will react to this, because... I haven't tried it myself.
Eh, to be boring, or something else... okay, so be it, with your approval I will allow myself such pleasure. In general, I really don’t like it when there is no change at retail outlets. Well, okay, even under Sovka, then the sellers didn’t give a damn whether the goods would sell or not, but in a market economy, the seller, in theory, should be interested in selling the goods! It’s like he has an extra penny from this. In Russia, in this respect, everything is the same as under Sovka. However, later I encountered the same problem in Prague. Well, too, I thought, close communication with Sovk was not in vain. However, in Spain this problem is no less acute! Sellers always ask for smaller bills, and in one of the Girona supermarkets we even saw a notice on the door that they were not at all guaranteed to have change for bills of 500 or even 200 Jews! And also a civilized country, called... By the way, such a problem sometimes arose even... in Tunisia: last year it happened a couple of times that sellers did not have change. But in 2005, no matter how much I made purchases there, there was, as they say, always change and in any quantity. And to top it all off, in some Spanish supermarkets there is such a typical Soviet phenomenon as queues. Okay, I got carried away by another lyrical digression...
Returning “home”, we mistakenly turned onto some wrong road and drove off somewhere into the mountains, having driven “enough” along the serpentine roads (by that time we simply didn’t have time to buy a detailed map, there was only a very, very general one, taken at the airport, and the sign was to Barcelona). The road there is very winding and has almost no guardrails anywhere, so not very careful drivers have every chance to enjoy a dizzying flight. In general, we got through it somehow.
Then we drove through the town of Palafrugell and stopped in the town of Palamos (emphasis on the last syllable), where we had dinner at a restaurant on the pier. We tried there, among other things. gazpacho soup, which we really liked (it is served there not for lunch, as is customary in Russia, but for dinner). When we asked for the bill, they brought us a glass of some kind of apple liqueur and a piece of candy along with it. It’s a pity that I was driving, so I had to give up liquor (however, by Spanish standards, such a dose of alcohol would probably have been acceptable, but I generally don’t drink while driving as a matter of principle). The car was left in a large parking lot not far from the restaurant, and it was free, perhaps for this reason it was difficult to find a place there. By the way, about parking. In Calella you won’t find a free place to park your car, neither in the paid parking lot nor in the free parking lot, if it is small. The free ones are marked with dotted white lines near the sidewalks, but they are all certainly occupied, and the paid ones are blue, and they are also almost always occupied, with the exception of the parking lot near the beach (it is very large there). There are almost always parking meters in places with blue markings, and special announcements in the form of road signs indicate on what days and at what time you should pay for parking. For example, in the same beach parking lot the announcement said that from May 1 (I think) to August 31 (also in my opinion) parking is free around the clock only on weekdays. On weekends and holidays from 20 pm to 8 or 9 am it is also free, but from 8 to 20 you had to pay for it and put the corresponding tickets under the glass. A car parked in the wrong place (especially in places where it can block the exit from the gate of a private garage) can easily be taken by a tow truck to the impound lot, and in this case you will have to pay a large fine (about 400 Jews, in my opinion). There are, of course, underground parking there (about 1 Jew per hour, and in some places the rate is even per minute: 0.021 Jew per minute).
When we approached the coast, it was already dark, and we again turned onto some serpentine road. Almost the same thing happened again, only in night mode. Fortunately, at least there were trees along the side of the road, just like in “daytime mode.” Not like on the road to Andorra (more on that later). Another 2 cars pulled up behind us, not daring to overtake us, although I was driving no faster than 40 km/h. And since the turns were very sharp, at some point at the turn I drove into oncoming traffic (okay, there was no oncoming traffic), so the 2 cars following us exactly repeated my trajectory! In general, we still got to Calella safely, only we were late for dinner.
On the seventh day, we decided to go to the beach after breakfast (but in vain: it would have been better to go earlier), and then go to the Paddling Pool, namely, to the glorious city of Perpignan (Paris will still be a bit far away). We reached the border without any problems, on good roads. At customs, however, it was somehow too busy: when we traveled from the Czech Republic to Austria, the customs posts on the border of these countries were empty booths, but on the way from there to Germany there were none at all. There were also checkpoints here, and cars passed through them slowly. There were also quite a few customs officers and cops. However, we passed through customs without any problems, no one checked our documents (we were a little anxious, because for security reasons we left our passports in the hotel chest, but we only had photocopies of them with us). Some time after crossing the border, the weather worsened and it began to rain. But when we entered Perpignan, it stopped. It's just a pity that it won't last long. We walked around the city center (it is noteworthy that all the street names on the walls of the houses there are indicated not only in French, but are also duplicated in Catalan), went to a wine shop, where the abundance of varieties makes your eyes wide open, we even bought a bottle to take with us for 5.7 Jews (I didn’t remember the name because the taste was nothing special), went to some cafe where they ate seafood. By the way, at this time (we arrived there at about 15 o’clock) many cafes do not serve food, but only drinks. Prices there everywhere are on average 10 - 15% higher than in Spain. Unfortunately, it was not possible to really see the city, because... There was little time left, and besides, the rain started pouring down again, it was contagious, so we decided to return to our “native” Spain. And there are traffic jams on the roads, you can go crazy! We barely moved in traffic for about half an hour, if not more. But then the road seemed to become clearer, so we got to the hotel without any problems. We even had time for dinner.
And on the eighth day we decided to rush to Andorra, having previously inquired whether car insurance covered this dwarf state. As it turned out, no, and for this it was necessary to pay 29 more Jews (as for the Paddling Pool). We agreed over the phone with a representative of the rental office that he would withdraw this amount from my credit card. We left around 12 or 13. And it was almost 200 km to Andorra, as it turned out from the signs. Of course, it was good to drive along the toll highway, because... there, with the allowed speed of 120 km/h, I was driving somewhere around 130 - 140. However, just before the border, a new ill-fated mountain serpentine began, and this road turned out to be longer than those two a couple of days ago, and, of course, narrow. We climbed very high into the mountains (almost 2000 m), so my wife was really scared that we would fly into the abyss, especially when trucks with 40-foot containers were jumping out from around the corners, so she constantly repeated to me: slow down and slow down. . And there I rarely accelerated more than 50 - 60 km/h. In the end, we were lucky enough to drive through this serpentine road (about 50 km in total), but we decided not to go back along it, but to go through the tunnel: we noticed it on a new map, which we later bought. We entered Andorra without any problems; no one checked our documents there. In the first town we entered, Sant Julia de Loria, we turned to the shopping center and parked the car in the underground parking lot. What is noteworthy is that in Andorra, the first hour of parking is usually free, and then prices begin to apply approximately the same as in Spain. In the store we specifically stocked up on Bukhara (but there’s no need to be overzealous with this, because on the way back they are busy at customs): 2 liter bottles of Kahlua liqueur (12 Jews each), a liter bottle of Cointreau (13.5 Jews) , a bottle of weak peach liqueur (7.5 Jew) and 3 bottles of strong, sickly-nauseating (as it later turned out) liqueur, even inside the bottles there was something like thin sticks on which sugar crystallized. One bottle was a rum-flavored type, another was a brandy-flavored type, and the third was a peach-flavored type (they still haven't drunk it yet). These liqueurs had different strengths - from 27% to 35%, and the capacity of 0.5 liters was indicated on two bottles, and 0.7 liters on the third, and this despite the fact that they are absolutely the same in volume! But it’s more likely 0.7. We arrived in Andorra at about half past five, and by the time we went to the supermarket and walked around the center of Sant Julia de Loria, it was already almost 7. Therefore, we decided that it would be better to spend the night in Andorra, and began to look for a suitable hotel. We went to one 3-star hotel - there they offered us a double room for about 45 Jews per night. However, the hotel administration was not satisfied with photocopies of passports, they demanded the originals, both of them, so we went to another hotel, where we were lucky: although it was more expensive (4*, and the room already cost 63 Jews per night + tweet to put car to the parking lot next to the hotel), but the administration was quite happy with a photocopy of my passport, and only mine. The hotel turned out to be very good for its 4 stars, I must say, the furniture is beautiful, the plumbing is luxurious, the windows have blinds controlled by special buttons located both at the window itself and at the beds. The only downside was that the bathroom soap dispenser didn't work, so you had to reach for the sink.
Having parked the car in the hotel parking lot, I was finally able to relax by tasting peach liqueur (not the sickly-nauseating kind, but regular one). Pretty good stuff. Then we went for a walk around the city again. It was already past 8 o’clock in the evening, and the shops there already closed at 8. However, at numerous gas stations you can buy various basic (and not only) essential goods. And gasoline (as always, 95 without Pb) was already cheaper there than in Spain - about 1.02 Jews per liter.
Then we went to a local cafe, where we were given a menu in only Catalan! This language is a cross between Spanish, French and Italian, however, even considering the fact that I speak all three of these languages, I do not always understand Catalan, so I asked the waiter to bring a menu in another language. Brought it in French. By the way, about the language. Despite the fact that in Andorra the official languages are Catalan, Spanish and French, the inscriptions there are almost never duplicated in the latter two languages. The local population, however, speaks fluent Spanish, and with someone else there I seemed to speak French. We ordered a liter of sangria, sliced duck fillet (magret de canard) and lasagne - everything was very tasty! The next morning we had to leave the hotel before 12 o'clock, and since we got up relatively early, we still had time to walk around the city, then paid the hotel and went to the capital - the city of Andorra de Vella.
At first we even wanted to take a new adventure - to go from Andorra to Spain through the Paddling Pool (otherwise we didn’t even try frogs there last time), from there it seems that it’s not so far to Toulouse, however, looking at the map, we saw that the only the road there leads through a mountain serpentine, so the wife flatly refused such an idea. Yes, I myself am not a very big fan of mountain roads: you won’t get much speed there. Therefore, we decided to return “home”, and certainly through the Del Cadi tunnel, and on the way stop in Montserrat. At the border, customs officers stopped cars, drove them into special “settlers” and demanded that the trunk be opened. The customs officer immediately asked me: “Tobacco?”
- No.
- Alcohol?
- Yes.
- How many?
Opening the trunk, I took a liter bottle of Kahlua out of my bag, and a bottle of Cointreau was lying somewhere nearby. This was not all, so I was already reaching into my bag to get other bottles, but the size of the bag, apparently, did not bother the customs officer at all, and he told me that everything was fine and I could move on. Although according to the law, it seems that only 2 liters of Bukhara can be imported per person, but we had a little more. Well, okay, we didn't mind.
The Del Cadi tunnel turned out to be quite long - about 5 km, and 11 Jews were torn off for entering it. If you don’t want to pay, you go to... the serpentine road. No, thank you, the serpentines were more than enough for us, so upon arrival in Montserrat we also did not climb the mountain by car, but left it in the parking lot and went up the cable car (cable car). Alternatively, you could climb up the rack railway, which is called a cremallera. A ticket for the funicular cost 8.5 Jew per person round trip (the suspended “car” departs every 15 minutes). It would be interesting to return back on the rack, but the stop of these carriages is provided quite far from the funicular, and therefore from the car, so we returned back the same way. The feeling from the cable car is, so to speak, unusual: it is not recommended for people suffering from acrophobia. We went up in 5 minutes - there was something like an observation deck with monuments, museums, shops and bus stops. It was possible to even go up even higher on some other train or go down into a cave. But we didn’t do this, limiting ourselves to the observation deck. In one of the shops there they offered tasting of 5 or 6 types of liqueurs, this pleasure cost 1 Jew. Since I was driving, my wife took over the tasting. Then we took her a couple of “scales” of liqueur - for the funicular, because... Without the “calming agent” she was quite scared. By the way, in that store the saleswomen even knew something in Russian, as did the street vendors from whom we bought 2 wheels of cheese: one goat, the other lamb. The saleswoman from whom we bought it also sold honey, the properties of which she tried to explain in Russian. However, I told her, you don’t have to worry, speak Spanish, I understand. She was happy about this and began to tell me in Spanish about the medicinal properties of different types of honey: just like in Laertius’s song about the pharmacy it turns out: “For diarrhea, for constipation and for erectile dysfunction...” :D We, however, buy honey from her didn’t, because We already bought a jar of eucalyptus along with liqueurs.
The view from the observation deck is simply amazing, there is something to photograph!
Arriving at the hotel and turning on the emergency lights (to justify parking incorrectly), we unloaded our things from the car, and I took it to the parking lot to return it the next day. It had to be returned with a full tank (previously filled up) and clean (in Andorra, the rain washed it so well overnight that we returned it even cleaner than we took it, so we didn’t have to spend money on washing). After that, we went to dinner, where it turned out that that day there was some kind of holiday in Spain (or at least in Catalonia), so all the hotel staff dressed up in national holiday costumes, and one guy from the reception actually dressed up dressed as a bullfighter and gave himself a clown nose. Local vacationers also dressed up. And at the entrance to the hotel restaurant, all women were given red carnations. Dinner was also festive: there was paella, gazpacho, and other national dishes that were not usually there.
Returning to the room, we decided to taste the strong liquor, which, as I wrote above, turned out to be sickly and nauseating, so we decided to drink it the next day on the beach in the form of cocktails.
On the tenth day, having contacted the rental office through the reception and safely returned the car (we simply gave the keys to the same representative of the rental office and told where the car was parked; he even refused to inspect it in our presence, saying that he trusted us), we took bottle of liquor, finished the day before, and went to the beach. There, at the beach bar, we took lemonade and Sprite (2 Jews each), as well as plastic cups with ice and straws (this was already a free add-on) and prepared simple cocktails, mixing these drinks with liquor in various proportions. I can’t say it’s very tasty, but you can still drink it. Just in case, we wrapped the liquor in opaque bags, otherwise I don’t know if it was possible to drink Bukhara there on the beach, especially since there were 2 cops scurrying along the beach that day.
That day we spent quite a long time on the beach, and in the late afternoon we went for a walk in the city center along the local Arbat. Then we returned to the hotel to look at a special folder in which the guide was supposed to place information about the time and place of arrival of the transfer to the airport. By the way, on the first day, having dropped us off at the hotel, the “transfer guide” informed us that they would pick us back up from the same stop. However, in the folder we found information that they would pick us up from another stop and indicated the Mercadona supermarket as a reference point. And this supermarket, I must say, is not very noticeable from afar, so we did not find it right away and not without the help of the hotel staff. Having finally found this very stop, we again went for a walk around the city. Having walked around and bought some souvenirs, we went to the hotel to pack our things, because... the next day we had to vacate the room before 10 am. No, of course, it could have been extended for 30 Jews, but we decided that we could do without it.
The last day of our stay has arrived, how time flew by! I really wanted to stay there for another week or two, and theoretically this could even be done, since we were given multiple visas and for six months, but my vacation was already coming to an end.
So, having handed over the room, as well as the larva from the chest and received a tweet back, we left our things in the hotel storage room (there are even pay scales next to the camera - you drop a 1 euro coin and put your luggage on them) and went to the beach. Apparently, so that we would not be too upset about the upcoming departure, the weather in the morning was not the best: it was too cloudy. True, the sun did come out again later. After swimming in the sea for the last time during that trip, we went to look for a place to eat. We went to the “Indian”, from whom we also bought a telephone card (we had to order a taxi) and a couple of magnets - he was so happy with us, as if we wanted to buy the whole store from him, and again gave us a bottle of mineral water, which, however, We already had more than enough, they even left one large bottle there. Then we found some restaurant with an antique-style interior, where, among other things, we ordered some small octopuses and snails. It’s quite tasty, although it will take you a long time to pick snails out of their shells (this is done with some kind of sticks like toothpicks, only bigger). After that we went to the hotel, because... In an hour and a half, the transfer to the airport was supposed to arrive, and, as always, not to the hotel itself - we still had to go to it. That day I even took a swim in the hotel pool, although I usually prefer to swim in the sea. The pool is small, with a depth of 1.1 m to 1.9 m. Then, after changing clothes and taking our clothes from the storage room, we went to the stop where another couple of vacationers was sitting, who, as it turned out, were waiting for the same bus. The bus ended up being about 40 minutes late, although tourists are warned not to be late under any circumstances, because... in this case, they will not wait for the tourist, deciding that he has decided to go to the airport on his own. This was explained by the fact that the bus was involved in a minor accident. We were the last to be picked up, so after that we immediately went to Barcelona to the airport. However, as a result of the bus delay, we were one of the very last to arrive and found ourselves at the end of the queue for registration, and by that time the queues had already accumulated. They also moved slowly due to linguistic problems in communication between airport staff and passengers. There were also problems with the weight of luggage: airport scales did not allow weighing luggage heavier than 32 kg, so the owners of such happiness had to repack it, taking something out of it. Many also had beach umbrellas with them (including us), which were not accepted into luggage without plastic packaging (we pre-packed ours - for 6 Jews). But the employees who did not speak foreign languages had to somehow explain this to the passengers! Only then did 2 interpreters arrive, and the line moved faster. As a result, we had to go through passport control and pre-flight inspection in turbocharged mode, which, however, did not stop us from jumping into a dealership and taking a “martira” for 6.9 Jew. The problem was further complicated by the enormous size of the airport itself, so that the required gate was not so easy to find, and then to get to it. Due to the slow movement of the queue, the flight was delayed: the departure was scheduled for 20:00, and at that time we only managed to check in our luggage, and there were still people standing behind us. And when we finally got on the plane, it turned out that two unlucky passengers had checked in their luggage, after which they mysteriously disappeared, and attempts to find them led nowhere. And since, according to the rules of air transportation, it is prohibited to transport luggage without its owners on board, the luggage of these weirdos had to be searched for, which required unloading almost all the rest of the luggage. This caused additional flight delays. As a result, the flight was delayed by about an hour and a half.
Upon arrival in Moscow, we safely passed customs, despite exceeding the norm for transporting Bukhara.
In conclusion, I can say that we were very pleased with our vacation (even despite some mistakes from the travel agency, airport workers and those two unlucky passengers; the hotel, the beach, the country itself - we all really liked it), and we wish the same for everyone else.
Gatto
31/01/2012 11:20
The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.
Calella is an excellent base for excursions, as the city is equally close to many of Catalonia's main attractions. From here, various excursions are held not only in Spain, but also in France. This page presents the most interesting group excursions from Calella in Russian, as well as their prices and information on where and what excursion is best to buy. There are also links to a more detailed description on the website of one well-known company, which I will discuss below.
Where to go on an excursion from Calella
As I said above, excursions from this city are conducted to different places. If you decide to go to Spain for the first time, then I advise you to definitely go on an excursion to Barcelona. Although it is possible to get to Barcelona on your own and see many of the sights, contrary to popular belief, it is not always cheaper than a tour. You must understand that it is difficult to see on your own everything that you will see during the tour.
Another important landmark of Spain is Mount Montserrat with its monastery. Currently, you have the opportunity to combine a visit to Montserrat and Barcelona if you buy a “2 in” excursion. So far, only one company sells such an excursion.
Where else can you go on an excursion from Calella? The city of Girona and the Salvador Dali Museum deserve attention. Visits to these places can also be combined. For those wishing to learn a lot of interesting things about rural life in Spain, I recommend an excursion to Rupit and Besala.
From Calella you can also travel to countries neighboring Spain, such as Andorra and France. There are actually 3 different excursions offered in France.
If you are ready for long trips, you can go on an excursion to Nice, Monaco, and Cannes. These are beautiful French cities on the Mediterranean coast. Also during this excursion you will visit the cities of Eze and San Remo (Italy).
By the way, you can also go from Calella on a 2-day excursion to Madrid. But during this excursion you will visit not only Madrid, but also cities such as Toledo, Zaragoza and Consuegra.
Where to buy excursions in Calella
Unlike Lloret de Mar, where travel agencies are located on almost every corner, there are not many places selling excursions in Calella. Almost all of these agencies compete with each other, which sometimes leads to unfair play.
IMPORTANT
Do not think that all agencies in Calella sell the same excursions. In fact, the excursion program may vary greatly. Therefore, you should not look only at the price, because by saving 2-5 euros, you can buy an excursion with not the best program.
Is it possible to book excursions in Calella while in Moscow, St. Petersburg or another city? Yes, some sites allow you to do this, but almost always this requires an advance payment (full cost or some percentage).
So far, the only site that allows you to book excursions in Calella in advance without having to make an advance payment is CBTours.. In addition to the ability to book excursions in advance, this site also offers the lowest prices and some excursions with unique programs.
Since I booked excursions with this company and was completely satisfied with the service and the excursions themselves, I recommend that you also pay attention to it.
Now it's time to introduce group excursions from Calella, which are conducted in Russian.
Excursions from Calella to France
As I said earlier, there are 3 excursions to France:
- French Riviera (Nice, Monaco, Cannes).
- South of France (Perpignan and Collioure)
- Carcassonne and Narbonne
Now I will explain to you what is best suited for whom.
French Riviera
This is one of the best excursions from Calella, if not the best. You will visit the beautiful cities of the French Riviera and see dozens of attractions. The trip lasts 2 days, and overnight stays can be in different places. I advise you to choose an excursion that includes an overnight stay at a hotel in San Remo.
The excursion will appeal primarily to girls and those who love intense programs.
Carcassonne and Narbonne
A trip to the areas of France bordering Spain with a visit to a medieval castle. This castle is the main highlight of the program; the rest is not so interesting. By the way, Carcassonne is not a castle, but a fortified city. In general, it is very easy to decide whether you need this excursion or not. For the money it sells for, this is a pretty good option.
Perpignan and Collioure
If you just want to visit France, but don't want to go on a 2-day excursion, then this is a pretty good option. Perpignan and Collioure are unlikely to be able to compete with the cities of the French Riviera in terms of the number and popularity of their attractions, but the cost of travel to these cities is also low. So, as an economical option for those who want to visit France at least for show, Perpignan and Collioure are good options.
Excursions from Calella in Spain
Excursions to Barcelona
Your first trip to Spain (meaning the region of Catalonia) should not be complete without getting to know Barcelona. After all, we are talking about one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
In Calella you can buy several programs around Barcelona from budget trips without a guide to individual excursions. The best option in terms of price and quality ratio is Barcelo Güell. This is a long excursion during which you will see as many sights as possible. At the same time, it is not that expensive. Want even cheaper? You can find cheap excursions, but be prepared for the fact that such excursions last only 7-9 hours, of which about 4 hours is just the trip to Barcelona and back.
Excursion to Montserrat
As with Barcelona, there are several excursions to Montserrat with different programs. But I would recommend choosing the Montserrat + Barcelona option, since you won't have to travel almost the same route twice. But this option is not suitable for those who have already been to Barcelona and do not really want to waste time on it again.
Excursion to Madrid
Yes, the excursion is expensive, but it lasts two days, includes hotel accommodation in Madrid and visits to four beautiful cities. This is the most action-packed tour of Spain from Calella, so if you want to see a lot of interesting things during your visit to Spain, this will be a great option for you. You can see the description of the program if you follow the link below.
Rupit and Besalu
If I were to choose the most uninteresting excursion from Calella, it would be the “Rupit and Besalu” program. No, the excursion is not so bad, but other options are much more interesting. I can recommend Rupit and Besala only to those who have already seen everything and been everywhere. If you have not yet taken at least one excursion from those that I presented above, then I recommend first filling this gap, and then paying attention to Rupit and Besala.
Excursion from Calella to Andorra
In most cases, a program is sold that only includes transfer to Andorra and back and free time. The services of a Russian-speaking guide are not provided. In principle, this decision is quite understandable, since there are practically no attractions in Andorra. This is primarily a great place for shopping and walking.
Entertainment
In addition to many excursions, Calella also offers various activities. This is a trip to Port Aventura Park, water parks in Lloret de Mar, a Flamenco show and a knight's tournament. These are no longer excursions, but simply entertainment programs. They are sold at the same price everywhere, so you shouldn’t wonder where it’s cheaper to buy them. As I said, the price is the same everywhere.
The location of the railway station of the city of Calella (Calella) you can see on the map of the city.
Calella railway station, Calella, Calella on Google map
The station premises are small - a couple of turnstiles, a ticket office, and a ticket machine. We get in line, if there is one, go to the window and say: “Por favor, dos billetes de ida y vuelta a Barcelona” (por fabor, dos billetes de ida and buelta a Barcelona). “Please, two tickets, round trip to Barcelona.” You can write this phrase in advance on a piece of paper and submit it to the window. Everyone is very friendly. No one will scold you if you make a mistake in pronunciation. It is advisable, of course, to buy a Spanish phrasebook at home. These phrases are there. Be sure to ask the cashier for the train schedule: “Por favor, horarios de los trenes a Barcelona.” The schedule can be viewed on the Internet, we need blue line R1 — Schedule R1. On the Internet you can also see a map of Catalonia's commuter train lines - Catalonia's commuter train map. Sometimes schedule books are on the counter at the cash register. Select the one you need - R1 (see photo below). Feel free to take it - they are free.
Ticket to Barcelona. Zones 1-5. Departure point: Calella. YDA Y REGRES - "There and back." 6.40 EUR.
Reverse side of the ticket. Turnstile recorder records - date and time of turnstile passage.
Train timetable - Line R1.
Ticket prices:
Single trip ticket
1 zone: 1.40 €
2 zone: 1.60 €
3 zone: 2.40 €
4 zone: 3.00 €
Zone 5: 3.65 € – Calea, Calella, Calella
6 zone: 4.65 €
Single-ride tickets are valid for 2 hours from the date of sale. Having purchased a round-trip ticket, you need to go through the first turnstile (there) and board the train within 2 hours from the date of sale.
Ticket for 10 trips (BONOTREN)
1 zone: 7.45 €
2 zone: 10.70 €
3 zone: 16.90 €
4 zone: 21.85 €
Zone 5: 26.75 € – Calea, Calella, Calella
6 zone: 31.35 €
A ticket for 10 trips is valid for 1 month from the date of “validation”. The first trip must be made within 2 hours from the moment the ticket is sold. Several people can use the ticket at the same time, provided that their destination is the same.
*Ticket prices above are subject to change. Ticket prices can be found on the official website of Catalonia commuter trains - Zones and tariffs.
There is a display inside the station where you can see from which track the desired train departs. We are going to Barcelona. Therefore, we need a line with the destination - L'Hospitalitet de Llobregat or Molins de Rei. I repeat, these are the names of the terminal stations. You won't see any Barcelona on the scoreboard. There is also a scoreboard on each platform. We board the train, whose final station is - L'Hospitalitet de Llobregat or Molins de Rei.
Expanded schedule.
In the schedule (see top picture) we pay attention to the tables - there are four of them: Work Days (working days) - towards Barcelona, from Barcelona. Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays (Sundays and public holidays) - towards Barcelona, from Barcelona. As an example, in the picture, the schedule is expanded on the table “Working days - towards Barcelona”. The first line, underlined in red, shows the departure of the train at 6.01 from Calella, Calella. Please note that the train starts at Calella. We will get off in Barcelona at Plaza Catalunya station, Barcelona-Pl. Catalunya, to which the train should arrive at 7.08, according to the schedule. The second, underlined line shows the departure of the train from Kalea at 7.11. The train, mind you, is passing and arrives at the Plaza Catalunya station, Barcelona-Pl. Catalunya, at 8.17, according to the schedule. Do not confuse the station where we will need to get off in Barcelona with the final destination of the train. In the first line the end point is Molins de Rei. In the second - L'Hospitalitet de Llobregat. Let me remind you once again that by these names of the terminal stations we look at the departure route of the train we need.
Railway station Calella
Calella railway station - exit
Calella railway station - cafe
Watch passengers pass through the turnstiles. It will immediately become clear to you how to use them. At the exit from the turnstile, you pick up your ticket and keep it until the end of the trip (in our case, a round-trip trip, therefore until you return to Calella, Calella). We go to the desired platform. For orientation, if you stand on the platform facing the sea, Barcelona will be on the right. You also need to know that passengers open the doors on commuter trains and the metro themselves, using buttons located outside and inside the train. Thus, the doors will be opened by a passenger leaving the train or by you yourself by pressing the green button located outside the car at each door. If you approach a train carriage that is departing in the direction you need, and the doors of the carriage are closed, feel free to press the button and enter the carriage. Be prepared for the fact that the carriage will be cool (air conditioning is on). If the train is passing, then with a high degree of probability you will stand the entire way. Travel time is approximately 1 hour 10 minutes. Therefore, if you have time, choose trains departing from Calella - you will sit, and you will also be able to choose the desired side.
City of Calella in Spain
Calella (aka Calella, Caleia, Calella) is one of the most popular cities on the Costa del Maresme, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, this is, of course, the location. From Calella to Barcelona it is the closest (if we take into account only tourist places), there is a choice of transport - train or bus, the city is not too congested, beautiful beaches, the opportunity to communicate with locals and developed infrastructure.
Calella is part of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, province of Barcelona. About 20 thousand people live here on an area of approximately 10 square kilometers. A huge advantage of the city is its elongation along the sea. Even if you are accommodated in the “farthest” hotel from the sea, the journey to the beach will still take no more than 10 minutes. And the beach, even during peak season, makes it possible to relax without stepping on each other. However, more about the beaches below.
Hotels in Calella
First, about hotels. The best hotels in Calella score more than 4.5 points on Tophotels. At the same time, the prices are quite affordable, you can see this for yourself by choosing a tour online in a special section on our website.
If you want to live near the beach, but not overpay for a trip, consider President 3* (by the way, it is presented in our rating of the best hotels in Spain), located on the first (in fact, second) line, very pleasant, suitable for both families and youth companies.
Among the four, the best hotels in Calella include Best Western Hotel Les Palmeres 4*. This is a hotel of the Best chain, popular in Spain; perhaps you have already stayed in similar ones in another city. Tourists appreciate it for its location and excellent food.
In addition, inexpensive hotels in Calella with good ratings are Volga 3*, Kaktus Playa 3* and Mar Blau 3*. The latter is located a little further than the previous ones from the beach, but don’t let this scare you: in a small town everything is nearby!
Spaces in popular hotels sometimes run out long before arrival. If you didn't have enough, you can also look at Maritim Calella 3* and Balmes 3*. Both are close to the center, both are time-tested. The “three rubles” of Catalonia and Medplaya Santa Monica do not go unnoticed.
Even in inexpensive hotels in Calella there is usually a wonderful buffet: fruit, ice cream, salads, fish, meat, chicken, lots of vegetables, sometimes seafood and local cuisine, including Paella. There are also entertainment programs almost everywhere. Three stars in Spain have almost nothing in common with hotels of the same category in Turkey and Egypt.
Transport in Calella: how to get there
There is no public transport in the city itself - it is too small. Therefore, tourists are more interested in how to get from Barcelona airport to Calella, from Calella to Barcelona and other cities.
Firstly, to get from Barcelona Airport to Calella, you can take the Sagales bus 614. It departs from the second terminal and goes to Blanes via Calella along the coast. Theoretically, it stops in as many as three places, but there is not much difference, since the town is really small. But there is a difference for those who leave Calella for Barcelona airport: you can do it from the stops Sant Jaume - Mar Benzinera, Sant Jaume - Sant Josep - Mercat or Sant Jaume - Placa de les Roses. Local residents can easily tell you where it is.
The road from Barcelona El Prat Airport to Calella takes about an hour (a little more), in winter buses run about 5 times a day, in summer - almost 10. The fare is about 6 euros.
If you need to get from Calella to Barcelona (and this is very convenient, there is no need to take an excursion), then use the Barcelona North Station website (barcelonanord.com) to find out the schedule. As you already understood, this is where you will arrive by bus from Calella. The journey also takes about an hour and costs about 6 euros. The North Station is located next to the Arc de Triomphe, one of the landmarks of Barcelona.
For those who need to get from Barcelona to Calella at night, take the N82 bus from Pr. de Gracia towards Pineda de Mar. This is a bus from the same Sagales company.
The second and, in my opinion, more convenient way to get to Calella from Barcelona or the airport is to use trains. Don’t be alarmed if you see the word “transplants”, in Spain everything is very simple with them.
From Barcelona you can take trains that go along the R1 line towards Masanet-Massanes, Blanes and Calella itself (this can all be the end, any option suits you). Electric trains on this line run through Barcelona Sants train stations (near Plaza de España, Montjuic, fountains), Pl. Catalunya (near the Gothic Quarter, center, shopping streets), Arc de Triomf station (near, of course, the Arc, Northern Bus Station, Gothic Quarter, Barceloneta area, beach), El Clot Arago station (near the Sagrada Familia and Agbar Tower) .
The first trains from Barcelona start running around 6 am, and the last trains leave around 11 pm. From Calella - they start a little later and finish a little earlier. Travel time from Barcelona to Calella is about 1 hour 15 minutes, the fare is about 6 euros (4 tariff zones). You can buy a pass for about 40 euros for 10 trips - to the same zones, then it will be more profitable. We have a whole section about tickets and fares, choose what is convenient for you. Trains between Barcelona and Calella run every 10–30 minutes, so you can always easily travel in any direction during the day.
If you need to go not just to Barcelona, but to the airport, you will have to make a transfer. It is most convenient to change trains at Barcelona Sants station, or at El Clot Arago station. The R2 train line runs from Barcelona to the airport. A special article on our website tells you in detail about how to get from Barcelona to El Prat airport, but you can just remember that there is only one transfer: if you go to the airport, from line R1 to R2, and if vice versa, then from R2 on R1. I don’t think anyone will confuse the direction.
And the nice thing is that if you are not going to leave the station, but just make a transfer, then you don’t have to buy a new ticket. You still remain within the paid zones (Calella is in the fourth), so the main thing is to carefully monitor the scoreboard.
Trains at Barcelona Airport stop near the second terminal; the first can be reached by a free 24-hour bus in about 20 minutes. The first trains to and from the airport run from approximately 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; the schedule can be viewed on the website renfe.es.
If you still have questions about how to get somewhere from Calella, don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments!
Calella on the map of Spain
On the map you can see that the city area also includes mountains: no tourists live there, you can just admire nature, and all the hotels are located along the coastline. Everything marked yellow is a beach.
Sights of Calella: what to see, recreation and reviews
Of course, small resort towns are far from European capitals in terms of the number of attractions - and this is understandable. However, even in such cozy places there is something to see. In Calella, pay attention to the Church of St. Mary. This building dates back several centuries; it will be interesting to see it not only for those involved in religion.
The small town also has its own museum-archive. It is located in the very center, and even the building of this museum is remarkable. There is a courtyard, wonderful exhibits about how people used to live in these places, and a passionate tour guide. The museum also conducts scientific work.
Another attraction of Calella is visible from almost any point on the coast - the Lighthouse. It was built in the mid-19th century, not only to mark the coastline, but also to monitor approaching ships - the guard function was especially important in those days. Now there is peace and tranquility off the coast of Calella, but the lighthouse is maintained in excellent condition.
Lovers of unusual plants, quiet walks, shade in the midday heat and games with children will appreciate Dalmau Park. This is something between a park, a botanical garden, a place for games and relaxation. And most importantly, entry is absolutely free. Located in the part of the city far from the beach.
Those who like to book a tour without meals or only with breakfast will be interested in where to eat in Calella. You can try different types of cuisine at the Macanudo – Sabor Argention restaurant. Of course, Argentinean cuisine, as well as local cuisine, desserts, barbecue, pasta. Prices start from a few euros and reach several tens per dish. The restaurant is considered inexpensive.
Another restaurant with mixed cuisine (mostly Mediterranean) is Pinoccio. The average bill is about 15 euros.
The small Mamma Mia cafe offers guests Italian and Spanish cuisine, ice cream, pizza, and desserts. The average bill is about 10 euros.
The main entertainment for the residents of Calella is, of course, trips to Barcelona. We also recommend checking out our Excursions section to find out where else you can go from the coast. Don't forget about the water parks WaterWorld and Marineland (where there is even a free bus for those with tickets), but getting to the famous Port Aventura park will not be very easy. You can take a tour or go to Salou with a transfer in Barcelona. For details - in the comments!
Beaches of Calella
And, of course, one of the main attractions of Calella is its beaches! According to some sources there is only one beach, according to others – several. In fact, it is a long and wide strip of sand that stretches for about 4 kilometers and is divided into parts by rocks. The main part of the beach is about 3 km long and is considered the main beach of Calella. Every year it receives the Blue Flag - a special award for environmental friendliness and cleanliness. There are generally many Blue Flags on the Costa del Maresme. The beach is equipped with paths, toilets in the passages, a cafe, and rental of umbrellas and sunbeds. If you stand facing the sea, then on the right - closer to the lighthouse - there will be a nudist part, it is fenced off by rocks. There are many nudist beaches in Spain. On the left, already on the outskirts, there are small coves - small beaches.
Thanks to its huge area, Calella beach is not too busy even in July and August, although of course it gets quite noisy at this time. All beaches of Calella are free, there are no restrictions on entry, but sunbeds and umbrellas are only for money. That's why many people just lie on towels. There are no problems with this, since the sand is very clean and coarse. The beaches are cleaned daily, but the residents themselves almost never throw garbage near the sea.
By the way, you can even go diving on one of the distant beaches. Some note that along the entire beach strip - even before the hotels - there is a railway. However, it does not interfere with rest at all, since it is well fenced off and not too noisy. There are passages under the road and across it in some places. It is better, of course, to use underground ones. The sand is a beautiful golden color, the entrance is not too shallow, but this does not bother even children.
If you have any questions about Calella, ask them in the comments.
