A Taste of North Catalonia

Seven nights, self-guided, through the best of northern Catalonia in a compact one-week route. Caminos arranges the hotels and an economy hire car, with flights into Girona or Barcelona from most UK airports, and suggests the 14-night Discover Northern Catalonia tour for anyone with more time.

The route combines three very different landscapes: the Catalan Pyrenees, the Volcanic Park of La Garrotxa and the Costa Brava. In the north-west mountains Caminos points to trekking in the accessible Aiguestortes i Sant Maurici National Park, the Aneto glacier and picture-postcard villages with World Heritage Romanesque churches. The finale is a coast of crystal clear water, where you can walk the Cami de Ronda or simply sit in the sun.

Two nights in the Val d’Aran, Boi and Aneu are the gateway to Aiguestortes and the highest peaks of the Alt Pirineu. Two nights in the Garrotxa Volcanic Park follow, with medieval Santa Pau, the Jewish quarter of Besalu, the chapel of Santa Margarida set in a crater and the local Cuina Volcanica, cooking based on ingredients grown in volcanic soil. A balloon ride over the volcanoes is one option, and Figueres with its Dali museum is nearby. The last three nights are on the Costa Brava, with fishing villages, beach hopping, historic Girona and the coastal path.

The price covers hotels on a bed and breakfast basis for two sharing a double room, an economy four-door hire car for those flying, a regional guide book and a personal travel app with restaurant suggestions and weather forecasts, and instructions for finding every hotel. Flights, one-way and cross-border car hire charges, extras such as a second driver, garage parking and local tourist taxes are not included. Caminos quotes about £1,100 per person as an indicative mid-season figure for 7 nights, and adapts the route, hotels and airports to each traveller.