Top 10 Catalonia cruising grounds, marinas and anchorages

The sunny coast of Catalonia lies opposite Mallorca, stretching 270 miles from the Ebro River delta in the south to the French border near Cap Cerbère. It includes two very distinctive holiday costas – Dorada the golden coast and Brava the wild coast. Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is 100 miles from Mallorca’s Puerto Pollensa, but there’s much more to this region than just the big city. From this rich menu I have chosen my ten favourite stretches of the Costa Catalana, a feast for many summers cruising. Gulf of Sant Jordi The far south-west of Catalonia is low and flat, where Spain’s largest river meets the sea through a wide marshy delta fringed with shoals. An old lighthouse stands a mile inshore, marooned by advancing silt. But on the north side of this eerie expanse, the Gulf of Sant Jordi has several treats to explore. Often missed by boats on passage, Ampolla is a traditional Catalan fishing port with a low-key marina. The amiable town is the kind of place where, lingering a few days, you get to know the shopkeepers and the waiters at the Fata Morgana pizzeria behind the yacht club. The harbour faces the Ebro delta, a shimmering mirage under the hot summer sun. With a separate marina just inside the entrance, Amtella de Mar (pictured above) is a charming unspoilt fishing harbour with a restful old town of narrow streets and bright, whitewashed houses along the waterfront. The warm fragrance of maquis (a local shrub) wafts down the hillside. The daily fish auction is a lively scene and to taste the result make for La Bocana restaurant, near the north-west corner of the inner harbour. Beyond Ametlla is a string of sandy coves where you can anchor in calm conditions. Cala Forn is particularly attractive and beyond it Sant Jordi d’Alfama is a small peaceful marina surrounded by villas in manicured gardens. Enter carefully because the basin is prone to silting, but if you find a berth Sant Jordi is a little gem for a night or two. Half a mile further north, Calafat is a larger marina backed by leafy slopes of holiday villas. Tarragona and Cape Salou Tarragona! A romantic Spanish name befitting an ancient Roman port and its walled town on a rocky hill between the blue Med and its rolling hinterland. While the modern port is vast and sprawling, the marina outside it – Portu Esportiu – is a pleasant place to lie and handy for exploring the old city. You simply must call at Tarragona to savour its civilised vibes and rich history. Portu Esportiu has a welcoming club and a long golden beach to the east. From the marina you cross the coast road and railway into town and walk north-east, climbing through increasingly narrow streets towards the original Roman quarter and a resplendent 12th century cathedral gazing across a tangle of red roofs. Time stands still as you wander its ornate cloisters and courtyard gardens. [caption id="attachment_47071" align="alignnone" width="630"] The Roman statue of Ceasar Augustus at Tarragona[/caption] Around the cathedral you can explore a warren of shaded alleys and twisting steps. At lunchtime look out for Les Coques restaurant, a block south-east of the cathedral in Calle Sant Llorenc. Here you can truly relax over accomplished Catalan cooking. The old inner basin of Tarragona docks is now a specialist harbour reserved for superyachts longer than 30m. Smart promenade waterfronts with restaurants and trendy cafés are developing around Port Tarraco , and the opulent vessels moored here are incredible to see. South-west of Tarragona, the bold headland of Cape Salou juts out to a lighthouse and signal tower. Although the cape is quite built up, there are several sleepy coves around its steep-to shores where you can anchor in quiet weather. A glorious long beach on the north-west side is backed by pines and dunes. Torredembarra to Port Segur You enter the perfectly sheltered marina of Torredembarra just east of Punta de la Galera, a pronounced headland ending in a tall white lighthouse on a rocky spur (pictured below). The basin is tucked beneath low sandstone cliffs and gentle wooded slopes dotted with villas, one of the finest, most relaxing settings on the Costa Dorada. [caption id="attachment_47072" align="alignnone" width="630"] Torredembarra lighthouse - Picture: Sergio Morchon[/caption] East of the marina is a mouth-watering beach whose shallow water gleams a luxurious turquoise. The harbour promenade has plenty of cafés and bistros, but my favourite restaurant is El Capitan, north of the marina behind the beach. A dozen miles further east, Port Segur is a more glitzy marina built out from the beach at Calafell. You approach from the south-west between two curved breakwaters and the reception berth is just inside. Behind the inner basin are wide promenades with cafés and a restaurant. The marina services are comprehensive and Port Segur is a safe and practical place to leave a boat for a while, only 50km from Barcelona airport. Port Aiguadolç and Port Garraf For a taste of Catalonia’s more rugged character, don’t miss the pleasant marina of Port Aiguadolç at Sitges – its dramatic backdrop of hills sheltering the town from chilly Levante north-easterlies. This shield gives Sitges a mild winter climate, which over a century ago made the original village popular as a Spanish Riviera, though the Romans settled here long before that. Sitges is an interesting, arty, counter-culture sort of town, with a famous autumn film festival and extravagant winter carnival. [caption id="attachment_47073" align="alignnone" width="630"] Sitges Harbour - Picture: SantiMB[/caption] In the late 19th century the Catalan modernist painter Santiago Rusiñol lived here, producing strikingly vivid landscapes of Catalonia. Exploring Sitges, stroll along the cobbled esplanade and be sure to visit the Thursday or Saturday markets in Plaça Catalunya. For real Catalan cooking, it’s worth a short taxi ride out to La Masía on Passeig Vilanova, a lively restaurant in an old country house with balmy terrace gardens. Seven miles east of Aiguadolç, Port Garraf is a large, surprisingly peaceful marina in a stunning position beneath the western peaks of the Sierra de la Gardia. Well worth a night or two, Garraf is perfectly snug and untouristy. Barcelona and Port Olímpic Catalonia’s historic capital is chic and vibrant with first-class marinas, some exciting modern architecture and gorgeous parks. Cultured and self-confident, Barcelona is one of the most rewarding Med cities to visit by boat. The port is huge and you feel insignificant creeping in between massive digues, dry docks and passenger quays to the yacht basins at the north end. Near the heart of the city, Marina Port Vell (pictured below) is the best billet in Barcelona, overlooked by Montjuic Castle and the hot slopes of Tibidabo hill. Port Vell is close to Barcelona’s old Gothic quarter and its many splendid buildings from the 13th to 15th centuries. Modest sized boats berth right at the north end, opposite the elegant arcades and stone façade of the Catalonia History Museum. The famous main street, La Rambla, is not far from Port Vell and you should enjoy this elegant pedestrian avenue in early evening, the hour of the paseo when families stroll out to see and be seen. In the cool of early morning, head for the mouth-watering Boqueria market, halfway up La Rambla. North of Port Vell is the imposing city park and Parliament of Catalonia. Built for the 1992 Olympic Games, the well-run Port Olímpic marina is two miles north of the Port Vell dock entrance and right on the coast with beaches either side. Port Olímpic is a quieter, cheaper alternative for visiting Barcelona. Its metro station, Ciutadella-Vila Olimpica , is 10mins walk from the marina. North of Port Olímpic are two newer Barcelona marinas – Port Forum and Marina Badalona. Blanes Tucked beneath a wooded hill and an old castle, Blanes (pictured below) is a pleasant fishing and yacht harbour, a welcome change after cruising up the mostly flat coastline from Barcelona. The town has good beaches and an intriguing ruined palace. The cliffs start rising immediately beyond Blanes and a procession of headlands stretches away to the distant corner of Catalonia. East of Blanes you start seeing the coves, calas and fine white beaches, which make the Costa Brava so enticing from the sea. Many smaller calas can only be reached by boat and you anchor in such piercingly clear water that plunging overboard is irresistible. Three miles from Blanes you skirt the packed resort of Lloret de Mar before the coast turns wild again past a string of inlets, rocky clefts and mysterious caves. Cala Gran is delightful and then you reach the tiny club marina at Canyelles. Tucked under a wooded cliff near a dazzling beach, Cala Canyelles has a narrow gap into a shallow pool where locals moor stern-to the jetties. If there’s room, visiting boats up to about 35ft can squeeze into the first section behind the breakwater, but in settled weather you can anchor off the beach. Beyond Cape Tossa, the high coast has dozens of calas, many with tempting beaches. Good spots for anchoring are Calas Pola, Giverola, Salionç, Senyor Ramon and Canyerets. Beyond Point Garbí is an impressive sweeping bay where a long mole protects the relaxed, pleasure-seeking marina at Sant Feliu de Guíxols . Created in a river delta, the winding village-style marina of Port d’Aro is set between a wooded park and a halcyon beach. Snug in any weather, Port d’Aro is a safe place to winter and has good facilities for getting work done. Palamós This genial town has two marinas – one in the main harbour (pictured below) and the newer Marina Palamós just to the east. Marina Palamós has a pampering restaurant which may tempt you to linger a day or two to sample the leisurely lunches still enjoyed in Catalonia. Palamós is renowned for a special type of large prawn, some of which look like young lobsters! The coast becomes higher and more spectacular as you work east. Just beyond Palamós, La Fosca is a superb bay with a golden beach and turquoise water. Then comes Cap Roig nature reserve, a wooded shore with no buildings, no roads and a choice of small bays for anchoring. Beyond Cap Roig, the picturesque village at Calella de Palafrugell looks like a film set of a Catalan waterfront, with fishing boats drawn up on the beaches and traditional villas with their feet in the blue Mediterranean. Anchored off one of the coves here, you can wind down to Spanish time and chill out between swims. A picturesque marina beneath steep wooded shores, Puerto de Llafranc has the same lotus-eating vibes as Palafrugell though its longer waterfront is more alive with bars, cafés and several diving schools. Many small boats lie on moorings and locals go off fishing around the calas and cliffs. Calas near Llafranc Cape Sant Sebastiàn has a lighthouse above the sea and two miles further north you can anchor in Cala Tamariu ’s steep-sided bay, with a blissful beach and pretty village at its head. Cala de Fornells is a paradise anchorage near a tiny private harbour tucked into the cliffs. There are sandy beaches and you can nudge into the harbour’s peaceful vibes with the dinghy. Around the mini-quays are piles of fishing nets and enviable studio apartments. A white clustered village adorns the head of the Cala de Sa Tuna bay (pictured below), with boats pulled up on the beach. You anchor outside some moorings, with views past the village to steep wooded hills. Ashore you can eat well at the Hostal Sa Tuna. An ideal base after exploring these calas, Puerto de L’Estartit is sheltered, spacious and enclosed by lush green slopes. The pleasant town is handy but not too close. Small fishing boats putter in and out, giving the harbour a gentle feeling of purpose. Glass-bottomed ferries moor along the quay, ready to take tourists out to the steep rugged islands just offshore. Gulf of Roses I have a soft spot for the Gulf of Roses because, as an impecunious student, I once sheltered from a nasty mistral here, anchoring in the north corner off a crescent beach. Near the border with France, this grand bay was a strategic passage anchorage in the days of sail, but now has three interesting and very different marinas within a couple of miles of each other. The vast complex of Empuriabrava (pictured below) has over 4,000 berths in quasi-Venetian canals lined with villas, apartments, shops and hotels. Residents moor in front of their properties, go shopping by boat or zip out to the beach. Empuriabrava is an amazing creation and it’s fun to explore and ogle all the boats and villas. A smaller, more homely canal marina, Santa Margarita is entered between two splendid beaches. The low marshy land west of the marina provides a marvellous open outlook. Port Roses is an agreeable marina within an old fishing harbour, next to a beach on a pleasant seafront. The berths are sometimes buffeted by north-westerlies off the mountains, but no sea gets in past the breakwaters. The enjoyable Restaurant Bitàkora overlooks the marina and there are many good bistros in town. Cape Creus Anchorages This majestic Spanish headland is menacing when a tramontane stirs the sea white, but in quiet weather the whole Creus peninsula is a marvellous cruising area, indented with long calas , some of which are safe anchorages even when it’s blowing a hooley. There are good base marinas at Port Roses on the south side and Llançà on the north. The stretch between Roses and Cape Creus is especially dramatic, with a dozen stunning anchorages in mountainous surroundings. Cadaqués inlet has a beautiful anchorage at its head off an old Catalan town. Between Cadaqués and Cape Creus, Cala de Port Lligat is an enchanting hideaway inside a craggy island. Salvador Dali lived here for over 50 years in a cubist-style villa on the shore. Calas Jugadora and Fredosa are two lonely inlets south of Cape Creus lighthouse – magical in calm conditions.

Gulf of Roses

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