Five plans for the whole familiy on the Costa Brava

Families with children often face a dilemma: What can we do to make the holiday fun for the kids as well as for us? If you have come to the Costa Brava with this question, here you’ll find 5 possible answers. 

In a place bathed by the Mediterranean, our sports marinas offer a wide selection of activities suitable for many age ranges. Wherever you are staying on the Costa Brava, visit one of them and ask for more information. To give just a couple of examples, at Club Nàutic Sant Feliu de Guíxols you will find children’s courses in dinghy sailing, windsurfing or kayaking, while Club Nàutic L’Escala offers a family pack so that you can learn kayaking, paddle boarding, yachting and dinghy sailing together. And what’s more, you can also sign up for an eco-snorkelling trip in the Medes Islands and admire the extraordinary seabed. 

Inland you can also become a farmer or herder for the day, an option which in addition to being great fun, also gives children a better understanding of the work that farmers do. Who knows, perhaps it will inspire a vocation! You can try this experience at Mas Casas Cruïlles, a sustainable family farm whose mission is to produce healthy natural food and which is open to the public all year round. They give guided tours in which they explain the importance of the land, how to care for a flock of sheep and why they are a good resource in the fight against the climate crisis. If you think your children would enjoy a wool workshop to learn about the properties, benefits and uses of this natural, local and sustainable fibre, this is also the place to take them.

Returning to the sea, we encourage you to take a stroll around a unique nature reserve: Cap de Creus Natural Park. Where shall we go? Follow a fairly easy circular route of almost 5 kilometres that starts and ends at Canadell pass. Kids can see with their own eyes how that powerful wind that adults often mention, the famous tramuntana, eagerly sculpts stones and rocks. And their imaginations are bound to run wild at the Norfeu tower, imagining, with a little help from the adults, all manner of pirate stories.

Another perfect activity for all ages is a donkey ride in the Gavarres mountains. This animal, which plays a very important role in maintaining woodland areas and helping reduce the risk of fires, is our travel companion to the ruins of Mas Sala, the Llach chestnut grove and Font dels Arbres. Adults walk the route, while those aged 10 or under can ride on the donkeys. If you prefer horse-riding, take a look at the options available at Equus Empordà Equestrian Club in Albons or Begur Pony Park, for example, which plan outings of different durations and levels.    

To round off this little catalogue of fun and educational activities for little ones, we recommend an initiative that has been safeguarding the reproduction of cuttlefish for many years in L’Escala and L’Estartit, Projecte Sèpia. In addition to raising awareness of their scientific project, by visiting this team of researchers you will learn, for example, what responsible artisanal fishing is by meeting fishermen from L’Estartit.