Where to stay in the Baix Empordà: the best areas and hotels

The Baix Empordà is the Costa Brava at its best — and its most misunderstood. Skip the package resorts further south and you find a coast of turquoise coves around Begur, a hinterland of honey-stone medieval villages — Peratallada, Pals, Monells — and a generation of farmhouse hotels that turn a beach holiday into something slower and better. The catch is that the coast and the countryside are two different trips, ten minutes apart. This guide helps you pick the right base.

Coast or countryside? How to choose

The first decision is simple: do you want the sea on your doorstep, or a pool in the hills? The coast — the coves around Begur — is for swimming, the Camí de Ronda coastal path and long lunches with a view. The countryside is for privacy, a private pool, great food and the medieval villages.

Many people split the week: a few nights by the sea, a few inland. With young children, the coast usually wins; for a romantic or food-focused trip, the countryside does. Whichever you choose, nowhere in the Baix Empordà is more than about 30 minutes from anywhere else, so day trips are easy.

On the coast: Begur and its coves

Begur is the Baix Empordà's prettiest base — a hilltop village crowned by a ruined castle, with a string of coves below. Hotel Aiguablava is the family-run clifftop classic above the Fornells cove, kept by the same family for three generations; the view is the whole point, so book a sea-facing room. Next door, the state-run Parador de Aiguablava shares almost the same astonishing view for noticeably less, and works well for families.

In the village itself, Aiguaclara is a ten-room boutique in a bohemian 1866 mansion, a stroll from the restaurants and the castle. And for grander, old-money glamour, the legendary Hostal de la Gavina sits on the private peninsula of S'Agaró, about 30 minutes south.

In the countryside: the masias

Inland, the Empordà's restored stone farmhouses are where the region's quiet luxury lives. Mas de Torrent is the all-rounder — a 1751 masia turned Relais & Châteaux among cypresses and vineyards, with private-pool garden suites, a genuinely good spa and a serious kitchen.

For something smaller and more personal, Mas Generós is the adults-only eco home of forager-chef Iolanda Bustos, where dinner comes largely from the garden, and Encís d'Empordà is seven rooms of pure romantic calm in a restored masia near La Bisbal. Browse more in our private-pool collection.

Wine country & the Alt Empordà

Push north into the Alt Empordà and the coast gives way to vineyards, the Dalí triangle and the wild Cap de Creus. It's worth a night for the wine alone: Hotel Peralada Wine Spa sits beside its own castle, winery and golf course, with vinotherapy treatments and DO Empordà tastings — and the Castell de Peralada music festival in summer.

The villages and what to do

Beyond the beach, the Baix Empordà is medieval-village country. Peratallada, Pals and Monells are the showpieces — honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares and long lunches. Time a morning around the markets at La Bisbal (famous for its ceramics) or Torroella de Montgrí. Walkers have the Camí de Ronda coastal path; cyclists, the flat 'vies verdes' greenways through the rice fields out to the medieval town of Pals.

Getting there and around

The Baix Empordà is about 30–45 minutes from Girona–Costa Brava airport and roughly 1h30 from Barcelona. You'll want a car — the coves, villages and masias aren't well connected by public transport, and exploring is half the point. Parking is easy at the countryside hotels; in summer, use the village car parks at the coves and arrive early.

When to go

May–June and September are the sweet spot — warm enough to swim, long golden light, and the villages calm. July and August are beautiful but busy; book sea-view rooms and restaurant tables well ahead. Spring and autumn are best for the food, the markets and the walking.