Swimming and beach at Llafranc

Llafranc is probably the prettiest of all the beach-side villages on the Costa Brava with a perfect-sized golden-sanded beach backed by chic upmarket restaurants and hotels that look straight over the bay. To the right, looking out to sea, are rocks and the headland that leads to Calella de Palafrugell (about 20 minute stroll). To the left are fishing boats and a small marina underneath the hill that leads up to the lighthouse above the village. In many ways it's the picture perfect seaside location, small and discrete retaining its original fishing village charm.

The downside is that during the height of summer, Llafranc can become busy and crowded with a towel on almost every square metre of the beach and with parking almost deliberately limited, it can be hard to find get access unless you're in Llafranc itself, willing to walk or starting out early in the morning. Fortunately this only really applies for the four-five weeks of the end of July and August. June and early July are just perfect, and by the first week of September the crowds have melted away leaving more knowledgeable travellers and locals to enjoy the beach and swimming.

The beach itself is sandy - a little gritty towards the rocks to the right, but finer without being powder soft, in the centre and to the left before the fishing boats. For snorkelling the rocky areas to the right are best - you may even get lucky and spot an octopus even in the August height of summer. The rest of the bay is quite deep and sandy - it deepens relatively quickly after the first 2-3m and is clear for swimming, though the bay always feels a little shorter than it looks as swimming to the left hand side is limited by the channel for boat access to the marina.

Facilities at the beach

The beach is backed by a promenade and restaurants and hotels where the well-heeled sit taking coffee or wine looking over the sunbathers and out to sea. Given how good the location is, not surprisingly, the bars have a tendency to be a little on the expensive side. Llafranc has one Michelin starred restaurant for foodies. There are a handful of small boutiques and shops and then hotels and villas dotted around the village.

On the beach, lifeguards are on duty and canoes can be rented to the left side of the beach just before the fishing boats. As with most beaches, there are beach showers with fresh water for washing off sea water (soap is not allowed).

Sand quality

The sand is gritty towards the right, but finer elsewhere and a beautiful golden colour.

Swimming

The beach shelves quite quickly and the bay itself is quite deep - mostly of sand except for the rockier areas. Despite the sandy bottom, it's still possible to see fish, but obviously for snorkelling there is much more to see to the right hand side. For long distance swimmers the bay feels quite short, but off the peak season we have seen people swimming laps out by the marker buoys that separate the swimming area from the moored boats further out.

Parking

Parking is complicated. In the peak of the season spaces are difficult to find and quite limited. There are two main parking areas - both of which get full quickly. Firstly is just off the road from Calella de Palafrugell under trees to the right as the road runs down towards the village centre. Secondly, there is parking off the back road to Llafranc past the Llafranc Tennis Club that can be found as a right hand turn from the road between Palafrugell and Tamariu. The back road fills with cars parked on the side of the road all the way to the school vacation house about 10-15 minutes walk from the beach. For this reason coming early in the morning, or just coming later in the evening is advised.

Walks and exploring

Llafranc is a very easy 20 minute stroll around the headland to reach Calella de Palafrugell. In the other direction, are routes to Tamariu or into Palafrugell. To get to Tamariu you need to get to the lighthouse (Far de Sant Sebastia) which is a properly steep walk up from the beach, but with great views from the top, followed by a good hike across the cliffs and up and down into the bays. Mont-ras to Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc - Far de Sant Sebastia (Llafranc) to Tamariu

Next beaches

South to Calella de Palafrugell - North to Tamariu