Monday 28 September · Stage 1
Portbou to Llançà
14 km
4–5 hours
Easy start
Morning trains down through Narbonne and Perpignan, boots on at Portbou by late morning. The path climbs straight to 250 m above the harbour and the whole of Cap de Creus opens up behind us — a good way to be told what the week is going to look like.
Down through Colera, then the sandy sweep of Platja de Garbet, which is the first swim of the trip if the timing works.
Where we sleep
La Goleta, Llançà
A hundred metres from the beach, and the breakfast is the best-reviewed thing about it.
Fideuà and a sea bream on the first night, with something local and Empordà.
Tuesday 29 September · Stage 2
Llançà to Cadaqués
19.5 km
7–8 hours
475 m up / 475 m down
The big one
Away at first light, because this is the longest day of the week. The first half is kind — a level promenade along the water to El Port de la Selva. The second half is not: rough ground, a climb, and a long drop down into Cadaqués.
Worth every step. Cadaqués is the reason people walk this coast — white houses stacked around a bay, no straight roads, and the light that kept Dalí there for fifty years.
Where we sleep
Hostal Marina, Cadaqués
Beachfront, two hundred metres from the old town. Garden and mountain views, and a patio to sit out on with tired legs.
Anchovies and grilled fish on the seafront, which is what everyone comes here to eat.
Wednesday 30 September · Stage 3
Cadaqués to Roses
17 km
6–7 hours
Long descent
Straight into the Cap de Creus Natural Park — wind-sculpted rock, no shade, no people. This is the strangest and emptiest stretch of the whole route, and the one that looks least like a beach holiday.
It finishes with a long, forgiving descent into Roses, which is a proper town with proper shops after two days of villages.
Where we sleep
Hotel Costa Brava, Roses
A hundred metres from the beach and a few minutes from the old centre, with a buffet breakfast that guests rate highly.
Thursday 1 October · Stage 4
Roses to L'Escala
17 km
5–6 hours
Rolling, easier
A gentler day, much of it curving round the Bay of Roses with the water on our left the whole way.
If there is anything left in the legs, the Greco-Roman ruins at Empúries sit directly on the route into town — a Greek trading port turned Roman city, right on the shoreline.
Where we sleep
RVHotels Nieves Mar, L'Escala
Beachfront, with a sea-view room and a balcony to watch the evening from. Pool and a restaurant on site.
L'Escala is the anchovy capital of Catalonia. We eat them where they're cured.
Friday 2 October · Stage 5
L'Escala to L'Estartit
14 km
4–5 hours
Easiest day
The softest walk of the week, finishing along the seafront into L'Estartit with the Medes Islands sitting offshore — seven limestone rocks that turn out to be one of the best-protected marine reserves in the Mediterranean.
Last day of walking. Boots off by mid-afternoon.
Where we sleep — two nights
Hotel Santa Anna, L'Estartit
A hundred metres from the centre and three hundred from the beach. Pool, two restaurants, and the best-rated place we're staying all week.
Saturday 3 October · Rest day
Nothing to walk
0 km
Unless we feel like it
A whole day in one place, with the same bed both nights and nothing to pack up.
- Medes Islands — boat out to the reserve, snorkel or glass-bottom.
- Montgrí Castle — a short climb to a thirteenth-century castle and the view back along everything we've walked.
- Or nothing at all — beach, a long lunch, paella, and a book.
Sunday 4 October
Home
Bus to Girona
Trains north
5–6 hours door to door
Bus out of L'Estartit to Girona, then trains back up the coast through Portbou and Perpignan. Tickets still to be booked — that's the next job.