Holiday houses & apartments on the Costa Brava

Beautiful holiday homes on Costa Brava for beach, food and cycling

Located along the northeastern edge of Spain, stretching along the Catalonian coast from Barcelona up to the French border, the Costa Brava is a unique destination blending great beaches with rocky cliff formations, and small villages with buzzing towns. Find a holiday home on the Costa Brava to give yourself the freedom to enjoy whichever parts of it grab your attention the most.

Benvengut to the Costa Brava!

Holiday homes on the Costa Brava bring you within a stone's throw of fabulous beaches, intriguing historical sites, fantastic hiking and cycling, and mouthwatering food. Though you may be hard pressed to decide what to do, TUI Villas can make decisions a little bit easier.

Stroll charming seaside villages

As well as gorgeous ocean views, great water for swimming and pristine beaches, a holiday apartment on the Costa Brava offers you the chance to immerse yourself in Catalonia's seaside towns rather than being tucked away in resort hotels. Choose from holiday apartments by the sea in the towns of Palamos, Sant Feliu de Guixols, and Blanes for a mix of beach beauty and ragged Costa Brava coastline with daily Catalan life. They all have picturesque old town quarters and their fair share of historical sites worth visiting, including the 16th-century Portal Cross at the Palamos Cemetery, the Iglesia de Santa Maria in Blanes and the magnificent Benedictine Monastery of Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Holiday homes right on the Costa Brava's excellent cycling trails

Renting a holiday home on the Costa Brava is perfect for cycling enthusiasts. The region's stunning rocky coastlines, hidden coves, lush countryside and charming local villages all lend themselves well to cycling. Better yet, you'll find well-maintained, well-marked cycling trails everywhere, so you'll never have to share the road with cars. There are dozens of cycling tour companies offering a range of options, with simple cycle hire and do-it-yourself itineraries, fully guided multiday tours, 100km expert challenges or shorter cycle and chill options, with plenty of food, drink and sightseeing stops. Some popular trails include those winding among the wineries in the Calonge Valley, following the old railway tracks through Llagostera and Santa Cristina d'Aro, and spanning the wide, lush plains between the photogenic medieval towns of Pals and Peratellada.

Enjoy seriously good food, wherever you are

No matter where you end up booking a holiday home on the Costa Brava, you're bound to be surrounded by fantastic dining options. The strips of tapas bars, countryside bodegas and various beachfront restaurants leave you spoilt for choice. Seafood is, of course, a constant star, and the tapas bars give you a taste of how the locals dine – usually straight off the boats at the fish market. Take your pick from the mouthwatering selection lining the bar, then simply pay for however many tapa toothpicks you accrued. You'll find more than seafood, though, such as locally made sobrassada sausage in varying degrees of spiciness and a wealth of fresh fruit and vegetables from one of Spain's most fertile regions.

Find a beautiful beach holiday home on the Costa Brava

It's hard to choose between beaches here. If you're after a holiday home right on the Costa Brava's golden sand beaches, a Lloret de Mar holiday apartment places you within walking distance of a blissful beach, great nightlife, and all the shops and amenities you need. For something a little more off the beaten track, try the rocky coves and secluded beaches further up the coast around Tamariu and Llafranc, where you'll still have great restaurants and pretty buildings lining the seaside. You can also find a large, multiroom villa on the hillside overlooking the sea, a great option for large groups and families who want to be close to the beach but also have plenty of independence and privacy.

Take the chance to explore more of the coast

When renting a holiday home, the Costa Brava becomes your oyster. Easily hop between towns, villages and seaside resorts to get a feel for the whole region during your holiday. Try splitting time between the beautiful beach at Lloret de Mar and the fabulous fishing village of Roses (home to the biggest fishing fleet in the region), which faces west and therefore offers unique sunset views. Alternatively, base yourself in the former hilltop bastion town of Palafrugell to be perfectly positioned to explore the medieval towns and wineries inland, and the stunning beaches, bars and hiking trails along the coast.

How to get to the Costa Brava

Barely an hour's drive away, Barcelona is by the far the biggest regional point of entry and departure for holiday apartments on the Costa Brava, and you can easily get ferries and trains to Barcelona from anywhere in Spain and flights from all major and many minor European hubs. However, Girona Airport, much closer and with much less traffic on the way, has fantastic daily flight connections with a huge number of European cities, including London, Dublin, Paris, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Belfast, Newcastle, Cork and Amsterdam. Hiring a car is easy, with many operators based at the airport. There are also regular buses running straight from Girona Airport to most destinations on the Costa Brava.

When to visit the Costa Brava

The Costa Brava has a fairly typical Mediterranean climate, with occasional variations due to its proximity to the Pyrenees and unique microclimate patterns. Broadly speaking, it is very hot and dry during summer, while the winters get chilly but not too cold by continental European standards. Swimming between December and February is brave, but the months of March and April, or October and November, can also be among the most pleasant for cycling, hiking or simply strolling around the towns and seeing the sights. If it's beach and sunshine you're after, plan early to book a holiday home on the Costa Brava during peak season (July to August), and you won't be disappointed. May and June are also great for summer holidays.

Neighbouring holiday regions Costa Brava

• Lloret de Mar and surrounding area
• Gulf of Roses
• Catalan Transversal Range
• Lake of Banyoles
• Girona and the surrounding area
• Begur and the surrounding area
• Tossa de Mar and the surrounding area
• in Sant Feliu de Guíxols and the surrounding area
• Blanes and the surrounding area
• Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park