Active tourism and premium sports in Girona
In the adaptation of The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan, there is a scene in which Odysseus and his crew land on the island of the Cyclopes.
Chasing a sheep, they climb a ravine — with the same agility as today’s active travellers — up to the cave of Polyphemus, high on the clifftop. Later, once Odysseus has blinded Polyphemus, they have to get back to their ship by racing down that same gorge at full speed so that the one-eyed giant does not finish them off.
If you like things to do on the Costa Brava, you are bound to enjoy sports such as hiking or trail running. In that case, watching Nolan’s film you will surely have thought that this was one of those classic Mediterranean hiking routes, graded by Wikiloc as medium difficulty.
In the province of Girona you will find routes very similar to the ones the men of Ithaca walked on their ten-year wanderings around the Mediterranean. And the best part is that in this eastern edge of Hesperia the routes come in varying degrees of difficulty, so they will delight every kind of visitor, whether they want to enjoy them walking, running, by bike, on horseback, sailing or skiing.
Read on, because in this article you will discover that the province of Girona is the perfect place for sport-based active tourism.
Lace up your shoes: we are off.
Girona, the best base for playing your favourite sports between the sea and the mountains
Few regions in Europe have the privilege of having the sea and the mountains so close together.
Thanks to its strategic position — between the peaks of the eastern Pyrenees and the rugged coves of the Costa Brava — the province of Girona has become the leading international benchmark for luxury active tourism.
The world’s most demanding travellers know that Girona combines, in a virtuous way, the intensity of outdoor sport with the highest level of comfort and sophistication.
Girona offers the visitor a unique and privileged natural setting. Because of its particular shape, in a single day you can set off at dawn on a hiking route in the Pyrenees — at over 2,000 metres — and end the day cutting across the Mediterranean aboard a private sailing boat, enjoying a dinner of lobster and Palamós red prawn.
Elite athletes cannot be wrong
Just as happens with the enthusiasts who come for golf tourism, Girona is the favourite place of many professional athletes. In general, they choose the province as their training base, drawn by its exceptional geographical and climatic conditions.
That is why, if one day you go out for a ride on your bike, you may well come across a cyclist who competes every year for the top places in the Tour de France or the Giro d’Italia. Or pass an elite runner on a path, training for an ultra-trail.
In Girona, although you will not be sharing your training ground with Odysseus and his men, it is quite easy to see an international iron man champion at work. And who knows: perhaps one day you will run into Matt Damon jogging near a luxury resort.
This concentration of talent has created a unique local culture, built on luxury and discretion. Thanks to that, once you take off your shoes or your helmet, you will find a whole range of services for recovering your spent energy, with first-class wellness and physiotherapy centres.
Door-to-door logistics for active tourism in Girona
The Odyssey explains very well the concept of xenia, which was nothing other than treating any visitor as if they were Zeus himself disguised as a traveller. This safety net made it possible to sail and trade from one island to another knowing that strangers would always offer the greatest hospitality.
Thousands of years later, on this side of the Mediterranean, the idea of hospitality has evolved a great deal. That is why, if you are going to take on physically demanding sports in Girona, the best thing is to find a refuge in which to rest at the end of each day.
Both inland and closer to the coast, in Girona you will find dream places to stay, luxury resorts with incredible golf courses, and boutique hotels hidden in historic buildings that become sanctuaries of privacy.
Places where you can leave, say, your ten-thousand-euro carbon bike knowing that it will be looked after with all the care it deserves. Only then can you relax in a hotel spa or savour a unique gastronomic experience.
What is more, to reach the routes you want to do, at Girona Tours we are experts at organising the entire logistics of each activity. Do you need a support vehicle with supplies? We will arrange it. Do you need to get to a remote spot in the middle of the mountains to start your day’s hiking? We will find you a private driver who will drop you off and pick you up at exactly the right points.
Active tourism in Girona: the best hiking routes
One of the most frustrating things when you are planning a day’s hiking is the distance you have to cover to reach the start of the route. Often we even put off visiting incredible new places simply because it means too many kilometres by car or public transport before the walk can begin.
Girona’s great advantage is precisely the opposite: its geography is so concentrated that it lets you reach practically any destination with very little travelling.
Here, what is more, you do not need to choose between a mountain route and one that runs along the sea, because you can start the day breathing pure air at two thousand metres in the Pyrenees and finish it swimming in a hidden cove on the Costa Brava.
We give you more detail in this article on hiking in Girona, but here are 5 routes that will give you an idea of the level:
- The Camí de Ronda: a rugged path at the water’s edge linking several coves of turquoise water, wind-bent pines and old watchtowers. Do not miss the stretch between Begur and Calella de Palafrugell.
- The Fageda d’en Jordà and the Santa Margarida volcano: in the district of the Garrotxa there is a route that goes into a beech wood grown on a flat lava flow. The path ends in the crater of an old volcano, inside which stands a striking Romanesque chapel. And if you also want to see the volcano from the air, from a bird’s-eye view, at Girona Tours we can organise a balloon ride to fly over the chapel.
- The Vall de Núria and the Camí Vell: this high-mountain route climbs a narrow gorge flanked by torrents and rock walls. The ascent is hard going, but the reward comes at the end of the path with the view of a glacial valley at almost two thousand metres.
- The Gorgues route at Les Planes d’Hostoles: for a relaxed walk enjoying the lush vegetation of the Garrotxa, this route is perfect because it is studded with waterfalls and crystalline turquoise pools. Take your swimming costume, because you may well fancy a dip in the middle of nature.
- The camí de ronda from Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu de Guíxols: a vertiginous path winding along the wildest cliffs of the Costa Brava. You will also be able to enjoy natural viewpoints that appear suddenly out of the thick Mediterranean woodland.
The most emblematic cycling routes in Girona
If you are more of a pedaller than a walker, Girona has become the mecca of cycling in recent years.
It is not just us saying so: dozens of professional cyclists confirm it by choosing Girona as their place of residence and training.
Professional riders have settled in the province of Girona because this land offers back roads with hardly any traffic, surfaced with asphalt that seems made for two wheels. But the best part is the combination of demanding gradients with legendary mountain passes.
Whether you like riding gently while enjoying nature and the landscape or your aim is to test your legs on heart-stopping climbs, in Girona you will find an ideal setting for every kind of cyclist.
To give you an idea, these are some of the favourite routes of the professional cyclists who live in Girona:
- The Rocacorba climb: regarded as the professional cyclists’ testing ground, it is a hard, unrelenting ascent of almost 10 kilometres, with ramps that can choke you if you are not in top form. When you reach the summit, next to the transmitter mast, you will enjoy incredible views of the lake of Banyoles.
- The Els Àngels climb: a classic ascent, more accessible than Rocacorba. It is worth setting off from the centre of Girona itself to take the winding road up towards the pass. Its gentle, steady gradients make it an ideal route for warming up your legs or doing a short outing.
- The Mare de Déu del Mont route: a long, solitary ascent that takes the cyclist into the wildest and most mountainous part of the province. The road leads towards the sanctuary that sits on the summit. And, although the climb is fairly hard, the effort pays off, because at the top you will enjoy a 360º panorama from the Pyrenees to the Costa Brava.
- The Sant Grau and Costa Brava loop: a route much used by cyclists who love pedalling along twisting roads above the sea cliffs between Tossa de Mar and Sant Feliu de Guíxols. It is an accessible and very beautiful ride, offering unforgettable views of the Mediterranean breaking against the rocks.
- The Vía Verde del Carrilet: between Girona and Sant Feliu de Guíxols a greenway has been created along the old track of the railway that once linked the capital with the coast. If you want to pedal along a gentle, quiet route, crossing the Baix Empordà without worrying about cars comes highly recommended.
Water experiences on the Costa Brava
Sailing may well be your thing.
In that case we suggest discovering the Costa Brava from the sea. Mainly because in this case perspective changes everything. The rugged cliffs, the sea caves and the blue-water coves look wonderful from up high while hiking. But if you want the best perspective of all, do not miss one of the water experiences on the Costa Brava that we organise at Girona Tours.
Whether under sail or following the coastline by oar, the Girona coast offers a range of water experiences designed to make the most of the Mediterranean.
Private sailing in the Cap de Creus Natural Park
A trip between the cliffs aboard a sailing boat captained by a professional skipper can be a sea experience very close to the one felt by the warriors who came back from the Trojan War with Odysseus.
The crossing lets you anchor in remote coves that cannot be reached by car. And if you feel like it, you will be able to swim in crystalline water or enjoy an aperitif of local produce on the boat’s deck.
But beware: in some of them there may be unexpected encounters with mythical beings such as the sirens, the Laestrygonians or the nymph Calypso.
Sea kayak route for snorkelling in the Coves del Montgrí
Active tourism can sometimes mean sailing in the manner of slow travel. There are days, though, when your body asks for more physical activity. In that case, we suggest a guided itinerary in a sea kayak.
We will take you through rock passages, natural arches and sea caves to explore the coast by oar.
And if you fancy it afterwards, we will put on masks and snorkels to discover the rich underwater life on a snorkelling dive.
A day trip by sea to the Illes Medes
As well as resting in dream resorts and eating in Michelin-starred restaurants, a premium experience means spending at least one day aboard a high-end boat.
And to enjoy the calm of the Mediterranean, there is nothing better than visiting one of the most important marine reserves in the western Mediterranean.
You can even swim among shoals of protected fish before the boat’s crew prepares you a seafood lunch to be served on one of the yacht’s terraces.
Cava, Palamós prawns (like the ones served in the great restaurants of the province), seafood rice dishes and an endless horizon. Nothing else is needed.
Guided diving in the marine reserve of Sa Riera and Cap de Begur
Snorkelling can be a good way of taking a look at marine life, but to enjoy what the sea has to offer properly you need to make a full dive, with the right equipment and expert instructors.
We suggest you come with us for a day’s diving among posidonia meadows, walls carpeted with red gorgonians and the depths of that stretch of coast, where you will find hundreds of protected species.
Paddle surfing at dawn in the coves of Begur and Palafrugell
The best moment to savour the peace and stillness of the sea is, without doubt, the moment when the first rays of sun begin to touch the surface of the water with golden glints.
The aim of this water experience on the Costa Brava is to enjoy that stillness on a board on a completely calm sea, just as the first rays of sun light up the little fishermen’s houses dotted along the coast.
A relaxing, active experience for starting the day with energy, before the beaches fill up.
Snow in the mountains: skiing in the Girona Pyrenees
The delightful thing about the province of Girona is its privileged climate, which allows both outdoor sporting activities (sailing, hiking or cycling) and skiing on snow without having to cover great distances. Sea and mountains in the same province have made Girona the favourite destination of active travellers.
If you want to enjoy a mild climate but still not give up a few descents during the winter season, in this section we are going to talk about skiing in Girona.
A little over an hour from the capital lie the eastern Pyrenees. A meeting point for premium skiers who make their pilgrimage every year to two legendary Catalan resorts: La Molina and Masella.
Since the two merged into the ski area known as Alp 2500, you now have more than 140 kilometres of skiable runs, particularly wide and comfortable, running through black pine forest. At Masella you can even ski at night under a starry sky.
If, on the other hand, you are after exclusivity and privacy, the Vall de Núria resort may be your best option, as it can only be reached by the picturesque rack railway. And that makes the setting quiet and discreet. Something essential if you long for moments of privacy and relaxation.
But if after skiing you want to live the après-ski premium experience to the full, we recommend having a drink on the rooftop of one of the hotels at the foot of the slopes, or booking a private tasting of wines, artisan cheeses and local cured meats in a mountain refuge right by the pistes.
In short, these are the active tourism experiences you must not miss under any circumstances if you want to do sport in Girona without giving up any of your interests. And you can do it far more safely than the crew who accompanied Odysseus on his way back to Ithaca.
So now you know: get in touch with our team of advisers at Girona Tours and we will get down to work organising your active tourism trip in Girona.