Lloret de Mar Beach
Best for. Travellers who want a big, lively, fully serviced town beach with everything on tap, and groups after nightlife rather than a quiet cove.
Best spot. Walk to the quieter southern end away from the busiest stretch, and escape the crowd at the Santa Clotilde gardens above neighbouring Fenals for the view.
Know this. This is the overrated one if you came for Costa Brava charm. The main beach is big but loud and crowded in peak, and the town leans to package nightlife. For prettier sand go to Fenals or north to the Palafrugell coves.
Lloret de Mar is the loudest beach on this coast and the one that built the Costa Brava package holiday name. The main town beach is a long, wide strand of coarse golden sand backed by a full promenade of restaurants, bars and shops, with sunbeds, water sports and every service you could want. As a big, easy, fully equipped beach it does the job well. As a slice of the wild Costa Brava that the coast is famous for, it is the one most likely to disappoint.
It is only fair to say where the real pleasure here sits, because there is some. Step off the busiest stretch and Lloret has more than the nightlife it is known for. Above neighbouring Fenals beach are the Jardins de Santa Clotilde, beautiful early twentieth century gardens of terraces and cypresses dropping toward the sea, one of the genuine highlights of the southern coast. The old centre has the Santa Maria church and, on the headland, the much photographed castle silhouette and the Dona Marinera statue. For food, skip the international tourist menus on the front and look to the backstreets of the old town for better tapas and Catalan cooking.
The honest read is plain. If you want the postcard Costa Brava of whitewashed coves and clear water, Lloret de Mar is not it, and naming that saves you a disappointed afternoon. The main beach is large and serviced but crowded and noisy in peak, and the town is built for volume. For prettier sand close by, walk to Fenals, the calmer neighbouring beach, or drive north to Tossa de Mar and the Palafrugell coves of Llafranc, Calella and Tamariu, which are everything people picture when they imagine this coast.
Clubs on this beach
Lloret de Mar has the busiest beach scene on this coast, with seafront bars, water sports and seasonal sunbed hire all along the main strand, plus the town's well known nightlife behind it. Specific operators, venues and prices are to be confirmed. For organised beach clubs along the coast, use the Costa Brava beach clubs guide.
Seafront bars, water sports and sunbed hire
The promenade is lined with bars and restaurants, with water sports and seasonal sunbed hire on the sand. Specific operators, venues and prices to be confirmed.
Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava
Lloret de Mar sits at the southern end of the Costa Brava in La Selva, around forty minutes by car from Girona and roughly an hour and a quarter from Barcelona, which makes it one of the easiest beaches on the coast to reach. The town has frequent bus links and large car parks, so access is far simpler than at the small northern coves.
Within the town the main beach, the promenade and neighbouring Fenals are an easy walk or short drive apart, and the Santa Clotilde gardens sit on the headland between them. For the prettier coves of the central and northern Costa Brava you will want a car, with Tossa de Mar the closest and the Palafrugell beaches around an hour north.
Photo: Zvoncica Zvjezdana via GoogleBook a beach club
Tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a daybed or table at a club near Lloret de Mar. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Lloret de Mar
Is Lloret de Mar beach worth visiting?
It depends what you want. As a big, fully serviced town beach with everything on tap it works, and it is very easy to reach. But if you came for the whitewashed coves and clear water the Costa Brava is famous for, you will be happier at Fenals next door or the northern beaches around Palafrugell.
Is Lloret de Mar just a party town?
Largely, yes, the town is built around resort holidays and a big nightlife scene, which is the main reason many people come. There is more to it though, including the Santa Clotilde gardens, the old town and the headland landmarks, so a culture minded visitor can still find good days here.
Where should you eat in Lloret de Mar?
Step away from the international tourist menus on the seafront and into the old town backstreets, where you will find better tapas and proper Catalan cooking. As anywhere busy, the places a few streets back from the beach tend to cook with more care than those on the front.
What is the prettiest beach near Lloret de Mar?
Fenals, the neighbouring beach, is calmer and more attractive than the main town strand, and the Santa Clotilde gardens sit above it. For genuinely beautiful sand, drive north to Tossa de Mar or on to the Palafrugell coves of Llafranc, Calella and Tamariu.
How do you get to Lloret de Mar?
It is one of the easiest beaches on the coast to reach, around forty minutes by car from Girona and about an hour and a quarter from Barcelona, with frequent buses and large car parks. That ease of access is a big part of why the town grew into the resort it is today.
