Road trip Spain: from Amsterdam to Tossa de Mar

How do more sustainable living and a love of travel go together? It remains a challenge. After three years of holidaying in the Netherlands, Saskia decided it was time to pick up her love of snorkelling again. Can you do that without flying? Yes you can! It became a road trip to Tossa de Mar. A pretty village in the Costa Brava known for rich history, good food ánd snorkelling. It is also a popular spot among divers. In this article, she shares all the hotspots and tips from this wonderful road trip.

Travelling to Tossa de Mar by car

When I reported on Instagram about our road trip and shared snapshots of the azure sea and the nostalgic coastal town of Tossa de Mar, I was showered with reactions. I got messages from followers who fell in love with this place years ago. But also from followers who thought this road trip looked so beautiful that they would love to copy the tips. In this article, I share all the great things we discovered during our road trip and in Tossa de Mar. Our conclusion: Tossa is a tropical holiday destination in Spain, without mass tourism. It is not inferior to a long-haul plane trip to magical tropical resort. Magic can also be found closer to home, in the Costa Brava.

The impact of a holiday to Spain

Because flying is incredibly impactful, we want to explore whether we can satisfy our hunger for sun, sea and adventure by forgoing the plane. We used to travel to a faraway tropical destination every year without guilt or shame, now we seek adventure closer to home and save up our personal flight points for a dream trip someday, but certainly not every year.

With a simple calculation, I show you the difference in impact. I use Milieu Centraal's climate impact holiday tool. As a family (two adults and one child), we drove our car (fuel) to Tossa de Mar. With this road trip, we emitted about 550 kilos of CO2. We could have done even more sustainably if we had had an electric car. With a plane trip, we would have emitted between 1,200 and 1,600 CO2 (excluding transport to get from the airport to the hotel). Imagine if we started flying less en masse, how much would that save on an annual basis? Even more sustainable would be to go on holiday by train. It is expected that by December 2023 an overnight train which takes you from Amsterdam to Barcelona.

You can also compensate for car holidays

While offsetting a trip is not a direct solution, it is the minimum you can do after your holiday. You can also offset a car holiday and all the outings and activities you took during your holiday by buying up allowances or planting trees from a reliable organisation. See more about offsetting CO2 emissions and the options you have.

Road trip through France: great spots along the Route du Soleil

Being tied to school holidays, we went on holiday in August. No fun given the news reports of black Saturdays. To avoid ending up in these endless traffic jams, we decide to leave on Sunday afternoon and drive the Route du Soleil (A7) not in two, but in three days. We turn long outward journey into a cool road trip so that when we drive away, we immediately feel the holiday feeling. If we drive four hours each day, we should arrive in Tossa de Mar on the intended check-in day. That sounds very doable (and it is!). So we deliberately chose an unusual arrival day, a Wednesday.

Road trip to Spain: a stop in Metz

The first stop on Sunday evening is Metz, a beautiful city in northern France less than four hours' drive from Utrecht. It is a city in north-eastern France, the capital of the former Lorraine region. We settle down in the evening on the terrace of a cosy French bistroot called L'Escalier. It doesn't get more French as I sip my first wine on a folding chair. This little restaurant is a fluke, but a lucky shot. I learn from the people next to us in the restaurant that on Friday and Saturday nights there is always a big queue to eat here. The little restaurant has a traditional French menu, which may not be the best choice for vegans, but if you are a little more flexible, definitely a real tip. We take a lovely evening stroll and visit the square in front of the theatre where there is a fantastic artistic garden setup that you can walk through. The holiday has truly begun!

Metz is a super cozy stop in northern France, just below Luxembourg.

Road trip to Spain: a stop in Nancy

The second stop of our road trip is the next morning. Less than an hour's drive from Metz is Nancy, another great city worth a quick visit. We have two goals. We want to see Place Stanislas, a World Heritage-listed square. And we want to score a French breakfast at a cosy little bakery in town. Both succeeding, we also take a morning stroll through the city and then decide to drive on. Place Stanislas is an impressive square and dates from the mid-eighteenth century. It was originally called Place Royale, after French king Louis XV, whose statue stood in the square.

About an hour below Metz, you will find the historic town of Nancy, which is also well worth a visit on the way there or back.

Should you have more time for northern France or want something different: Dijon and Lille are still on my bucket list. And Reimz is also a really nice stop, I know through another holiday.

Road trip to Spain: a stop in Tournus

With a belly full of croissants and coffee, we drive briskly on to central France. Everything is still going according to plan, as at lunchtime we arrive in Tournus. This medieval town, known for its pretty streets and quaint restaurants, is one I'd like to visit because I have fond childhood memories here. We take a short walk through the historic town and find a lovely waterside terrace for a lunch. Should you be looking for another stop in this region, for example for the return journey, then Beaune a must along the Route du Soleil, also off Tournus. To be honest, I would rather tip Beaune (more enjoyable than Tournus, but that may be because we were in this town on a Monday and in Beaune at the weekend).

A great stop in central France is Tournus, which is near Beaune (also a tip!).

City break Avignon

We have been on the road for less than a day and - without any delays - have already motored on to the centre of France. We hesitate: stop now or drive on? We see on Google Maps that we can be in Avignon in less than four hours. A beautiful historic, cultural city that David has fond memories of. ‘Avignon is beautiful, shall we go there?’ he suggests. Why not! We arrive in Avignon around 7pm, booking a cheap but fine room in this perfectly located Ibis hotel overlooking the old fourteenth-century city wall. The perfect base to immerse ourselves in this historic city. We take an evening stroll, eat again in a square at a French bistro and join a group to see video art. There appears to be an art trail running through the city. Each evening, light art is projected on the medieval walls of iconic buildings. What a gift to catch this too. David is right: Avignon is beautiful!

For a moment we hesitate to drive on to northern Spain the next morning to check into a beach hotel that afternoon, but Avignon tastes like more. We decide to book an extra night and add another day of Avignon. Now I can nicely visit some of the city's iconic spots, such as The Palace of the Popes and Avignon Bridge.

In Avignon, you will find so many beautiful historical sights, nice terraces and lively shopping streets. You won't get bored. I personally found the Rue de Teinturiers very nice and cosy. On the first evening, we spotted a beautiful restaurant on an idyllic little square that we couldn't go to because it was by reservation. On the second day, we made reservations there right in the morning for our only and last night in Avignon. This restaurant is called: Grand Café Barretta and really comes highly recommended. The first evening we also have a very nice dinner at L'Epicerie de Ginette. If you are in Avignon, you should check out this cosy little square with lots of restaurants. My tip is to avoid the touristy Place de l'horloge a bit, way too touristy in my opinion and there are so many nice other places to discover.

Avignon is a great city to visit in southern France with so much history and cosy shopping streets and restaurants.

Do you have more time? You can find even more inspiration for fun stops on your way to the south of France in this article.

Tossa de Mar: tips and attractions

The highlight of the holidays: twelve days of Tossa de Mar. We carefully chose this holiday destination at home. And we don't regret it! A medieval fishing village in the Costa Brava where mass tourism has not yet struck and which is known for its narrow historic streets, good restaurants, quaint shops, azure sea and golden sandy beaches. The coves are surrounded by rocks making it a perfect snorkelling destination. The warm waters of the Mediterranean and the rocks attract a lot of marine life. You can walk straight into the water from the beach and see the beautiful fish perfectly in the crystal-clear water. This spot is also a favourite among divers. David makes a beautiful dive and sees octopus, flatfish, sea bass and hunting moray eels, among others. And all this is less than a 15-hour drive from Utrecht, making it the perfect ‘sustainable’ holiday destination for us.

Tossa de Mar, the end point of the road trip. A beautiful historic seaside village in the Costa Brava.

Sleeping in Tossa de Mar

In Tossa de Mar you have several hotels, hostels and there are also a campsites nearby. In short, there is something for every type of holidaymaker and wallet. We wanted a beach hotel in the centre and with a good pool. That leaves only a few options such as Golden Mar Menuda and Grand Hotel Reymar. These hotels sit side by side on the same smaller beach called Platja Mar Menuda. Here you can do fantastic snorkelling and have a delicious lunch on the beach at the beach bar Sa Bauma. Diving, canoeing and suptour trips also depart from this beach. If you prefer to lie on the main beach Platja Gran with famous views of the medieval fortress, it is less than a five-minute walk from these hotels. What is also great fun: to snorkel along the rocks from one beach to another. This is the most beautiful snorkelling spot as far as we are concerned!

Grand Hotel Reymar

We were at Grand Hotel Reymar, a beautiful four-star hotel built against a cliff, truly a eye-catcher. It has everything you would expect from a four-star hotel. We chose the ‘bed and breakfast’ option so that with lunch and dinner we could explore all the nice restaurants in town. And there are quite a few! Furthermore, it is great to relax by the pool (on the roof terrace) where there are always plenty of beds and plenty of shade to be found (no need to lay towel in the morning). The pool sits on a rooftop terrace with insane views over the beaches and hills. Eating, drinking, swimming, sunbathing, snorkelling: that's what we do pretty much. An impression of the hotel and adjacent beach:

Grand Hotel Reymar a beach hotel with pool in Tossa de Mar.

Tossa de Mar: our favourite restaurants

An important part of our holidays is eating out and discovering unusual restaurants. Is that your thing too? Then Tossa de Mar is the place to be. There are so many restaurants in this village, impossible to try them all in one holiday. In Spain, I did have to stretch my flexitarianism a bit, as it is more difficult to eat strictly vegetarian (let alone vegan). But how much I enjoyed it! David really made it a sport to spot really nice restaurants using Google Reviews. We also get a few tips from locals. Below is the list of our best discoveries!

Retreat on the cliff of Tossa de Mar and at the bar at our favourite restaurant: Portal.

• Portal: our favourite tapas bar with luxurious and surprising tapas dishes, each dish is a small culinary masterpiece. We came back here three times for good reason. Favourite of many locals too.
• El petit restaurant: luxury tapas and rice dishes. The tapas are just as special and sophisticated as at Portal, only here you're in more of a restaurant setting. Favourite of locals too.
• Botanic Gastro Lounge: this restaurant is a picture! In a beautiful ambiance, an illuminated ‘jungle’ garden, you can enjoy surprising fusion (tapas) dishes.
• Spend an evening climbing the castle, enjoying the view and a cocktail at Maremeva Tossa. Afterwards, descend down at to eat in the hills at tapas bar Lla Luna or another cliffside restaurant.
• There is also one bar in Tossa de Mar where you can eat real pinchos. Do you also love these Basque tapas or want to experience it once? Then head to Eguzkilore Euskal Taberna (no website or socials, but can be found in Google Maps).
• If you like cocktails, you should definitely go for a drink at the one and only coctelería Canela and Rama where cocktail making is a craft. Here you can taste special cocktails that you won't easily find on a menu anywhere else.
• Bar Don Juan must-see, even if it is just for a drink. This tapas marquee has been a household name since 1956. The staff are great (even with children). It does revolve around ham & sausage (which are also hanging all over the place). A staunch vegan will not feel at home here.
  
  

Tossa de Mar: excursions

Tossa de Mar never gets boring. In fact, you don't have to leave the town at all, there is so much to see, do and walk around. In fact, there are several daily tours to Tossa from other Spanish villages. So day trippers love to visit this place too. Besides, with this scorching heat, we mainly need the pool, the sea and a long lunch in the shade during the day. And in the evening? Then Tossa is great and you don't want to be anywhere else! We did take an evening trip to the beautiful Girona, this is only a 40-minute drive away.

Trip to Girona.

Other than that, we stayed nicely in Tossa and left the car behind. Some followers who had also been in Tossa had some great tips in the area:

• Calella Palafrugel (also a picturesque seaside village)
• Pals (also a historic village)
• Dali museum in Figueres
• Lla Franc (also a pretty seaside village)
• Day trip Barcelona
• Tip from schoolyard mother: a short stop to Stock up on Spanish wine for home
  
  

Going on a trip? The distances are still quite considerable. Therefore, remember to compensate for these kilometres after your trip as well.

Also to Tossa de Mar?

I hope I was able to convey my enthusiasm for a road trip to you. If you are also (have been) in Tossa and found this article because you are looking for tips, I would love to hear from you. I hope you are going to have a great time in this pearl of the Costa Brava.

More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl

• Also see: City trip Lisbon with a green edge.
• Also see: sustainable doing in Valencia? This is the place to be!
• Also see: City trip Eindhoven, an exciting city.
• Also see: Road trip Friesland: tips for a week away.
  
  

Photo credits: Falco (Pexels) (main image), thegreenlist.nl.