1

I'd stay in Barcelona and do some daytrips from there, such as: Moncerrat, Girona, Figueres (Dali-museum) and Taragona. In fact you could do most of these trips by public transport.

2

Thanks for the list Liberat, will look into it and finalize the destinations.

Any suggestions for Majorca trip...I am still looking for a good beach resort, no luck so far....

3

If the suggestions made by Liberat are good for you, you can easily make them by public transport (i.e.: no need to rent-a-car to visit those places). BTW, two spelling notes in order to help you info about those places: Montserrat and Tarragona.

Otherwise, it would help to know what type of places are you looking for. Are you looking for Art? Nature? Cities? Towns? Coastal? Inland? Mountains?...

4

Anillos, thanks for the advice...

we are not really into art/ museums/ churches, we are looking for natural beauty, or may be small hill top/ coastal towns...

n we were planning to rent a car for the sheer fun of scenic drives...and not acccessibility...we did a similar thing in Italy 2 months back, drove around Tuscany region and explored small towns on our way to Venice, we absolutely loved it...just thought will repeat the experience n see wht Spain has to offer. But I am making a list of destinations you guys have suggested...may be we can drive around in Majorca instead....

5

wow, Montserrat is stunning...we'll definitely go there, may be stay over for a night in Valencia...

6

we are looking for natural beauty, or may be small hill top/ coastal towns...

Look for coastal towns like Calella de Palafrugell, Cadaqués, Llançà...
Inland, you can look for places like Besalú, Santa Pau, Olot... Look for info about La Garrotxa.

If you don't bother to go a little more far away, the National Park of Aiguestortes i Estany Sant Maurici is advisable.

7

You can't rely on beach weather in early October.

For Mallorca and having read your preferences, i would recommend staying somewhere in the Tramuntana and have a rental car. It most certainly is the most stunning part of the island and the coast is never far away (though the beaches in that part of Mallorca may not be the 'very best'). In that area there is enough permanent population and there will always be bars frequented by locals and expats.

8

Dear Swati1234:

Early October is a good time to come to Majorca and an ideal season to swim. The weather is still pleasant and the sea is far from being cold. In fact, at this time the sea still retains most of the heat absorbed during summer.
However, since the current summer is being pretty warm, rainfalls and thunderstorms are most likely to develop as the summer ends and the weather gets cooler. But this is an unpredictable phenomenon so forget about that.

As Artemis recommends you, a rental car is ideal to explore all the beauty Majorca has to offer.
First of all, and with regards to your stay, the Sierra de Tramuntana has lovely villages such as Valldemossa, Deia or Fornalutx. It won´t be difficult to find nice hotels there with stunning views to the sea and the mountains.
However, you have to assume that only a few coves suitable for swimming are relatively close to these villages, such as Cala Deia.
But if you are looking for sandy beaches, and even lovely coves, these are not that close from these villages.
For example, southerly beaches (for instance, EsTrenç) and nice coves (Cala Mondragó, S´Almunia) are 45 minutes away from Sierra de Tramuntana, given that you have to get to Palma and afterwards head to the south.
The same goes to the north-eastern beaches such as Formentor, Alcudia or Playa de Muro. And not to mention the eastern part of Majorca (Cala Agulla, Cala Mesquida, etc), which is an hour and fifteen minutes from there, at least.
It depends on how much time do you want to spend driving what place you choose to stay.

An alternative I would not reject is to stay in a rural hotel located in the middle of the island. It depends on how much money you want to spend, but there are very nice typical Majorcan rural hotels, yet pretty peaceful.
You won´t enjoy sea views from there but the surrounded environment is also very nice.
Nevertheless, since these hotels are usually located in the middle of the countryside, perhaps you might feel yourself a bit isolated at night if your wish is to have dinner in some lively restaurants or villages.

Best advice I may give you is to decide what you would like to do during your stay in Majorca; sunbathing, exploring mountain villages, or even visiting Palma (which definitely deserves a visit)

Regards, Madftv.

9

Look for a nice parador in the Pyrenees for natural beauty. They're not cheap, but ....

http://www.paradorsofspain.com/paradoresbyregion.aspx

Edited by: IntrepidGee

10

If you want to look for a parador, make it in their official web.

11

Regarding paradors, it used to be cheaper to book them on booking.com

12

Hi guys,

You are great!! thanks for all your advice...

So here's what we have done: We have booked a beautiful resort in south west par of Majorca...got a very good deal...we've also hired a car for whole of our stay, so guess it will make things much more accesible now...

we plan to do a day trip to the northern most part of the island via M10- Andratx to Sóller, soaking in the fab vews of Tramuntana and stopping by the small pretty villages. We are also thinking of trying snorkling, and spending a day in north east around a sandy beach.

"Look for a nice parador in the Pyrenees for natural beauty"

• I had no idea re Pyreenes, so googled it and it's so amazing...We have 3 nights in Barcelona, 3 nights in Majorcaand and 2 nights free in between....guess Pyreenes could be our thing...is a 2 day trip from Barcelona doable ? If yes, which exact place do you recommend we visit?

Cheers..

13

is a 2 day trip from Barcelona doable ? If yes, which exact place do you recommend we visit?

You can spend 2 days in the Pyrenees departing from Barcelona. Of course, you won't be able to see all what the area has to offer but you could take a look at some place(s) in the area. Vall de Boí and Aigüestortes i Estany Sant Maurici National Park will offer you a mix of culture and nature and could be an option (although you would need more time to really enjoy the area).

14

Thanks a lot Anillos and all!

everything sorted out...Hotel reservations - check; Car rental - check; itinerary - check

3 nights in barcelona, 1 night in the beautiful castle of Cordona via Mosterrat, then drive up north-east, 1 night in begur in a spectacular cliff top resort and finally fly to majorca for 4 relaxing days....

now just keeping my fingers crossed for a blessed weather....

cheers everyone...will post my trip report next....am loving this forum :)