Hiking along the Hidden Paradise Beaches on GR92 in Catalonia | Sant Antoni de Calonge, Platja d’Aro & S’Agaro

That day we planned to make 17kms that didn’t look very difficult elevation wise. We would go through the towns Palamos, Calonge, Platja d Aro, and S’Agaro in Sant Feliu de Guixols. It was promising to be a very pavement heavy day with lots of towns to pass by but at the same time, we still hoped to see some natural paths here and there.

We had a nice and recovering sleep in the campground Internacional de Palamos. It turned out to be nice and spacious place with the sea views from above where we were able to spent a calm night surrounded by camper vans. Luckily it was quiet and peaceful there even though there were still quite a lot of people. We had our usual morning routine and were out on the trail at 10am.

So we came out to the Platja de la Fosca right away and the path went through the rocks climbing up very close to the sea. We saw lots of people swimming and having a great time at the beach. The path turned to the shaded forest and soon we came to the Mirador de Cap Gros from where we could see the beautiful Cala de la Fosca views and its castle. Then going over the cliff we saw the small fishing settlement Cala Margarida. Following the nice wooden bridge pass we got closer to the port area of Palamos town. It was a decent size port with lots of parking spots and a diving club too. In these places we noticed that diving was one of the most important and popular activities due to the amount of amazing cliff formations, caves and sea life.

After getting through the narrow streets we came out to the sea front of Palamos. It was noisy and busy because of the Car Rally of old cars that was holding the town and it created quite a bit of chaos and traffic jams. The beach Platja Gran de Palamos was 3.4 km long and so we were walking along the sea front for quite some time. The front line of the houses looked very high and populated and it felt as if we were walking through big city at times.

The weather was sunny with no clouds again and so it was getting quite hot especially counting the little shaded route. However, as the trail was easy and flat we could do it in only 40min or so. We had a small break on the shaded bench having ice cream and then continued on.

That whole day we were following the Gr92 marks and didn’t have to deviate at all as it was going along the sea line. It was fine and clear and we had no problems finding the way and very few times checking our map.

Then after doing the town part, we started doing the more natural path still winding along the cliff. It was probably the best part of the day for sure. It was similar to the whole previous day from Tamariu to Palamos full of picturesque beaches among the cliffs. We had to get through quite a lot of stairs too with ups and downs of 20 to 30m elevation change. But adding up all of that stairs it would make a significant number of meters made all together and increase the level of difficulty.

Quite a lot of people were walking alongside us and we even met several big backpackers, of course with most of people being day hikers.

The landscapes were idyllic and out of this world with yellow creamy rocks and cliffs and all shades of blue water. We loved the light sand on the beaches made of small rocks that didn’t stick to things so easily.

We decided to stop at Cala Belladona beach to have our lunch break and also because of the heat we couldn’t resist the temptation of getting in the water again. As the last time it felt so amazing and refreshing. The same was this time. The sun was very strong and hot and so we could dry ourselves quite quickly.

Then after an hour spending at the beach feeling nice and with renewed energy levels we continued with the path. The wind started to blow more fiercely at that point and so we could see the white combs appearing on the sea and more waves which was beautiful. Sometimes the path was going in the manmade tunnel or cave, with some arches in between and it was very interesting to go through them as if we were passing the quest or a game.

Then after several hours at this part, we came out to the beach of Cala Rovira which was already forming a part of Platja d’Aro town. We followed Passeig Maritim for 2kms passing the beaches Platja d Aro and Platja Larga and seeing lots of high buildings again as if we were in Miami sea front. Then we had to go around the Port d’Aro getting away from sea for 1 km and then get back to it again coming out to Platja De Sa Conca.

Then we went through a very unique part of Cami de Ronda going around S’Agaro area. It was very nicely done with white rocks instead of usual tiles and it felt very luxurious to step on it. The architecture there was of an old style with lots of columns, arches and gazebos, all of soft white color. We enjoyed a lot doing this final part unexpectedly beautiful and one in a kind.

S’Agaro is an upmarket resort built in 1930s by the son of Catalan industrialist Josep Ensesa Gubert. It was aimed at people with artistic taste and was made with local architectural vocabulary of porticos, towers, terraces.

Now the promontory contains about 60 exclusive houses with part of the Camí de Ronda following s’Agaró’s coastline in its entirety. It includes the church standing on the highest point and the world famous five star Hostal de la Gavina that dominates the view from Sant Pol beach. Lots of movie and stage stars were staying there along with lots of other important politicians and famous people.

Then we went along the Sant Pol beach for a km and had to climb up to our campground Sant Pol. As it was already getting very late we were glad we found a small grocery shop right in the camping where we bought several tomatoes, cheese, and water. The campground was quite small located on different levels of the hill. But as there were no other campers right now in the places for the tents we could choose our spot. We liked that there was a picnic table next to each pitch. Also it was a budget friendly campground for the hikers and the price didn’t include the car, electricity and extra fees that not each campground did.

So as usual, we set up our tent when it was getting dark already, went to the showers and cooked rice for dinner. And being very happy about this bright and full of impressions day we felt asleep soon.

Here is the link to Google map to follow the hike: