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Beaches

Sa Tuna and Aiguafreda- two jewels on the Costa Brava

There are no shortages of beguiling beaches on the Costa Brava, large and small. Some of these tiny little known coves can be a joy to discover. Questions around ease of access and parking-if any- do crop up but reward the adventureous or the curious.

Quite a few of the upmarket super-mini beach hideaways can be found clustered around the coastline near to the inland town of Begur. On entering it’s easy enough to pick up signs for Sa Tuna, a further ten minute drive.

Just before you start the descent of a hundred bends there’s the opportunity to gasp at the breathtaking views of this ancient coastline. These quickly become obscured by groves of pine trees, roadside villas and then we reach Sa Tuna.

Being a sunny Sunday in late January parking was relatively easy, heaven knows what awaits you at the height of summer as public spaces are few. I’m reminded that this is our first visit ever here which I find surprising.

As we walked down towards the sea the hillside was peppered with fine residences, all dutifully pointing seawards. The postage stamp beach is mostly gravel and rock. It already had several groups of sitters and a canoodling couple unperturbed by passers by. A quick scan identified a coastal path to our left. There was no sign of any functioning open cafe or bar, a nearby hostel was closed for the winter.

We chose the route marked Aiguafreda 15’ (minutes) and began to scale the steps leading away from Sa Tuna. It weaved through the village before the vista opened hugging the shore. The path meanders upwards with long expanses of stone steps before leveling off and dropping down to Aiguafreda. Even having handrails all along here there are steep perilous looking drops to your right.

There’s hardly any beach to speak of here, and few hillside villas, but lots of hard concrete areas. Of course the views out to sea and the hills above are the real compensation. We noticed groups of divers exiting the water so maybe that’s the real attraction.

After a brief stop to catch our breath and the requisite selfies we made our way back to Sa Tuna. This is for lovers of a truly quiet retreat where you’d have to make your own fun, or endlessly stare at a picture perfect horizon beneath a bold blue sea. 

Sa Tuna is a strong candidate for such a place, a be-in-the-moment type place.