I went to Spain’s Golden Coast – with 50 miles of beaches and huge family resorts
SPAIN’S Costa Daurada simply translates as the Golden Coast.
It’s named after the colour of the sand when the sun shines along its 50 miles of Mediterranean beaches, running south- west from Barcelona.
I hadn’t taken the time to explain its meaning to my children while sitting in the departures lounge at Stansted Airport.
But it was the first that thing they exclaimed as they dived into the surf three hours later.
“Daddy, there’s gold in the water!”
They weren’t wrong. Tiny grains of sand floating in the crystal-clear sea shone like a golden twinkling disco ball suspended in the sun’s rays.
My two grew up paddling in the familiar dark-grey murk of the North Sea.
So they were certainly thrilled to be snorkelling in 34C sunshine off Platja dels Pilans.
The beach was just a ten-minute walk from our Eurocamp holiday home at the Playa Montroig Resort, in Miami Platja. And that was just as stunning.
Our Ultimate lodge slept six in comfort — with efficient air-conditioning that came into its own on during our scorching summer holiday.
Outside, comfy patio furniture on the shaded decking was perfect for chilling at any time of day, and the dining table and chairs were great for al-fresco meals.
The beachside resort is a 20-minute drive from Reus Airport, and around an hour from Barcelona.
And it lives up to its 5H rating, with immaculate grounds, three restaurants, a beach bar and round-the-clock entertainment for both kids and grown-ups.
On our first night, a magician sawed his glamorous assistant in half to the wonder of watching children.
The same stage hosted intense-looking exercise classes in the mornings, which were definitely not for the hungover.
And by the afternoon it had turned into a kid-friendly Ibiza foam party with huge cannons coating the dancing crowds in clouds of bubbles.
Gigs on the beach, fireworks, and a swimming pool complex with triple-flume action only added to the fun.
The poshest restaurant on site was the Espai Grill, which offered a full three courses of prime meats, with courtyard entertainment from a Beatles tribute band.
Unfussy and simple
Mid-tier was the Terrassa Restaurant, which served traditional Spanish fare and cold lagers, just a stone’s throw from the main square.
Our favourite was the Tucanamar beach bar.
Unfussy and simple, fresh fish and meat were grilled here over woodsmoke and washed down with copious Del Boy cocktails.
You can’t beat tapas and an ice-cold mojito while overlooking the waves with sand at your feet.
There was a bakery for morning baguette runs, and a decent-sized supermarket which offered the wonderful European adventures of 15 types of chocolate spread and tinned olives.
Never has the gulf between a British booze aisle, and alcohol on the Continent, been so vast.
You could get three bottles of tip-top rioja and a slab of beers for the price of a petrol station chardonnay back home.
For a spot of offsite culture, we headed to the town of Montroig del Camp, which was famed as the rural retreat of the late Catalan painter and surrealist icon Joan Miro.
He began his painting career here at his parents’ farmhouse retreat and the landscape was the inspiration for some of his most famous works.
Montroig del Camp is overlooked by the remarkable 13th-century hermitage of Our Lady of the Rock, which is itself topped by the 19th-century Chapel of Sant Ramon.
Perched on top of a column of eroded red rock, it defies physics while also offering panoramic views all the way to the coast.
Wildlife and waterfalls
Thankfully, you can park at the top before clambering up to the chapel.
We then took the short drive to Cambrils to see the beautiful botanical gardens at Parc Sama.
It’s like a National Trust stately-home experience parachuted into the Med.
The wonderful 35-acre grounds are packed with wildlife and waterfalls.
You can feed the deer and marvel at the terrapins in the lake where fish will nibble your fingertips.
But it’s the peacocks that are the star of the show.
Chicks beside showboating grown-ups, and even their rare white- feathered cousins, strut among the tourists.
The coastal capital is Tarragona, home to the ruins of a magnificent Roman amphitheatre and an amazing 12th century Cathedral.
But it’s human structures that are the modern marvel — the city hosts the Castells competition, the world’s largest human tower contest.
The gravity-defying, centuries-old Catalan tradition sees incredible towers created from the crowds which stand up to 40ft high.
A wonderful life-size city centre-statue pays soaring tribute to their efforts.
There’s no doubt that the Costa Daurada, with all its sun-soaked family fun and Catalonian culture, delivers a gold-star break.
GO: Costa Daurada
GETTING / STAYING THERE: Seven nights’ self-catering in an Ultimate three-bed holiday home sleeping six at Playa Montroig, in Miami Platja in October half term is from £525 in total, arriving October 26.
Flights or ferries can be booked separately.
A seven-night trip in the Easter holidays next year is from £730 in total.
See eurocamp.co.uk.com.