Rural tourism in the Costa Brava

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines rural tourism as travel that prioritizes nature and places with low population density, where most locals are engaged in agriculture and retain a mostly traditional rural way of life. The terms agritourism and eco-tourism have a similar meaning but provide more nuance: the former is a type of rural tourism where visitors are actively involved in the farming or ranching process, while the latter hints more at the care with which one should approach and appreciate travel—to do no harm and leave no impact.

In the province of Girona and on the Costa Brava, rural tourism is popular both in winter and summer. Weekend nature trips are a popular family activity in Catalonia. The accommodation booked for the duration varies widely, from tents on a camping site, an apartment in a small town to a room in a masia, a rural agricultural estate. The latter option is the most conducive to feeling like an engaged agritourist as it likely involves sharing the house and the table with the farm owners, getting a guided farm tour, possibly even feeding cows and horses and seeing the tools of the trade in action.

Nevertheless, these aspects of the rural way of life come with all the modern amenities like plumbing, high-speed Internet and a swimming pool right outside. To learn more about farming and agriculture in Catalonia of the old times, your best bet is a museum, such as Museu de les aixetes (Capmany) or Museu Rural (Palau-sator).

The map of rural tourism hotels and agrotourism accommodations in the Costa Brava