Originally Posted by Jon-Bxl (Post 12367984)

Hi

A group of 5 of us in our 60's are planning a weeks holiday in TDM in early October 2018, to celebrate a special occasion. We are coming in from 3 countries and this seems a good and accessible location for us all.

We'd like to book a 5 bed villa, with walking distance into town and beach. A pool would be nice (though not priority #1) with the ubiquitous wifi. We enjoy eating out and rambling in nice scenery. Its likely that we would take a day out in Barcelona and cross the border into that corner of France for another day. Otherwise not too much driving is envisioned. We're hoping to have enough 'fun-stuff' to do locally, unless there is something special worth piling into the car for, without being in there for a long time.

I'd like to get some 'inside info' from people who either live there or are familiar with the area to give some ideas of things to do, with a bias to doing things that are not too strenuous with a focus on socialising, chatting etc, whilst enjoying the local atmosphere. A friendly resto with a nice atmosphere on a beach or a nice town Square would be nice for a few hours for example. Or a nice circular walk visiting a nice village or say a vineyard etc works too.

Any recommendations of good local agencies for villa rental would be appreciated (I know the big companies like Airbnb, holiday lettings etc).

Any info of where NOT to stay or things not to do would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Jon

Originally Posted by Moses2013 (Post 12368058)

Recently spent a day in Tossa and you'll find plenty of restaurants either along the beach or in the old town. The atmosphere is great and you can easily walk around the old town (very relaxing). However when it comes to walking in general most of the really good walks are along the coast but don't forget that this area is very hilly, so walks can be challenging. Regarding rental, I would assume that airbnb is your best bet but it might be that villas you'd like are further out from the main town centre. I've only ever been with the car but you do have good bus connections to other places. Other suggestions would be Sant Feliu de Guixols for a longer stay.

Originally Posted by Jon-Bxl (Post 12368770)

Thanks for your feedback and also to longlegpete.

We are ok coming in lower season, as long as it's not dead.

It will be around the first week in October. We have a place in Ayamonte and at this time its quite buzzy still and I suspect its not as famous as the TDM area.

Coast walks sound like fun last week the BH and I walked from Deal to Dover, nice walk and the hills were manageable.

We'll try and get a place near town....

Does anyone else know of good rental sites in this town, please?

Thanks again

Jon

Originally Posted by Moses2013 (Post 12368792)

We were there in early October and it was not dead at all. It was still busy enough and most restaurants/shops were open. Due to good weather the beach was actually pretty busy that day. Some of the smaller hotels were probably getting ready to close but certainly not dead. It's still currently 22/23c and the sea was perfect for swimming.
This is a good walk along the coast (see attached)
Here maybe another site worth looking at https://www.homeaway.com/results/keywords:tossa

Originally Posted by chopera (Post 12370602)

I booked a week in Tossa through HomeAway in 2015 (early Sept) and it was fantastic. Only quibble was many restaurants seemed to have very similar menus. The coastline and beaches are fantastic, but I'm not sure how much you can make of them in October and it didn't strike me as a place to go to out of season, especially for walking. There's probably enough to keep you interested for a few days though.

Originally Posted by Jon-Bxl (Post 12370835)

Thanks Chopera glad that you rate it as highly as you do.

Based on feedback on this thread, October is fine and sometimes being out of season is better. E.g walking is better out of the summer heat and as long as most of the restos & bars remain open it can be better than in the rush of the season.

Where we are in Ayamonte, Spain we know people who leave in season & return in September - preferring to leave the heat & crowds in season. In early October you can still enjoy the ocean, which is cooler than the Mediterranean. The bars/restos are mostly all open, and there is still a nice (& arguably a better) environment. I can still spend the day/evening in shorts.

As Ayamonte is less 'famous' than TDM I am sure it will have a nice buzz.

So I think for a week we will be fine.

Thanks for the feedback also for mentioning HomeAway, I'll check it out.

Jon

Originally Posted by chopera (Post 12370922)

Yep I'm only speculating about October in Tossa so definitely go with the other comments from first hand experience. You may find the weather not so reliable in Tossa so if it's warm the crowds head there from Barcelona and if it's raining it might empty out. Even so, that coastline tends to be craggy with inlets and pine-clad coves rather than huge stretches of sand. To me it makes it slightly more interesting anyway, even with bad weather. It's also worth heading up through Tamarui, Bergur, Calella and LLafranc. All very picturesque villages that have somehow escaped being over-developed.

Also I just realised we booked that trip through booking.com rather than HomeAway, so my comment on them isn't so relevant.