Beach, Sun And Carnival! – Sitges, Catalonia, Spain
This is a really, really cool town.
It was the very first impression both of us had when we first saw the place and we hadn’t been able to stop saying it since we arrived. We were smack in the middle of Sitges, a beach town ~45 mins from Barcelona on the Southern Coast of Spain, and it had exactly the kind of Mediterranean seaside vibe that we had dreamed about when we first started thinking about RVing in Europe.
Miles of sandy beach with the deep blue sea gently lapping at its shores, a long boardwalk lined with palm trees, open-air restaurants grand buildings decorated with colorful Spanish tile and everything bracketed by a stunning church at the end. Temps were perfect too, a cool and sunny 17°C with nothing but clear sky and sunny days ahead.
We couldn’t have landed at a better first beach spot.
The Drive Over Was Lovely
Our drive from France had only been a couple of hours and had been quite lovely.
We decided to take the mountain pass over the Pyrénées because….pourquoi pas? It’s a gorgeous drive and our little rig has the power to do it. Plus we’re rapidly falling in love with driving LMB. She has great suspension and is SO easy to maneuver and turn that you’d think you were coasting along in a regular car. She’s pretty darn sweet.
As an added bonus, the paws are starting to like her too.
Polly is already all-in and very happy to be exploring again. The cats have not quite settled down yet, but over the past few days they’ve started to find their routine. They’ve adjusted to their new mini-living-space and now have individual day and night-time spots in which to catch their ~14-hour beauty naps. Plus they’ve stopped hissing at each other and started sleeping together again, a sure sign that General Feline Peace has returned. Yeah!
What’s even more telling is that they barely react when we start-up the engine. Our old “beast” had quite a roar and, like all big rigs, the rear suspension was somewhat bouncy, which the cats tolerated but never really liked that much. LMB drives much more like a van or a car, and the cats are totally relaxed when she fires up to go. It’s a positive (and totally unexpected) bonus. They literally slept the whole way across the mountains.
We’ve Unexpectedly Hit Carnival!
Another serendipitous bonus we hadn’t planned for, was that we rolled into town right in the middle of the biggest party of the year…..CARNIVAL!!
Now to to put this properly in perspective this isn’t just any little ol’gathering. The Carnival in Sitges is claimed as one of the top 10 Carnivals in the world with over 250,000 people attending. The celebration goes on for weeks with both children’s and adult-themed events, starting early in the day and going on throughout the night til dawn the next day. It is a PARTAY and a half, and during the event Sitges is a happening place! In fact the running joke in town is that if you want a more relaxed Carnival, you should go to Barcelona because it’s much more laid-back in the “big city”.
We simply hadn’t thought about Carnival, and didn’t really catch on until we noticed folks walking around in costume at the campground check-in. What a cool bonus!
Campgrounds Are Still Easy To Get Into
Despite this we had no problems getting a site, even without reservations.
One of the things we both looked forward to when we acquired LMB was a more relaxed mode of travel. In the “beast” we always had to plan ahead and make reservations, especially if we wanted to be in certain areas (e.g. Oregon Coast, Maine etc.) during high season. Not all big rig owners do this (there are certainly folks who just “wing it”), but we’ve always been really picky about where we wanted to stay, so to get into those spots for the exact time-frames we wanted, we simply had to plan.
Driving around in our ~23 foot Mini Bête is much, much easier. We can pretty much park in any regular parking spot (just about), and can get into any campground site without an issue. Plus since we’re traveling in low season (i.e. NOT summer) we have even less to worry about.
Camping El Garrofer in Sitges proved that out. They had lots of nice shaded sites just a short walk from the beach and a few km from town. Plus they had plenty of availability for our size when we arrived in Friday afternoon, and were actually pretty cheap too. We got the ASCI discount card, which is basically the European equivalent of Passport America (big thanks to our friends Iain & Kate who recommended ASCI before we set off!) so the site was only EUR 20 a night. Totally reasonable for a nice place to stay.
The Town Was Happening
Over the next few days we explored Sitges by bike and foot, soaking in the fresh ocean air (oh, how I’ve missed the beach), exploring the narrow alleyways of town and partaking in a few of the evening festivities.
It’s a pretty large town, boasting over 26,000 permanent inhabitants, 17 separate beaches and a history that stretches back over several centuries. Some of the older buildings still stand today, including the central church but the majority of the town is made up of more modern houses stretched along the extensive beachfront. It’s got a fairly laid-back vibe, but is also quite fancy in spots, so because of that and it’s near-perfect location it’s often nicknamed the Saint Tropez of Spain. This is the place where folks come to relax and play…
Like most Spanish towns, things are pretty dead in the early mornings (great time to roam around if you want to see things in peace), and don’t really ramp up until around midday. Evening meals don’t start until late (past 8 or 9 PM) and things don’t REALLY get rocking well into nighttime. It’s simply the Spanish way…
Seeing the Carnival here was a perfect little bonus. It was everything we could have hoped for and more with over-the-top floats & costumes, music and dance. There were gals in skimpy costumes, Queens in elaborate dresses, gladiators in gold, masses of rainbow flags and pretty much everything in-between. The Carnival in Sitges is an all-inclusive party where absolutely everyone is welcome, and it was a total blast to experience.
Aaaand We Saw Our First Lighthouse!
The final cherry on top from our stay in Sitges was that we caught our first European lighthouse! Well I say “caught”, but sadly it was closed when we went by so we didn’t get to see her inner workings. El Far de Sant Cristòfol is a fine old lady dating back to 1866. She’s built in stone and her 21 m (68 ft) tower shines a light 19 nautical miles to sea.
She looked AMAZING from the outside, so we were rather bummed not to get in, but thankfully there’s a very nice dog-friendly beach right in front. So we consolidated ourselves with a relaxed stroll in the sand (Polly is SO HAPPY to be back on the beach!) and a view of the fine lady behind us. There’s another ~200 lighthouses in this country so maybe we’ll get lucky next time? Either way, I’ll happily take it….
Coming Up Next -> We Go Boondocking (Yes, REAL Boondocking!)
How fun, Nina! We are watching your posts with interest, as we are renting a motorhome in UK in September. A far different mode of travel for us, as compared to our fifth wheel. Looking forward to see how you manage to boondock with a cassette toilet!
You know the cassette toilet has been SUPER EASY! We were very worried about it when we first started, but honestly dumping the cassette has been even easier than dumping in the old rig. The only thing is we have to do it more often (it’s a SMALL tank) so we can’t boondock for too long. I’ll talk a bit more about cassettes at some point.
Nina
I have a cassette in my camper and LOVE it.
You know what, we’re starting to like it too! Never thought I’d say that.
Nina
Looks fantastic. Sitges is definitely on our list at some point.
I think you’d like it. We’ve really enjoyed the whole coast from Peniscola up to Costa Brava. It’s been very chillaxed, and less crowded (I gather) than the coast further south.
Nina
Oh, yes, please do! We’ve had cassettes for 10 years, but only for, ahem, liquids, in that we’re terrified to deal with them otherwise. It would open up a lot more RVing options, including boondocking, if we could get over our fear of solids!
Apologies- somehow this embedded incorrectly. It’s meant for the reply above!
Love the post so glad you guys are traveling again
see you soon .
Bonjour,
J’apprécie beaucoup votre blog car nous projetons de retourner en France mais cette fois-ci en VR. Vos photos son super. C’est agréable de vous lire encore mais du vieux continent.
Thank you
Réjean ( robidouxrejean.blogspot.ca )
Merci beaucoup! C’est un plaisir de lire des commentaires en Français.
Nina
Fun! Glad the lovelies are settling in. We have 2 (used to be 3, but let’s not talk about neighborhood dog packs) sister kitties that look just like your 2. My husband and I have the gray looking girl, Monet. Our son, next door, adopted the ginger kitty, Marmalade. Monet hates our RV heater. It is loud and has been in use a LOT this cold winter. Whenever it kicks on, she leaps up and makes a run for the bathroom floor/rug. I don’t know why, but the vibrations bother her. Plus the bathroom is the warmest room. Safe and fun travels. Love the photos!
Awwww…kitty! Our cats always loved the furnace in our old “beast”, but they also really like our electric heater. If you’re on hookups most of the time, you might want to get a little electric (ceramic) heater. They do the job really well, and are very quiet too.
Nina
I can’t say it enough–I’m so glad you are posting again! Love reading about your adventures in Europe and am glad the new rig is “growing” on you guys. I’m converting your centigrade temps and Euro monies so I can get a feel for what it’s really like. I bet Polly is a lot like Emmi–as long as her people are around she is happy.
Thank you my dear! And yes Polly is just happy to be with her humans. She doesn’t care where that is, as long as we’re all together.
Nina
Wow awesome post. Love the kitties and Polly have settled in. Enjoying the trip along with you.
Excellent!! Nice to have ya’ll back on the road “with” us.
Tim and Linda in “CasaRoll”
Really glad to read about you being on the road again… I had a 20ft. Pleasureway for the past six years but this summer went full time in a 25 ft Class C with the idea to cross the USA and back (I’m from Canada) . You can’t imagine how many of your reviews have helped in my planning. I also recognize the pleasures of being in a little “beast” over a big one!!!!
Would love to hear if you have any recommendations regarding renting an RV in Europe…. I know of people who say it is very expensive and hard to find info re RV Parks … mind you, you have already started giving people like me information so that it may make it easier… any info will help in planing my RV trip around Spain and France….
Are e rentals readily available? What sort of price (for rental/for camping)?? What is the price of gas??? Maybe questions like this can be a focus of one of you blogs…
Jennifer
I actually wrote a post about renting in Europe just a few months ago, where I discussed price and season (two BIG factors in the cost) as well as where to rent. Have a look here:
https://www.wheelingit.us/2018/06/13/moving-to-europe-viii-renting-or-buying-an-rv-campervan-motorhome-in-europe/
Nina
You sound so energized! I’m so happy you are enjoying hitting the road again. And that LMB is working out so well for you and les paws!
Love reading about your adventures. So glad you’re able to RV again.
We’ll be in France in May! Renting a “barge” for a week, and traveling the canal from Vermenton to Tonerre. Will go to Auxerre when we get off the boat on a Saturday. Have to fly back to U.S. on Tuesday. Undecided about what to do from Sat-Monday night. We were in Paris a couple years ago and did the “normal tourist” things (Eiffel,
Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Louvre, Cathedral Notre Dame, etc). Any suggestions for this time? We could head back to Paris/Versailles, or go someplace else from Auxerre for a couple days. Any hints appreciated!
Safe travels to you two and “the paws”!
If you decide to go back to Paris I actually wrote a post about 5 “off-beat” places to visit here:
https://www.wheelingit.us/2018/10/23/oh-paris-my-paris-5-off-the-beaten-track-things-to-do-see-in-the-city-of-love/
As for other ideas, I’m not overly familiar with that area of France but I know Lyon is a lovely town.
Nina
Thanks! I had read that post at one time, but had forgotten that you were the one who wrote it. Just re-read that one, and the general info one about Paris.
Will also pass the info along to the couple we’re “barging” with. Thanks again!
Lovely drive. What a new adventure!
Hi Guys,
Do you find many/any campgrounds with grey water connection at the site? I am wondering how to deal with showers (in the motorhome instead of walking to the campground showers) if you want to spend more than a day or two.
Cheers,
James
No, we haven’t found any with grey water connection so far. I think it’s quite rare.
What most folks do, if staying for a longer time, is either to buy an external grey water portable tank (you drain into it, then roll it to the dump as needed), or just use the campground showers (which we’ve found to be outstanding everywhere).
Nina
Glad to see the cats adjusting to their new home.
Photos are good once again and forgot to mention on the previous post that I like the one that showed the town.
What a great place. Sitges wasn’t on our travel list for the fall but perhaps it needs to be. We experienced Carnival in Mexico while traveling through Veracruz. Nothing like it!
Sitges was a glorious place back in 1967! At that time it was a resort for the Brits.
How interesting! There’s still quite a few foreigners in Sitges, but I think most Brits now prefer to take their resort vacations further south (nearer Costa Del Sol). We saw lots of French in Sitges, especially north all along the coast up towards the border. As we got further south we also met lots of Dutch, Germans and Nordic folk enjoying their winter months in the warmth. For retired folks, the south coast of Spain is a huge winter destination.
Nina
Nice post, Stiges looks fantastic. I agree soaking in fresh ocean air is always cool and a good feel.
Gorgeous photos to accompany your narrative. What a treat to follow your adventures. Very impressed with the pet behavior! Happy Travels!