CATALONIA: SALOU, LA BOELLA AND DELTA DEL EBRE

Last week I spent three fantastic days in La Costa Daurada. The first one in Salou and the other ones visiting the fabulous landscapes in Delta de l'Ebre, located at the southern end of La Costa Daurada, like this one:

Ricefields near L'Encanyissada lagoon in Delta de l'Ebre

Although one of the main attractions of this beautiful area of Catalunya are its long beaches of golden sand, in winter there are also a lot of activities to do.

For example, our first day began with a guided tour and an olive oil tasting in La Boella (www.laboella.com), a 110-hectare estate of olive trees and gardens located midway between Reus and Tarragona. At the heart of La Boella you will find a 12th century country house lovingly restored. That day ended with a pleasant walk along the beach of Salou.

Delta de l'Ebre was our environment for the following two days. We were cycling in La Bassa de les Olles and La Punta del Fangar. Besides, we walked along El Trabucador and stared at the flamingos at La Tancada and L'Encanyissada lagoons.

Below you can see the places I visited during these three days:

Day 1: Salou

• Hotel Magnolia
• La Boella
• Salou Beach

Day 2: Cycling through Delta de l'Ebre

• Port del Fangar Area
• Punta del Fangar
• Bassa de les Olles

Day 3: Delta de l'Ebre

• Barra del Trabucador
• Bassa de la Tancada
• Arrossars
• Casa de Fusta
• Barraca del Delta
• Bassa de l'Encanyissada

Other interesting areas of El Delta del Ebre to visit if you have enough time are L'Illa de Buda (Buda Island) or La Punta de la Banya.

Next, I would like to show you some pictures I took in Salou, La Boella and El Delta de L'Ebre.

Day 1

Hotel Magnolia

Hotel Magnolia is a comfortable hotel located close to the beach of Salou. Our room was quite large

La Boella

The day was lovely as you can see in this picture taken in La Boella shortly before the tour we made to this state

Roses and olive trees, a fantastic landscape I could enjoy before the guided tour in La Boella

The large convention center in La Boella. The other two buildings are the restaurant Espai Fortuny and the Mas la Boella Hotel

The restored medieval tower you can see in this picture is the symbol of La Boella

After the interesting olive oil tasting, we walked among the olive trees in La Boella

Salou Beach

Sunset in Salou beach

Day 2

Port del Fangar Area

Boats close to the beach in the area of Delta de l'Ebre called Port del Fangar

Near La Bassa de les Olles we rent a bicycle to discover La Punta del Fangar, one of the most interesting areas of Delta de l'Ebre

Punta del Fangar

After half and hour by bike we hadn't enough time to arrive near the Lighthouse of La Punta del Fangar, located 6km from this point. Maybe we should have driven to this place and, then, walked up to the lighthouse and the mobile dunes, which give a desert appearance to this area of Delta de l'Ebre

Bassa de les Olles

Birds overflying La Bassa de les Olles, the smallest lagoon of Delta de l'Ebre

Day 3

Barra del Trabucador

Walking along La Barra del Trabucador of Delta de l'Ebre under a lovely morning next to the water of La Badia dels Alfacs

Golden sand of Barra del Trabucador and the Mediterranean sea in the background. One of the most beautiful landscapes of Delta de l'Ebre

Sant Carles de la Ràpita from El Trabucador, a beautiful area of El Delta de l'Ebre

Vegetation of El Trabucador in El Delta de l'Ebre

Arrossars

Beautiful scenery of ricefields in El Delta del Ebre

Bassa de la Tancada

Flamingos, which appear in this picture, can often be seen in La Llacuna de la Tancada (La Tancada lagoon). You can enjoy this lagoon by using the bicycle lane that surrounds La Tancada

Casa de Fusta

La Casa de Fusta (Wooden House), a Park Information Centre located next to L'Encanyissada, the Delta's largest lagoon. In front of this building is the start of L'Encanyissada cycle path.

Barraca del Delta

Una barraca del Delta de l'Ebre, a typical house built with traditional methods

Bassa de l'Encanyissada 

Nice view of La Llacuna de l'Encanyissada in Delta de l'Ebre

Viewpoint next to L'Encanyissada lagoon

Staring at the birds and flamingos of L'Encanyissada, an enormous submerged meadow of El Delta de l'Ebre

Spectacular sunset in L'Encanyissada, one of the most impressive environments of El Delta del Ebre

Of course, El Delta del Ebre is not the only interesting place to visit along La Costa Daurada. This 216 km of Mediterranean coastline offers very interesting tourist attractions such as:

• Ancient Roman Tarraco
• Reus Modernist architecture itinerary
• The beautiful beaches and coves of L'Ametlla de Mar
• Miami Playa
• Castle of Tamarit
• Roc de Sant Gaietà
• The medieval village of Montblanc
• The Cistercian monasteries of Poblet and Santes Creus
• The medieval village of Siurana
• The medieval village of Miravet 
• The Iberian citadel of Calafell

• Port Aventura

• Playing golf in Golf Costa Dorada Tarragona 
• Wine tours through the main designation of origin regions

For further information, you can visit the following websites:

• www.parcsdecatalunya.net
• www.larapita.com
• www.enlarapita.com
• www.ampolla.com

I also would like to recommend you the two hotels where we stayed:

• Hotel Magnolia in Salou (www.magnoliahotelsalou.com)
• Hotel del Port in Sant Carles de la Ràpita (www.hoteldelport.es)

and one of the restaurants of El Delta del Ebre where we enjoy a delicious paella:

• Restaurant Casa de Fusta L'Estany, located next to l'Encanyissada and La Casa de Fusta (www.restaurantestany.com)

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Catalonia.