We wanted to find sun and sand over the long weekend, so we went to Santa Susanna and Barcelona, Spain, to enjoy sangria, tapas and the beach.
Booking our own flights and accommodations is almost always the way to go; however, we saw a pretty good deal with a local travel agency and decided to give it a try. The trip included a 15-hour bus ride from Kaiserslautern, Germany, to Santa Susanna, Spain. Ouch! That was uncomfortable. But once we made it, we were in good spirits. How could we not be with this view from our hotel room balcony?
Santa Susanna
Santa Susanna is a small beach town about an hour northeast of Barcelona. It’s a bit of a tourist trap and I can’t say I loved it. The beach was lovely, but the area didn’t have much to offer that we couldn’t find in another less touristy place in Spain. Nevertheless, we lived it up!
Day 1 included afternoon sangria, a fish pedicure and some beach time. We explored Santa Susanna and its many shops and stores. Our hotel stay included dinner, so we returned in the early evening for that.
We were less than thrilled with the Hotel Tahiti Playa. It seemed like an awesome place to stay from everything we read online, but I believe we came too early in the year. Several amenities were not available (pool was cold, hot tub was cold, poolside bar not open, late-night bar not open). It was like staying in a half-open resort — essentially meals and a place to sleep. Perhaps it perks up a bit more in the summer season!
Barcelona
The next day, we hopped on a bus to Barcelona. I visited Barcelona before and was excited to return with Ben!
We enjoyed lunch and sangria at one of the many beachfront restaurants along Barceloneta before venturing on to the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell. Gaudi’s architecture is stunning and the views from Park Güell are lovely!
Back to Santa Susanna
After several hours exploring Barcelona, we boarded the bus back to Santa Susanna and enjoyed dinner at our hotel again.
Our third and final day in Spain was all about beachside relaxation! We bought a beach towel from a nearby market (towel rental at our hotel wasn’t open, go figure) and lay on the sand for a while.
Living in landlocked Germany, we California natives get homesick for a beach, so it’s great when we have the opportunity to soak it up. We had a couple mojitos, listened to music and people-watched for the majority of the day.
Later, we strolled around Santa Susanna, enjoyed tapas at Kings Grand Cafe restaurant and finished the night at an outdoor hotel party with live music! It was a blast.
In conclusion, I probably wouldn’t return to Santa Susanna, but Ben deserves another trip to Barcelona to see everything it has to offer. Regardless, we enjoyed quality time in the sunshine — something that’s not always easy to come by in Germany!
