Cadaqués
Spain
A white fishing village at the end of a winding road, with Dalí's house in the next cove
Photo by Jorge Salvador on Unsplash
Photos by Ferran Fusalba Roselló, Mateo Krossler, Elektra Klimi and Mateo Krossler on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Spain
May to June, and September — high summer fills the one road in, and the tramuntana wind blows hardest in the winter
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Oct
Where it is
42.29°N, 3.28°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Book Dalí's house at Portlligat well ahead; it is seen in small groups on a timed ticket
- Walk the coast path from Portlligat out towards Cap de Creus, early in the day
- Swim from the rocks in the coves rather than the town beach
- Arrive and leave outside the high-summer weekends, when the road in queues
- Stay the night; the day visitors leave and the village is quiet by evening
Cadaqués travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Spain
ExpensiveEuros, cards almost everywhere. Prices are Barcelona prices and higher in high summer, and Catalonia's tourist tax is added per person per night on top of the room rate.
ATMs & cards
A few bank machines in the village centre. Decline any machine's conversion offer and take the euro amount; draw cash in Figueres or Roses if you will need much.
Avoid these
- Euronet and other independent machines that push conversion
Use these instead
- CaixaBank
- BBVA
- Sabadell
- Santander
There are few machines in the village; decline any conversion offer and take the euro amount.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Spain
Very safeVery safe; nothing in the village needs care after dark beyond the steep cobbles. The road in is narrow and winding over the hill from Roses and slow in summer traffic. The tramuntana, the north wind, can blow for days, and on the cliffs and the rocks at Cap de Creus it is strong enough to knock people over.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Cap de Creus — in the tramuntana, which is strong enough on the cliffs and rocks to knock people over
- the road in — narrow and winding over the hill from Roses, and slow with summer traffic and tired drivers going home
- Swimming from the rocks when the wind has been blowing — the swell comes in faster than it looks from the shore
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Spain visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Spain
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date (MMR, tetanus, polio)
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodSuquet de peix, a fish and potato stew, is the village dish. Sea urchins, garotes, are eaten raw on the rocks in the cold months. Anchovies come from L'Escala down the coast and Empordà wine from the hills behind; both are better and cheaper than anything imported.
Travel tipsGetting around
Car needed- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- CabifyWorks here
- FREE NOWWorks here
- Against a taxi
- About level with a metered taxi, and where a city sets a flat airport fare the taxi usually wins.
Several cities cap private-hire licences hard, so at peak the app may simply have nothing to send.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Madrid — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Spain, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Spanish
- HelloHolaOH-la
- PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
- Thank youGraciasGRA-thyas
- Yes / NoSí / Nosee / no
4 more phrases
- Excuse mePerdónper-DON
- How much is it?¿Cuánto cuesta?KWAN-to KWES-ta
- The bill, pleaseLa cuenta, por favorla KWEN-ta
- Cheers!¡Salud!sa-LOOD
Religion
Catholic
Nominally Catholic and deeply secular in practice. Churches are working buildings as well as sights, and Semana Santa is taken seriously even by people who never attend Mass.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Eat late — lunch from 14:00, dinner rarely before 21:00
- Greet with two cheek kisses, right cheek first, between women or a man and a woman
- Stand at the bar to drink; it is cheaper than sitting and more sociable
- Say buenos días on entering a small shop, and adiós on leaving
Don't
- Do not expect anything to be open between 14:00 and 17:00 outside the big cities
- Do not order sangria in a serious restaurant — it is a tourist drink; ask for tinto de verano
- Do not tip heavily; rounding up or a euro or two is normal
- In Barcelona, do not assume Catalan and Spanish are interchangeable — the distinction matters to people
Where to stay in Cadaqués
No Holistay rentals in Cadaqués yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Cadaqués on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Girona–Costa Brava GRO
1h 15mfrom the airport· 60 km as the crow flies
1h15 by road via Figueres and Roses.
Also worth pricing: Barcelona–El Prat BCN — far more flights; about two and a half hours by road, or longer by bus via Barcelona.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
