The Costa Brava section of EuroVelo 8 strings together roughly 150 kilometres of Catalan coast between Portbou on the French border and Blanes in the south, and most riders take three to four days to do it justice without rushing past everything worth stopping for.
The route rarely lets you forget the sea for long, threading through fishing towns like Cadaqués and L'Escala, skirting the marshlands of the Aiguamolls nature reserve, and dropping you at the Roman ruins of Empúries almost without warning. That archaeological site alone is worth half a morning of your time.
Be honest with yourself about the terrain. This is not a flat coastal path. The northern stretch around Cap de Creus throws up genuine climbs, narrow roads shared with summer traffic, and surfaces that shift unpredictably between sealed tarmac, compacted gravel, and the occasional rough track. A 35mm tyre is the minimum you want here; wider is better.
The middle section through the Empordà plain is flatter and more forgiving, which is where you recover your legs and your nerve.
Riding south to north gives you the prevailing Tramuntana wind at your back during its calmer morning window, though it can turn on you by afternoon. Accommodation clusters comfortably in Roses, L'Escala, and Begur, where small family-run hostals are more reliable than large hotels for secure bike storage. Bike hire is available in Girona city, making a train-to-saddle start straightforward if you want to avoid the steepest northern stages.
Avoid July and August unless early starts and quiet coves mean nothing to you; May, June, and September offer cooler temperatures, lighter traffic, and roads you can actually enjoy.