Going to Sitges for a short break or weekend away? Here are my top five travel tips for having an awesome few days in the glorious Spanish sun
1. Order sangria
OK, apparently sangria is not a popular drink with Spanish people and has a reputation as a drink quaffed almost exclusively by tourists, and only in tourist restaurants. According to the internet, Spanish locals and judgy food blog purists frown upon those of us who dare drink it in public. But quite frankly, who cares what these keyboard warriors think. Local people are getting the benefit of your tourist coin, and the food bloggers can be snobs who’s sneery opinions you can happily live without.
For me, the most important things about sangria are:
- she comes with free fruit salad
- she’s cold
- she’s refreshing on a hot day
- she’s absolutely delicious.
And you’re a tourist, so do it! Specially if you manage to drink her up before all that ice melts. Try a straw straight in the jug if that helps improve your dilution rate
But if you want to flip it up, why not try a Tinto de Verano, a drink of equal parts red wine and either lemonade or lemon soda, served over ice. Not as fruity or gauche as sangria (apparently) but just as lovely on a hot summer day. Most bars will have it on the menu, but if not, just ask them to make you one. Most probably will.
2. Ignore that pesky “for 2 personas” label on dishes in restaurant menus
That is Spanish for “serving suggestion” as everyone knows (?!). So go ahead and order a paella (or a fideuà, or a mixed seafood platter, or in fact anything that takes your fancy) for two, tuck your napkin under your chin and eat it all on your own. With the serving spoon, and straight out of the pan if you like. I know have. Yum! Zero regrets.
And wash it down with a jug or 2 of sangria if you want.
As long as you’re prepared to pay for both portions, quite frankly I’ve never yet met a restaurant that won’t very happily make and serve a two-person sharing dish up just for you. Just because you’re eating on your own, it doesn’t mean you should deny yourself any of the delicious holiday treats that are on the menu and labelled “for couples”. And if it takes you all afternoon to eat that entire plate of saffron rice and juicy Mediterranean crustaceans bathed in garlic, then that’s a holiday afternoon very well spent.
Eat happy. Post photos to instagram. Make good food memories while you lick the serving spoon.
3. Don’t forget your sunscreen
And for goodness sake, keep reapplying that stuff, using the spray version if you don’t have a friendly extra pair of hands nearby willing to lend a helpful slathering.
Remember it’s always better to eat the lobster, rather than be the lobster.
Bitter ouchy experience has taught me that it’s all to easy to fall into a post-paella coma on Sant Sebastià Beach, safely sheltered under a €20 beach umbrella and plastic reclining chair, and confidently think you’ll be immune to all the sunburn. Trust me on this, Patricia. No. You. Are. Not!
The sun moves round while you sleep, but your umbrella, your chair, and (most importantly) your delicate soft pale fleshy bits do not. Without a lavish slathering of decent sun protection, you will fry like a “gamba” on a “plancha”. Not pretty, and potentially very very dangerous.
4. Live the cabana life, at least once.
If you’re going to spend a day on Playa del Sitges or Platja de les Anquines (just outside town, near the Hotel Terramar) consider upgrading from an umbrella/recliner/hotel towel to one of the cabanas nestling up against the wall nearest the main road.
Not only will you get better protection from the unforgiving Spanish sun, but you get
- bit more space
- more guaranteed shade, all day
- more opportunity to secure your precious things so they are less likely to be “rehoused” by a passing light-fingered stranger while you go frolicking in the waves, and
- a tiny plastic table for your suntan lotion and trashy beach novels.
At Platja de les Anquines you even get a free frozen cocktail, a bottle of water, and a selection of fluffy hotel beach towels thrown in for your €50 rental fee. Treat yourself, at least once. It’s a game-changer, but one that may spoil you for other days on the beach, so consider yourself warned.
5. Use the showers after going in the sea
Sitges sand is fine, gritty, and invasively abrasive in ways that you absolutely don’t want it to be. The combination of vicious exfoliation and salty seawater on the most precious parts of your body is one that can make the walk back to your hotel feel like something straight out of the Spanish inquisition playbook. So do what the locals do and take your time to stand under the free overhead showers (they’re are on nearly every beach in Sitges) and expunge both your nooks and crannies, as well as your swimwear, of all traces of your day on the beach.
6. Have a cocktail on the notorious Judgement Square
After the the sun has well and truly gone down, the night-peacocks emerge from their burrows – quaffed, plucked and bedecked in too-tight Lycra – on their way to the nearby specialist “gentlemen’s bars” where they will perform their ritual hunt for a mate. Or someone else’s (honesty after a few drinks, things can get a bit “negotiable”. So I’ve heard. *ahem*).
It’s your duty as a Sitges visitor to find a table at Parrots Pub order an overpriced cocktail, and strike up conversation with the next table as you quietly judge passers-by and their adventurous fashion choices.
This will be your best opportunity to turn “people watching” into a socially acceptable holiday activity, and probably make a new friend or two while doing so, so do try it out at least once.
7. Catch the tiny toy Tourist Train down to the beaches near Hotel Terramar
The little toy train (ok, it’s a fancy decorated tractor pulling some benches… ) runs twice every hour (all though adherence to the timetable displayed by each stop can be slightly “informal”, so be patient) during the day from the centre of town, all the way down the seafront to the Melia Hotel Terramar, where it turns around, waits for a bit, and happily toots its way back.
It’s great fun!
Yeah, it’s mostly used by families with small children. And yes, the train decor isn’t going to win any prizes for being elegant and tasteful. But it’s the best way to get from town to the secluded beaches of Platja de les Anquines in the heat. And the EUR5 or so return (keep your receipt to show the driver on the way back) will bring you much childish joy.
Final word of advice…
Above all, don’t lose sight of the simple truth that this is your holiday in Sitges, nobody else’s.
Eat and drink what you want, wherever you want, and enjoy your sunny days on the beach – just please try not to get too burnt or chaffed in the process.