There are campsites you visit because the location is right or the price is good. And then there are campsites where someone in the van starts doing the maths and quietly realises they were last here 33 years ago, receiving their GCSE results via fax. Playa Bara is that kind of place for Lyndsay, and this trip back was always going to be more than just another stop on the Spanish coast.
Where we stopped
1. Playa Bara, Catalonia
Lyndsay grew up coming here. She called it her “forever place” before we’d even pulled through the gate, and made it fairly clear that tears were a genuine possibility if they turned us away. They didn’t. The site was packed, as it tends to be in summer, but the team there were brilliant: a staff member took us on a golf buggy tour of three premium pitches so we could choose the one that worked best for the van. Two of the options had tree clearance issues for Starlink. The second pitch won on balance: good position, just about enough sky for the dish, manageable access. Getting in was its own adventure. There was a point where a parked car blocked the turn, nobody around to move it, so the only option was a three-point turn in a space that was not designed for a 8.6-metre motorhome and involved coming within a few inches of a tree. We got there. The pitch itself was a good size, though not quite as wide as advertised once the tree on one side was factored in.
Two nights here cost £176 for five of us, which for a site of this quality in peak season felt fair.
What Playa Bara is actually like now
The site has changed since Lyndsay was last here as a child, but not in ways that matter. The shop has been renovated and expanded, but walk through the door and the smell of fresh croissants and bread hits you exactly as it always did. Lyndsay’s dad used to make a daily morning pilgrimage there for a day-old newspaper; we went for chocolate and crème-filled napolitanas, which felt like a reasonable upgrade.
The pool complex is the centrepiece, and it earns its reputation. There is a waterslide, a pool bar that runs from mid-morning, and a snack menu that covers ice cream, soft drinks, and cold beer without making you feel like you need a second mortgage. The trick, if you want a decent spot at the bar, is to arrive around half two: the Spanish families head off for their afternoon siesta and it quietens down noticeably before the British contingent fully mobilises. The evening entertainment happens in the amphitheatre and starts properly around ten. It is genuinely good, family-friendly stuff; Lyndsay had memories of a singer called Kev Francis running the same summer shows for four or five consecutive years when she was young. The current programme is in Spanish rather than English, which tells you something about how the site’s audience has shifted over forty years, but the atmosphere is still warm and very much pitched at families.
The beach is about 100 metres on foot through the back gate, past a security guard who pointed out a replica Roman arch that mirrors the originals at the main entrance. It is a proper sandy beach, and the site has added some water activities and a couple of restaurants along the front since we were last here a decade ago. Harry’s main Playa Bara memory, from that visit, is slipping near the waterslide and cutting his chin badly enough to need the on-site medical centre. He confirmed it was significantly worse than it sounded.
One practical note: the laundry here is cash only. There is a coin machine on site, but if you arrive without euros in your pocket, you will need to sort that first. The machines themselves are good, and powder and fabric softener are included in the system.
From Playa Bara to Barcelona
After two nights we packed down, said goodbye to the pitch, and headed the less-than-an-hour drive into Barcelona. We had booked a motorhome parking spot at a car park we had used ten years ago: it closed for overnight motorhomes in 2019 but has since reopened, and at 40 euros per 24 hours it is very reasonable given the location. It is a short walk from a metro station and about a five-euro taxi ride from the Gothic Quarter if the legs are not cooperating, which ours were not: both Lyndsay and I were fighting off a fairly grim summer cold by this point, and what followed was arguably the most committed sightseeing either of us has done while feeling genuinely terrible.
Eddie had put together a tight walking route: the Gothic Quarter, Santa Maria del Mar (a 14th-century church built in 55 years, which feels almost indecently quick by Barcelona standards), the Cathedral, La Rambla, the Boqueria market, Casa Batlló, and the Sagrada Família, which was completed only last year after 144 years of construction. Gaudi died after being struck by a tram before he could finish it; someone else completed one side, then lost all the original documents in a fire, and had to work from the surviving scale model. We are not historians. Do not quote us on any of that. But the building is extraordinary, and the fact that it looks medieval from certain angles while being almost entirely structurally modern inside is the kind of thing that stops you mid-pavement.
The highlight of the Barcelona evening, though, was stumbling into the Festa Major de Gràcia, a week-long local street festival in the Gràcia neighbourhood. Eddie led us there via a route well away from the tourist drag, and the difference was immediate. Local bars, decorated streets, a procession, and an Argentine place called Gusto Argentino where six empanadas cost €16.50 and mango mojitos appeared shortly afterwards. It was the last night of the festival, and the fireworks at the end were the kind you experience from inside rather than at a safe remove. Cracking evening.
Questions people ask
Is Playa Bara good for families with older children? Yes, though the entertainment and pool setup skews younger. The waterslide, pool bar, evening shows, and table tennis area work well for families with kids of most ages. George, who is our barometer for pool quality, was happy throughout. The beach access is easy and free, which makes a difference versus some sites that charge separately.
How much did the pitch cost at Playa Bara? Two nights on a premium pitch for five people came to £176. The site is large and well-equipped, so for peak-season Spain that is a reasonable rate, particularly with beach access included.
Where did you park the motorhome in Barcelona? There is a motorhome-friendly car park that had closed for overnight stays since 2019 but has recently reopened. It cost 40 euros per 24 hours and is within walking distance of the metro, which puts the whole city within easy reach. It is straightforward and spacious: well worth booking in advance if you are planning a city stop.
What was the campsite like compared to Lyndsay’s childhood memories? Mostly the same in the ways that count. The shop smells identical (fresh bread and croissants), the pool complex is still the heart of the place, and the evening entertainment is still going. The main change is that signage and shows have shifted from Spanish to Catalan, reflecting a broader cultural shift along the northern Costa Dorada. Lyndsay, for the record, approved.
For the full story, including the three-point turn, the empanadas, and the Sagrada Família in various states of mild illness, the video is well worth a watch.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69A5orfta9s