Cambrils - is it worth a detour?

We embarked on a meandering journey down the coast of Spain one October chasing the sun, having been on the French Mediterranean for four weeks already but losing the warmth.  We didn’t want to go too far as we were halfway through the trip, we don’t like spending all our time driving, and knew we had to head back to the Eurotunnel for our crossing.  We usually do a bit of research based on the area we want to go to, but on this occasion, we were most definitely winging it.

We’d never ventured beyond France’s borders in our motorhome, apart from a 2-night stay when we caught the Santander ferry before heading into France, but that’s for another day.  We’ve been to Spain many times, but our previous encounters had always been package tours to all-singing and dancing hotels or high-rise apartment block rentals.  Our expectations were not super high based on the places that you can fly into from the UK for a week or two, but, WOW, we were so pleasantly surprised by the beautiful places on the coastline that were so Spanish and kept their authenticity despite being a tourist destination, and in my opinion Cambrils is one of those.

How We Ended Up In Cambrils

We stumbled upon Cambrils unexpectedly as we had originally planned to go to Tarragona for a few days but even Spain has rain, and just as we were leaving France, they’d had a torrential two-day storm which had flooded most of Tarragona, including the campsite we’d earmarked.  So the man with google maps (my hubby and co-pilot) found us a campsite in Cambrils after reading a few reviews from fellow campers on Facebook and we set off from our last stop at Estartit raring to go to yet another new place. 

Now I’m not known for my map skills, and I rarely look at what will be around us to do.  I’m usually the driver and I just follow instructions and trust (or rather expect) the hubby to have done his homework, as he usually comes up trumps on these things.  He may have led me down a few dodgy roads for a 6.5m motorhome on occasion, but I don’t hold a grudge and we’ve always come out the other side alive and with maybe just the odd very minor ‘adventure stripe’ on the van!

As we were approaching Cambrils I saw a lot of signs for Salou, and I suddenly started to panic that he’d got it wrong this time.  I had flashbacks to the 1980’s when it was the travel agent’s destination of choice to send unsuspecting holidaymakers for a good English holiday with sun.  Now before anyone berates me for this, I have nothing against those quintessentially ‘British but abroad’ places and have enjoyed many a holiday in them, but I’m older and wiser now and I was looking for a place that had a quiet and relaxed vibe, with a very Spanish feel to it, and some tapas!

Well, the hubby didn’t fail me, I should know better than to doubt him; we drove into Cambrils, and it is beautiful.  Golden sandy beach as far as the eye can see going in both directions, a very safe cycle path for me to ride/wobble along on (I don’t mix well with cars on a bike), and some very inviting looking restaurants.  All of this was just a 5-minute stroll from our campsite, Camping Platja Cambrils.  Even better the cycle path veered off the promenade and straight to our campsite gate, so I didn’t have to navigate a single road to get to the seafront!  We’d booked in for just 3 nights, as we generally like to see the area and move on.  However, we loved Cambrils so much we ended up staying for 8 nights. 

Cycling/Getting Around

Most days we got on our bikes and rode along the promenade.  The cycle path runs the length of Cambrils and is completely flat, into Salou one way, and to the other end of Cambrils the other way; well, that’s as far as we rode in either direction, it may have gone further but 5 miles in the heat of the sun is enough for me.  We even went to a local hardware store and purchased front and rear bike lights so that we could ride into town in the evenings as it was much quicker than walking and I felt so safe on the cycle path in the dark.

The local bus service runs along the same road that the cycle path and promenade follow so if you don’t cycle, or don’t want to walk, then it is a very regular service with stops all along the main road. 

Spain is known for its long promenades, but we were amazed that every evening as the sun was setting so many Spanish people of all ages came down to the promenade and did their power walks, or strolls, along the seafront.  It was so refreshing to see all the free exercise opportunities available, there was gym equipment all along the promenade and on the beach which was very well used.

Beaches/Days Out

The beaches along this stretch of coastline just seem to go on forever.  We were based on the edge of Cambrils town, approximately 30 minutes’ walk to the harbour and main centre and around the same distance the other way to Salou.  We walked along the beach dipping our toes in the sea edge all the way to the harbour at Salou without realising it.  There are several small bar/café type places on the actual beach, so it’s very easy to get carried away walking when you can stop for a refreshing tipple every 5 minutes if you so wish.  We also walked into Cambrils centre along the shoreline.  The beach stops at the harbour but then starts again as you get past the central section, but the promenade continues all the way along.

Salou is a nicer place than I’d expected, and we spent a full day there.  It has a lovely beach, and the harbour area had some good restaurants selling all types of food you could think of and a fountain light show in the evening.  There are a few up-market shops on the seafront in the centre but beware of the ‘lucky lucky’ men lining the promenade on one stretch towards Salou selling fake branded goods, which was fine until they branched out on the cycle path with no thought for how you’d stop without crashing.  I nearly came a cropper on more than one occasion and lots of local people were seen gesticulating at them.  They didn’t venture towards Cambrils or the centre of Salou.

Port Aventura World and waterpark sit on the outskirts of Salou, a 10-minute drive from our base.  We didn’t visit but people we chatted to on the campsite with children had been and said it was excellent, and they often have themed events.  Our campsite ran trips there during the main season with one planned for the Halloween event which looked very elaborate on the adverts.

There is a nice park, Parc del Pescador, just beyond the harbour in Cambrils opposite the merry-go-round ride on the seafront which has a good play park for smaller children.  They host events there too, we happened upon a wine and food tasting weekend which was free to all.  The wine was great but there wasn’t much in the way of food available, but there is plenty around the streets of Cambrils to make up for it.

Eating Out/Shopping

We had a small but well-stocked Spar supermarket just 2 minutes down the road from the campsite, and a Lidl 10-minutes away by bike.  We stocked up on supplies as we usually eat out only a couple of days a week, but we then realised how cheap, and lovely, it was to eat out in Cambrils (and most of Spain) so we left the fridge stocked with snacks and had a main meal out almost every day!

Across the road overlooking the harbour are the main restaurants of Cambrils which mostly serve tapas, fish, meat and pasta/pizza.  There was always a deal of the day which was very good value for two or three courses plus a drink, costing around £10-15 per person at lunch.  I’m a fish and seafood lover so I was in food heaven in Cambrils, but there was plenty of other choice if that’s not your thing.  I also became very partial to a sangria; in some restaurants it was made with a large dash of Cointreau which was amazing!

Behind this row of restaurants sits the main town.  There are loads of restaurants and bars within the town that sold some fabulous food at extremely reasonable prices so its worth walking around first if you’re not bothered about having the ocean view while you eat.  A couple of nice ice-cream parlours were in the square behind the seafront, and a good street vendor stall on the seafront with loads of flavours of ice-cream and sorbet. 

There are lots of independent shops in Cambrils centre where I bought a couple of really good quality sundresses and a pair of leather winter boots (didn’t need those during the trip), and hubby got some Reef flipflops at half price because everything was being sold off for end of season.  Worth a mooch if you are there mid-October as there are some bargains to be had.

Of the restaurants that we ate in, these are the ones that I would recommend.  In no particular order:

1.       La Taberna del Mar – opposite the harbour at the end of the row of restaurants, we ate here twice as it was nice and had a lot of seafood and tapas choices.

2.       7 Mares – a bit further on opposite the harbour, very nice seafood tapas mix and meat platter.

3.       El Gat Creperia Bretona – in the square behind the seafront, we had a fabulous galette and dessert at lunchtime.  A treat in Spain as these are usually only in France.

4.       Restaurant Del Mar – on the seafront a 10-minute walk from our campsite towards Cambrils – the absolute best paella I’ve ever tasted, but it only opened on the Saturday we arrived, we would have eaten there again.

As for getting a drink or snack, well you won’t starve or go short of a nice cocktail, sangria, wine or chilled beer in Cambrils.  Most of the restaurants on the seafront turn into café bars after lunch service from 2pm to 6pm when evening service starts.  It is very easy to wile away an afternoon with a cool drink and a knickerbocker-glory (yes they still have them but they’re very posh indulgent versions now), or a nice coffee and cake whilst watching the world go by in the sunshine.

Where to Stay

There are a few campsites in the area, we chose Camping Platja Cambrils for its location.  Virtually on the seafront, it was a nice site with spotless toilets and showers which were huge and very hot all the time.  The pool was a good size for swimming in but not heated, and they opened the waterslide in the afternoon.  We may have been the only ones to test the waterslide on one day only, the water was shockingly cold if you’d not acclimatised first! 

A tip on the pitches though, if you book a standard pitch, they are very small to get in and out of as the road is tight and they are hedged on three sides, and some have low hanging tree branches.  I attempted to get us on one but we were too long with the bike rack on the back and impossible to manoeuvre us sideways as it was quite sandy on one side.  I went back to reception who very kindly switched us to the next size up.  It cost us 19 euros a night with electricity which I thought was a very good price.

If you want to wild camp, you will find on park4night that there is a very large layby set back on the seafront just outside the campsite we stayed on with a large, grassed area in front of it before the road over to the beach.  There was a toilet on the beach directly opposite, although quite smelly it would be ok to empty your black waste, and there were rubbish bins and a nice beach bar opposite the layby which opened until 10pm at the latest.  It was full most days, so obviously popular.  We also saw some small campers parked up on dead-end side roads leading to the beach and nobody seemed to bother them.

In Summary

I think you’ve probably guessed that I definitely think its worth a detour to visit Cambrils, and I wouldn’t hesitate to return again in the future.  It is a lovely typically Spanish seaside town that caters for all ages.  If you want a peaceful vibe its perfect, and if you want to party the night away you can pop down the seafront to Salou, so there’s something for every taste here.

Enough waffle from me this week, I hope this helps some fellow campers who are thinking of going.  If you have been, drop me a comment on the blog letting me know what you thought of Cambrils and if you’d return. 

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Happy Travels