Room In Girona in Girona, Catalunya, Spain

I almost always prefer to couchsurf while I'm traveling, but I think that my trip to Catalunya a couple weekends back was supposed to be a fairly solitary one. Only two of the couch requests I sent got a response, and both people were out of the city that weekend. I went without making arrangements for a hostel, knowing I could find something. I checked hostelworld.com beforehand, and saw there were plenty of spots, so I decided to wait till I was ready to check in. 

Before I went, I looked online to find out where they were, and decided to go to the cheapest, nearest one. It happened to be Room In Girona, which is pretty much right on the river. I'm almost certain that if my room had a window or balcony facing the river, I'd have been able to see it. When I got there about 19h, the guy said that there were no more beds available in the shared dorms, and they only had private rooms. I asked how much the private room was, and he told me 42 euros. So I said, ok, no thank you, I can find a room somewhere else. It was then that he decided to cut me a deal, and told me that what they could do was charge me half price for the room, since it was late, and no one else would be coming for it anyways. (I think that maybe there were spots in the shared dorms, but he was trying to make a higher sale.) So, in the end, I paid the price of a 6-bed shared dorm, but had a queen-sized bed and large room all to myself. :) Thanks, God!

The place was more like a house/apartments than a hostel. The bathroom was for everyone, but it was so big, clean and nice, I felt like I was in a home more than a place I was renting for the night!

There was also a kitchen, common room, and laundry room, and breakfast was included. The breakfast included cheese, slices of meat, Spanish omelette, fruit, yogurt, cereal, coffee, tea, and a variety of carbs. All of this, in combination with an incredibly nice and helpful staff, definitely left me with a good impression, and ability to recommend the place to anyone who wants a reasonably priced place that's well located. It was no more than 10 minutes to walk to the train/bus station from there, and since it's right on the river, you have easy access to all the city. 

Room In Girona, thank you for a great stay!

Room In Girona

Barri Vell (Vell neighborhood)

C/ Santa Clara, 9

3rd Floor

972 426 480 / 678 177 916

info@roomingirona.com

Tips & Tricks for Travelling Girona & Figueras, Catalunya, Spain

Girona

1. To get from Barcelona El Prat Airport to Girona, you can take a bus directly. It runs pretty frequently, but it costs 19 euros, whereas the train costs 11 something. The train leaves from Sants station in the city, so you'd have to take the metro/train to the station, which is about 4 euros. Both take about the same amount of time, depending which one it is, so while it's an expensive bus, it's convenient. The bus is Barcelona Bus, and the hours can be found at the stop or online.
2. Go up to the tower that is on top of a hill, away from the city. The view from up there is so amazing, and you aren't going to run into hardly any people. 
3. Also, if you like hiking, there are tons of trails in Girona, and I accidentally did one, but was so happy I did. The views are so beautiful. 
4. Walk around everywhere you can, and explore everything. Girona is a really wonderful place, the people are so open, friendly, and helpful, and it's small enough that you can spend an afternoon walking around and stumble upon everything.
5. Every Saturday and Tuesday there is a MASSIVE market at the end of the park in Girona. They have everything from fruit and vegetables, to meat and sweets, to balloons, clothes, and everything in between. It is one of the larger markets I've ever seen, and the park is definitely worth passing through. It's like a little forest in the middle of the city.
6. Eat at Taj Indian Restaurant if you like Indian food. I ordered the Pollo Tikka Bhuna and rice, and it was so delicious. The only thing is, it was quite expensive (15.68 w/ a coffee), and the serving of the chicken itself was quite small. 
7. Stay in Girona for at least two nights. It's a magical place, and just being there for a day and a half wasn't enough.

Figueras/Dali Museum

1. Going from Girona to Figueras, the train leaves frequently, costs 5.45 euros, and only takes about an hour. I'd recommend the train, because you get a lot better views, and it's usually more comfortable than the bus.
2. You can walk within 5-15 minutes to the Dali Museum, depending on your pace. The museum costs about 9 euros to enter (discounts available), and is quite large, so allow a lot of time, and eat a good meal before you enter. I spent 2-3 hours in it and loved it so much, but by the last few rooms, I was too hungry and tired to pay the same attention I had in the first 20-or-so rooms of the theater/museum.
3. A lot of people told me beforehand that Figueras isn't a pretty town, and coming from Girona, I agree, but I think it would have been worth it to go for more than just the museum. 
4. Ask at the tourist info point for a map, and you can find out all the information about the places to go and things to see. But you can easily do Figueras in a day, so I'd definitely do it as a day trip from somewhere else. I'm happy I didn't go with my original idea to sleep in Figueras, and chose to stay in Girona instead.
5. Going from Figueras to Barcelona, I took the train. It was 12 euros, and took about two hours. It was a good way to go, and would recommend it. (Train from Girona to BCN is 5 something)

Taj Indian Restaurant

C/ Cort Reial, 6 / Rambla Llibertat, 19

17004 Girona. Tel: 972 22 26 55