Arriving at an island on a rubber boat, going across it and discovering a stone-eating tree? Watching the river and the ría from the top of a mountain?, Learning how to catch clams and cockles with the help of expertise catchers? Plunging into pre-historic times by visiting an ancient settlement or castro? Staying in a pazo with a swimming pool or in a campsite by the side of a river beach? Enjoying an icecream whilst overlooking the ría of Arousa? All this and much more is what you can have if you come to Vilagarcía to spend your family holidays.
Its priviledged location on the Atlantic coast, halfway between Vigo and A Coruña, and the beach and port closer to Compostela, not many explanations are required to understand how easy it is not only to arrive but also to get around Vilagarcía.
The hospitality sector is ready to receive families and both to accommodate and feed them, offering affordable prices and menus for all tastes and purchansing powers. For those who prefer to travel in a caravan, the city offers them a free caravan park which includes surveillance, cleaning facilities and water supply.
Once they have comfortably settled down, the adventure can start. To beguin with, it is recommendable to go along the city, following the historic tour. Then, you have to make your decisions. It is not going to be easy.
Once they have comfortably settled down, the adventure can start. To beguin with, it is recommendable to go along the city, following the historic tour. Then, you have to make your decisions. It is not going to be easy. If you like nature, the big and the little will enjoy any of the possibilities at their disposal.
But there are more choices: either setting off from Vilagarcía or from Carril, you can know the ría on a boat or in an old galleon, sailing amongst bateas and dolphins if they show up. Also, you can visit the Cortegada island, included in the Atlantic Island National Park, both during the day (being carried along by the magic of the laurel forest and the old legends) and during the night (enjoying and interpreting the star-filled sky). You can also go through the forests that border the city, either walking or riding a bike (available for renting) and discover two valleys, two provinces and a ría and a river which join together embracing Cortegada.
Being as it has historically been a summer destination and “the sea of Compostela”, the beaches should be part of the family holidays. Two of them, O Preguntoiro, in Vilaxoán, to the south, and Campanario, in Bamio, to the north, have a blue flag. Alhough, the most frequently visited are A Concha – A Compostela which have not been awarded the blue flag yet. They offer all the facilities: lifeguards, showers, resting areas, etc. all by a seafront promenade that joins Vilagarcía and Carril, an almost two-kilometre walk free from cars.
Finally, and still taking into account the family, we should not forget indoor leisure activities – the Auditorium, the Salón García, the 7 multi-screen cinema – as well as outdoor free-time choices, though, of course, depending on the time of the year. In summer, there are three essential events that all the family can share but not a single member will forget : the Water festival, the international festival Festiclown and the centenary pyrothecnical display of the Combate Naval. In winter, the principal event is Fexturrón, a leisure fair which includes an ice rink and icy slide, bump cars, carousels and an endless number of activities at very affordable prices.
