The best cocktails on the Costa Brava

Put simply, and without a shadow of a doubt, the cocktails at Boia Nit are the best in the Costa Brava. This classic bar used to be frequented by the great and the good of Cadaqués; indeed for some years, locals could share conversations there with the likes of Man Ray and Salvador Dalí. Today it's a gastrobar where they serve signature tapas and is run by Manel Vehí, the fourth generation to be at the head of this family business. Vehí has trained with some of the best chefs in the world (at restaurants like El Bulli, Jaleo and Criterion) and now he's one of the most famous barmen on the planet. Try the tapas and any of the cocktails - you'll be amazed.

This is the place to go for a complete gastronomic experience in relaxed, captivating and totally Mediterranean surroundings. That's what the Mar i Vent Restaurant & Beach Club (located in the same cove as the Parador hotel of the same name) aims to offer. The venue, which is now working with one of the most important Catalan bartenders of recent times, Javier de las Muelas, offers a wide range of dishes and, of course, cocktails. Not to be missed: the range of cocktails based on textures and flavours from the area around Aiguablava, and the ceviche. The Mar i Vent Beach Club also has a chill-out zone that's so inviting you won't want to leave. Are you ready for a total experience?

The last big cove ('cala') in Lloret de Mar before you get into Tossa de Mar terriority is also one of the chicest beaches in the town, and the 'xiringuito' that opens there in the summer more than rises to the standard of its setting. A small port full of lesiure and pleasure boats sets the atmosphere, and the large houses that surround the beach (owned in large part by Russian tourists) have raised the caché of this mini Saint-Tropez even further. In the port you'll find a limited range of places to eat that are open year-round, but it's from Sant Joan (Jun 23) that this particular beach bar opens. As well as cocktails, it also excels in fresh salads, smoothies and fresh fruit juices.

We couldn't leave the most beautiful bar in the whole Costa Brava off this list. And if you think we're exaggerating it's because you still haven't been there. And as well as incredible views of the surrounding landscape, Cala Banys also offers top-notch cocktails. Two that we particularly recommend: the mojito and the gàrgola (which means 'gargoyle'). Delicious.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: if there was a world ranking of beach bars, this place would certainly be near the top. It was inaugurated in 1981, opens between approximately June and September, is chic without going over the top, groovy without being a hive of modernity, and still has a space where families can have picnics. On Fridays and Saturdays in the summer, there are DJs and live music. You have to drive along a track to get there, and you shouldn't use GPS to help you because you'll almost certainly get lost. But it's all worth it. Really worth it. Especially once you've ordered your (first) mojito.

'All in one' – that could be the logo of Es Blanc, because it's a restaurant as well as a café during the day, a cocktail bar at night, and a beach bar in the summer, with a splendid terrace overlooking the sand. And it's an open secret that multiple Michelin-star-winning chef Carme Ruscalleda goes there expressly to eat the rice with lobster - but when it comes to the cocktails, our suggestion is the G&T.

This is definitely one of Rose's liveliest bars where there's always lots going on. Open for almost the whole year, the food is perfect for a day at the beach or a Sunday with the family. Summer nights there are full of life, just like in every such place on the coast, but what's interesting about L'Ona is that the evenings are just as dynamic in the winter months (with the exception of January and February, when the bar closes each year). From Thursday to Saturday you'll find either live music or DJ sessions that will keep you dancing into the early hours of the morning. And what's more, we love the setting - it's very Beach Boys.