* See the map here for labelled details! *
Coma Ruga is the nearest centre and is livelier with more shops, cafes etc than Sant Salvador. The walk along the Passeig Maritim to and particularly beyond Coma Ruga is rather nice.
Following the Passeig Maritim in the other direction, you will pass a couple of restaurants and cafes before coming to the end of the walkway. Here you can either walk on the beach or next to the road (there’s a separate bike/pedestrian lane) along to Calafell, about 15 mins away. This is a more vibrant place which has year-round activity. There are plenty of easy and decent restaurants along the seafront here (including a number of good value menús del dia).
In Sant Salvador itself, going along the seafront in the direction of Calafell, we highly recommend the Villa Casals café/restaurant, the bar Can 60 and neighbouring restaurant Casinet.
The Villa Casals itself was the home of renowned cellist Pau Casals and is now a museum about his life and work. It's nicely done and is well worth a visit.
Venturing inland, El Vendrell is the nearest ‘proper’ town (ie, not a beach town – in fact Sant Salvador is the beach part of El Vendrell). There is a cycle path and pedestrian walkway going there from Sant Salvador, which begins directly opposite our apartment building (on the other side of the road). It looks more like a dirt track at the beginning but soon connects with the main path (cross under the railway bridge). It is about 4km to the centre of Vendrell. Be warned: it is not shaded from summer heat! But it makes a nice trip out if it cools off in the evening. El Vendrell is a very nice town to wander around, with an excellent lot of little shops as well as nice cafes, bars and restaurants. We particularly like El Tast for tapas on the Rambla, but there are many options.
Further afield, Sitges and of course Barcelona make good day trips by train. In the other direction there’s Tarragona – a nice place with some Roman ruins to visit.
Shops, supermarkets & other facilties
The campsite opposite the building has a shop which is well-stocked with a basic but thorough supermarket selection (including fresh meat, fruit & veg. Useful note: they keep bottles of cava chilled in the fridge). This is perfectly satisfactory for most needs. There’s another small supermarket, the Airolo, on the street behind the Airolo café opposite the flat (on the other side of Av Palfuriana). This is usually only open in high season. There is also a small supermarket in Comaruga, opposite the fishpond, which is open all year. NOTE: most shops close early afternoon between about 2-5 pm.
If you continue along Av Palfuriana beyond the camping shop (in the direction of Calafell), you very soon (+/- 50m) come to a baker on your left and a newsagent (with local & international press) on the right. Further along on the left is a pharmacy where they are used to dealing with tourists with varying levels of Spanish.
If you need a doctor, there is a surgery we’ve previously used in Coma Ruga, on Avenida de la Generalitat. It is on the right hand side as you head back up towards the station (almost at the railway bridge over the road).