Based in Barcelona - overnight trip to Figueres, Costa Brava and Girona

TessH415, I expect Enric will come along, and he knows the terrain much better. But here’s one thought: Girona is just about 40 minutes from Barcelona on the fast AVE train. What about the idea of renting and returning the car in Girona, avoiding driving out of and into the big city altogether. I remember when I took a day bus tour from Barcelona, the auto traffic was congested and very slow. A variation of this would be to pick up the car in Figueres, after the Dali Museum, and return it in Girona. That way you might even get away with just a 24-hour rental. Just be careful of the hours the rental offices might be open and closed on the weekend.

I haven't checked for the Barcelona-Girona route, but often in Spain round-trip train tickets are much cheaper than two one-ways.

I believe the Dali Theatre and Museum is quite popular. I haven't been there, but I suspect you might wait in line for quite a while if you don't pre-purchase tickets, possibly not getting in at all. See what your guide book says.

Thank you Larry. I hadn’t thought of the Figueres/Girona pick up and drop off. That sounds like something that might work for us. Will check rental car hours in both cities.

Acraven, yes we plan on pre purchasing tickets to the Dali Museum once we’ve locked down timing of our itinerary. Checking today on the museum website, thankfully it looks like they still have plenty of availability on the weekend we want to go. Thank you.

Choose La Sirena for beachfront dining in Llafranc.

As said, you should rent a car at either Girona or Figueres. It is far easier to rent there a car, both cities are quite small and there is a fantastic rail connection between Barcelona and Girona/Figueres.
You have 2 ways to go to Girona or Figueres: classic line (1h and a bit more) or high speed line (37 min to Girona, 46 min to Figueres-Vilafant). On the classic line, Girona and Figueres stations are in the city centre, at a walking distance from everything. On the high speed line, Girona station is also in the city centre, but Figueres-Vilafant station is outside the city, at the outskirts, and you have to take a connecting bus to the city centre.
The classic line is good, and all the trains do not require prebooking, it is a turn up and go service, just buy the tickets the same day you want to travel, seats are unreserved. MD trains are super modern and comfortable, Regional trains are ok, but not so modern. You can see all the fares and timetables of the classic line (R11 line) at rodalies.gencat.cat . Note the classic line stops at Sants, Passeig de Gràcia and Clot-Aragó, super useful stations if staying nearby there.
The high speed line requires prebooking at www.renfe.com . AVE trains work on a buy early system, the earliest you buy, the cheapest it is. AVANT trains is a set fare as well. Note that the AVE and AVANT trains only run from Sants station, so you must get the Metro or a Rodalies train to go there first.
Girona itself deserves a visit, it is a beautiful city. You'll like it.

djp_syd thank you for the recommendation. Looked it up and it looks like a lovely place. Will definitely try it!

Joan G, we’ve decided on renting a car in Figueres and returning it to Girona the next day. I didn’t realize that the Figueres - Vilafant station is outside the city thanks for the heads up! If we take the classic line, what is the main difference between the regional and MD trains other than condition of trains? Do they have the same number of stops? Or is the difference that they are just run by different companies? It looks like the Passeig de Gràcia is close to the apartment in Eixample we will be renting so that will be convenient.

My dilemma is returning in Girona. because it’s a Sunday, the car rental offices at the city center train station will be closed so we’ll have to return it at the airport, which I know is outside the city. Do we 1) return it straight away, take the bus from the airport to city center, spend the afternoon site seeing, then take the train back or 2) Park it in city center, site see, return the car at the airport and take the bus back to Barcelona? I found a car park in town for 25 euros for the day. Taking the bus from the airport to Girona would be about 9 euros for the three of us. Cost of train or bus back to Barcelona is similar enough that it would not be a deciding factor. Just trying to decide which is less hassle. Thank you!

Train is always less hassle. You'll like a lot Spanish trains, always stylish and modern.
MD trains are new trains. They are a bit more expensive than Regional trains. They only make few stops. Some photos: https://www.google.es/search?q=renfe+serie+449&client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixrvuMspzaAhWLchQKHSuJDWMQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=654#imgdii=HGsk-eo_cNujdM:&imgrc=MtruK7D_SIQliM:
Regional trains are bit older. They are cheaper than MD, but they are quite limited in time and they make lots of stops.
You can see timetables and fares at rodalies.gencat.cat (insert Passeig de Gràcia and Girona and click go)
Both services are operated by the same company. There is no need to prebook in advance. Just go to Passeig de Gràcia 15 minutes before the train departs, go to any orange ticket machine, type Girona, select train (MD or Regional) and then one way, return...and pay.
If I were you, take the MD train. You will get a good service.
Leave the car at Girona Airport. Take the bus to the bus station, at leave your luggage at the lockers (consigna) at Girona train station (next to the subterrenean bus station). Visit Girona, and when you want to return, you can decide between High Speed or classic line.

The logistics with the car are really impeding now on what you will be able to achieve. I’d push to stay Sunday night in Girona and return the car first thing Monday morning.

We agree. Since we would be paying for a two day car rental, we may decide to stay the extra night in GIrona if pushed for time. We don’t want to rush either our time on the coast or in Girona. Thank you all for your help.