Bus to Tossa de Mar from Barcelona

Not Rick Steves team here, but I hope I can be helpful anyway :))

This is a regular commuting line, if one bus is full you can always take the next one. Pre-purchase is not compulsory -although advised. If your particular date/hour seems full, it's probably full, but it doesn't mean the rest of the buses on the day are also full.

An alternative is to take a train from Barcelona to Blanes and then a bus to Tossa de Mar. You can purchase a combined ticket which includes your train+bus tickets. You can purchase the ticket at the station, no need to prebook, take any train to Blanes and then take the next bus to Tossa -again, no need to pre-book.

Train schedules: www.rodalies.tk
Bus schedules in Blanes: https://www.autocarspujol.com/en/content/regulars/interurban-selva

It's not as comfy, of course, than taking a direct bus to Tossa... but again, it's a very viable option, and which frees you from strict schedules -especially if you're arriving by plane, which always might or might not carry a delay.

Enjoy!

Oh, you certainly are part of the team--at least the forum team! Thanks for the extra info. I just checked again and I think the online bus tickets may have JUST gone on sale. Whew!