Day trip from Barcelona to Dali house/museum in Port Lligat near Cadaques

I'm almost certain there are bus tours that make that run. Probably close to $100 US per person.

For public transportation you have the option of a bus all the way to Cadaqués or a train through Girona to Figueres (location of the Dalí Theatre and Museum), linking to the Figueres-Cadaqués bus. I suspect that the train/bus combo is more frequent that the all-bus route, but I haven't checked. I didn't go to Port Lligat, but my understanding is that it's walkable from Cadaqués. Or, of course, it would be a short taxi ride.

The trip would be shorter and you'd have more time for the Dalí sites and Cadaqués (a touristy but picturesque former fishing village, whitewashed and dripping with bougainvillea) if you were traveling from Girona rather than from Barcelona. Girona itself has a beautiful historic center and would be a great stop for a night or two. That's where I was staying, and I opted for the train/bus combination to get to Cadaqués. It was easily managed.

The walk from the Cadaqués bus station down to the old harbor area (and back up) is a bit confusing, so I recommend having a map with you. I stumbled on a small tourist-information booth on my way and picked up a paper map, but that was dumb luck. I saw signs pointing toward Port Lligat while I was down at the old harbor, but I don't know that you necessarily have to walk that way.

I found the small Cadaqués Museum imminently skippable.

The pay-toilets at the Cadaqués bus station take 50-cent coins.

...it isn't that expensive for a car service for a full day and on a 400km round trip.

Anyhow, that's something few people here would do when there are perfectly sound alternative options: regular bus and train+bus which will come down to less than 100€ as well. We are very used to take public transportation here, it's safe, clean, convenient and reasonably priced.

• Regular Bus: straight to Cadaqués with SARFA bus (http://compras.moventis.es/en-GB)
• Train+(walk/taxi)+bus: fast train to Figueres (www.renfe.com) + either walk (approx. a mile and a half) or taxi to the bus station in the centre of Figueres + bus to Cadaqués with SARFA bus (http://compras.moventis.es/en-GB)

But for a day visit, the train+bus is the only sensible option as the bus from Barcelona departs far too late and the return is far too early. From Figueres there are more buses to Cadaqués, that along the fact the are plenty of fast trains to/from Barcelona it gives you far greater freedom in your schedules.

Cadaqués (video) and http://www.visitcadaques.org/

I just pulled out my trip notes. I paid 5.50 euros for the bus between Figueres and Cadaques. And I was wrong about having taken the train from Girona to Figures; I did the entire trip by bus. Which probably explains why I don't remember having a long walk from the train to the bus station!

Honestly you'd be better off renting a car, but if you can't or won't do that, you can get a bus from Figueres as noted by others. But your schedule will be very tight to fit everything in. You must pre-reserve the tour of the Dali House online, which is good since you'll need a very specific time in order to make everything work. It takes a reported 20 minutes to walk to Port Iligat from central Cadaques. Also know that Cadaques is a good sized town with winding pedestrian streets. So don't under-estimate how long it will take you to get through town.

The other decent option is to take a private tour group. That might also stop in Figueres at the Dali Museum, but I don't know if they will also do the Dali House since it is very small and groups are kept small.

I've done this, along with the Dali Museum, by rented car from Barcelona all in one day. It was a very long day - an early morning start and got back early evening with traffic delays. And we already had the car and left from the western suburbs of Barcelona (easy to get right on the highway). So that provides some perspective on the challenge to do this even by public transportation.

Thanks so much, everyone for your helpful and informative replies.
I am still looking into a day excursion and will now look up SARFA routes and timetables. When I tried that link previously, it was only in Spanish, but I'll try again........

We are spending a day in Girona visiting a friend who lives there, as a separate excursion, but the train to G and then to Cadaques sounds like an option to explore. I am much more interested in seeing Dali house/museum in Port Lligat (and exploring Cadaques for it's charm and scenic setting) than I am in seeing the Dali museum in Figures, quite honestly. I find his "art" quite weird and some of it downright bizarre.........

.. if it helps, as a local, I do prefer to take the fast train to Figueres in the morning, say 9:25 which arrives into Figueres at 10:20 -it's a breeze!-, then walk to the centre, explore it and grab a bite somewhere until 13:45, then take the bus to Cadaqués. The bus Figueres to Cadaqués is the same bus you'd be taking from Barcelona, meaning it arrives into Cadaqués at the same time, but in this manner, you can also explore Figueres.

For the return trip, the 18:15 bus to Figueres and then the last fast train, 20:45, which arrives 1h later to Barcelona. Remember that there's a walk to the fast train station, which is on the outskirts of Figueres. Alternatively, if you are not in a rush, you can also take a slow train to Barcelona. They depart from the station located a few blocks from the bus station in the centre of Figueres. For these, this is the schedule: www.rodalies.tk and the last one is at 20:50. It's slower (1h50') but cheaper too.

Important: the bus line to Cadaqués on the weekends is drastically reduced so it's best to visit during the week.

Enjoy!

Check out the website for Spanish Trails for Dali tour options. We will be part of the RS Barcelona and Madrid tour in March 2017. While in Barcelona, we will be doing Spanish Trails' "All Things Dali Day Trip". Private tour of 8 for 120 euros per person. Good luck!

To all who wrote,
We ended up signing on with explorecatalunya.com for their Dali museums day and found it totally fine and well-done, and reasonable for less than 100 Euros per person (a bit of a savings by booking with the office directly by phone rather than online!). The minibus for 17 passengers and guide was very comfortable. We had a few hours in Figures for the theatre-museum which surprised us in a good way. Also some time for the jewels, very nice!!
And some time for wandering in the immediate vicinity.

The drive to Cadaques was pleasant and the views once over the summit were spectacular, especially as the white-washed town came into view. We had time for finding a nice place for lunch outdoors on a patio looking at the sea, but not much more time for wandering beyond a relaxed lunch.

Short walk back to the bus for the very quick ride over to Port Lligat for our tour of the Dali House/Museum, which we really enjoyed, especially the gardens/outdoor patio spaces.

Then, back to Barcelona. This was a nearly 12 hour day, but very manageable and much, much easier than negotiating bus/train/or taxi arrangements on our own.