Dispatch from the Basque Coast

In August, friends of ours were spending a week in Biarritz, on France’s southwestern Côte Basque, and at the last minute we decided to join them for a couple of days. But it was mid-month, right when everyone was on their holiday, and literally everything was sold out! In my search for hotels I scoured everything—and in so doing, I learned a lot. 

One of the very cool things about this region of the Basque Coast is how close everything is. Even though I’ve been here several times (I wrote about one of our road trips here), I’d never ventured from Biarritz into the countryside, or driven from Guéthary to St. Jean de Luz. We zig-zagged around a lot on this trip, and it made me realize that no matter where you end up staying, you’re never far from where you want to go: you can be at a 12th-century village for lunch, then back to the beach in Bidart by 3pm. And the landscapes—from the countryside to the seaside, though just 10-15 minutes away from each other—are so drastically different.

Here’s a little map and distances for reference. I’m also listing trains, since the stations are right in the center of town and then you don’t have to worry about parking.

Biarritz to Bidart: 18 min by car (37 min by train)

Bidart to Guethary: 12 min by car (16 min by train)

Guethary to St. Jean de Luz: 14 min by car (15 min by train) 

Biarritz to Arcangues: 14 min by car

St Jean de Luz to Espelette: 30 min by car

HOTELS

Biarritz definitely has the most options for chic places to stay. The other towns have good options, depending on what you’re after—or as in our situation, what is available. I’ll start with Biarritz and then list hotels down the coast until Ciboure, then inland.

Biarritz