Road-trip along the Basque French Coast: From Hondarribia to Biarritz — MARA DE LA TORRE: Creative Storytelling & Travel Photography

For some years I had been longing to visit the coast of Donosti and to be able to reach Biarritz through the coastal roads that go through small beautiful villages, long beaches and imposing cliffs. A few weeks ago this long-awaited moment arrived and (finally!) I was able to enjoy this trip. Are you ready to discover a new coastal roadtrip? Here we go!

Itinerary
We started the route in Hondarribia early in the morning and drove along the coast through the villages of Hendaye, Ciboure, Saint Jean de Luz, Guéthary and Bidart until we reached Biarritz at sunset.

Departure: Hondarribia

Arrival: Biarritz

Duration: 1 day

Kilometres: 80 km approx. (Round trip)

Type of vehicle: It can be done by car. Roads in good condition.

Tolls: No

Roads: N-638 from Hondarribia to Hendaye; D912 from Hendaye to Saint Jean de Luz; D810 from Saint Jean de Luz to Bidart; D911 from Bidart to Biarritz.

LOGBOOK & MUST PLACES TO VISIT
At 10 a.m. we set off for our place of origin, Hondarribia. Hondarribia is the last town on the Basque coast that belongs to Spain. It is the town where we find the mouth of the Bidasoa river, which separates Spain from France. One of the most curious places is right here, the promenade next to the marina from where we can see the coast of Hendaye, the first town belonging to the French Basque country.
Architecturally, we will find one of the most beautiful villages of Donosti with cobbled streets and where the gothic style predominates with renaissance and baroque touches. It is a village where the balconies and façades are very colourful and it is worth wandering around.
In San Pedro street, one of the pedestrian streets running parallel to the marina, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings throughout the year there is a very interesting market of local farmhouse products.

Our next stop was Hendaye, the first town we came across when we crossed the border between Spain and France. In Hendaye we also found a promenade that runs along the last stretch of the Bidasoa River and from where we have views, this time, of Hondarribia. One of the attractions of Hendaye are the cliffs of La Corniche Basque. We can reach them by car, although before doing so, a very well preserved castle at the top of the town caught our attention and we decided to stop. Abbadie Castle is another place worth visiting in Hendaye. A 19th century palace belonging to Antoine d'Abbadie and designed by the famous architect Viollet-le-Duc. The price of the guided tour is around 12 euros per person. Inside there is an observatory, a spectacular library and eclectic rooms. All perfectly preserved.

To access the castle, leave your car in a public car park on the right-hand side. From this car park, after the visit to the Château we can take a route on foot to the Baie de Loia where we can see some rock formations in the sea which are quite curious.

Leaving the car park and taking the route back towards Biarritz, we continue along the D912 road where we leave the town of Hendaye behind and come across a coastal road with many bends and where we will begin to see the cliffs of La Corniche Basque. Throughout the road there are some points where you can stop the car and there are viewpoints from where you can enjoy the incredible views.

Following our route along the same road, we will pass through the villages of Ciboure where we can stop to visit the Fort de Socoa, Saint-Jean-de-Luz with its grande place, Guéthary and Bidart, surfing areas par excellence. All these coastal towns have plenty of coastline to explore, with small coves that are difficult to reach by car and a multitude of restaurants. It is a very touristy area so parking in high season is quite difficult.

One of the beaches that I liked the most in this area was Uhabia beach, which belongs to the town of Bidart, although it is located before reaching the town, just past Guéthary. The curious thing about this beach is that it is crossed and divided into two parts by the mouth of the Uhabia river, which I found different and beautiful. Full of surf lovers and some beach bars where you can eat or have a snack, which were not bad at all. My recommendation is the restaurant/bar Bela Gorri, right on the beach, where they have elaborate dishes and fresh tapas to share, typical of the local gastronomy.

To conclude our route, we will take the D911 road from Bidart to Biarritz.

(Bonus tip: if you have some time before sunset, you can take a detour on the motorway to Bayonne. A beautiful city where the Adour river and the Nivel meet to create a scene reminiscent of Venice. The cobbled old town and its cathedral are spectacular.)

Biarritz was the destination that encouraged us to make this road trip along the coast. Biarritz is one of the most touristic coastal cities in the area and you only need to wander through its streets for 5 minutes to understand why. Full of French architecture buildings, beautiful coastal landscapes, cliffs, beaches ... it is a fairytale place so I encourage you to go discovering it little by little and get lost in its streets and beaches.

After spending the afternoon there, I can say that it is not easy to choose the favorite places so to give some light and provide a place from which to enjoy the sunset I'm going to talk about the 3 places that I got a WOW as soon as I saw them and that would be my first stops if I visit Biarritz again.

Biarritz Lighthouse:
As an inveterate fan of white lighthouses, the one in Biarritz surprised me. It is located in the northern part of the city on the top of a cliff. Although it is in a built-up area, it is still very impressive. From there we have a viewpoint overlooking the beach of the city of Biarritz with very nice views, but there are also paths that allow you to go down part of the cliff to some viewpoints "embedded" in the rock, which are usually closed when the sea is rough as it can be dangerous. This walk allows you to take a more "virgin" photo of the lighthouse and its cliff. A very nice walk that I would do again!

La Grande Plage:
It was not a spot I had saved on the map I had made prior to the trip. The truth is that through my research it was not at all a place where I could see a photograph that I was particularly looking forward to... How wrong I was! We passed by it on our way to Gamaritz and it was the best decision we could have made because as the sun started to go down, the light became very soft, with a bit of a breeze and a man appeared out of nowhere to become the best model I could wish for at that moment. The result was one of my favourite photos of Biarritz so I strongly recommend you not to skip this stop, especially if the sunset is near, because you might be pleasantly surprised as I was.

Rocher du Basta:
It was clear to me that the moment when the sun went down and there was soft light had to coincide with the moment when we were in Rocher de Basta. It is a small island connected by a rock bridge to the coast. From there we have views of the Grand Plage, the lighthouse, the port des pêcheurs and the church of Santa Eugenia. A small sample of what Biarritz is all about in one place. In addition, at sunset the tide rises and the waves cover the small beach under the island and part of the stairs that allow access to it. A magical moment without a doubt.

And after enjoying the sunset, we headed back to Donosti. We returned by toll motorway for the sake of time, you can always take the same route and enjoy the breeze on your way back home.