Recommend itinerary northern Spain southern France

pavb2

I was thinking of spending 4 days to a week at the end of September in Northern Spain southern France so what would be a good itinerary.

Probably fly and using a hotel as a base and hire a car and travel a bit. would it be better to base in Biarritz or Bilbao Or elsewhere.

What places are worth visiting? any recommendations welcome.

pjproby

I think San Sebastian would be a good base. Biarritz, Pamplona, Bilbao and San Santander are not too far away. All great places.

fits

We went for a week a while ago. We stayed in a seaside village called Mundaka for three nights, then san sebastian for 2 nights and Pamplona for three nights. We wanted to minimise the driving so didnt go to santander etc. thats for next time It was lovely.

Garry123

I was there in June for 10 days or do. I also stayed in Mundaka, http://www.apartamentosmundaka.com/. These apartments were ideal for my wife and I, across from the beach and 10mins walk to the train station. They have parking for €10 per day. I parked up and used http://www.euskotren.eus/ to travel around the Basque Country, driving in cities and parking is a hassle. Gernika and Bilbao are both an easy train ride away. On my way back I stayed a few nights in San Sebastián, Hotel Record is in the Gros neighbourhood and has free parking.
In France my choice would be Bayonne over Biarritz. If you don't want to drive you can get a bus http://www.pesa.net/pesa/en/horarios from Biraittz Airport to San Sebastián and use the train to get about.

The food, wine and local cider are great, it's a great area and totally different from the Costas, enjoy.

pavb2

Garry123 wrote: »

I was there in June for 10 days or do. I also stayed in Mundaka, http://www.apartamentosmundaka.com/. These apartments were ideal for my wife and I, across from the beach and 10mins walk to the train station. They have parking for €10 per day. I parked up and used http://www.euskotren.eus/ to travel around the Basque Country, driving in cities and parking is a hassle. Gernika and Bilbao are both an easy train ride away. On my way back I stayed a few nights in San Sebastián, Hotel Record is in the Gros neighbourhood and has free parking.
In France my choice would be Bayonne over Biarritz. If you don't want to drive you can get a bus http://www.pesa.net/pesa/en/horarios from Biraittz Airport to San Sebastián and use the train to get about.

The food, wine and local cider are great, it's a great area and totally different from the Costas, enjoy.

Thanks Garry so where would I fly in to? And would I need to hire a car could I stay there and travel around by train?

Garry123

From Dublin you can fly to both Biarritz and Bilbao. Public transport in the Spanish section is very good, apart from the bus and train links above you also have the national trains renfe.com. My choice would be Bilbao.

If you hire a car in France you may have to pay a small daily charge for raking if to Spain.

Given the tapas scene in San Sebastián, Gernika & Bilbao I would take the train. Parking in Spanish cities is expensive.

The train from Bilboa to Mundaka is about an hour and costs approx €3:50. Mundaka is very quiet, but we loved it. If you're after late nights stay in Bilbao or San Sebastián.

fits

Yeah, if you are staying in main centres, I wouldnt bother hiring a car. It looked to be very easy to get around.

pavb2

Update

So I've booked the mundaka apartments for 7 nights going to fly to either Biarritz or Bilbao. So where should we look to visit apart from Bilbao, San Sebastián and as suggested by Garry, Bayonne.

Is there anything else we shouldn't miss out on?

otnomart

Lekeito - as I remember it was a picture-perfect fishing village, half way between Bilbao and San Sebastian.
Inland in the Basque Country I liked the capital Vitoria, beautiful architecture.
Guernica is not far also.

fits

There is a really gorgeous beach, across the bay from mundaka called Laida I think. Its quite a drive to get there by car, even though its quite close. Its one of the most stunning beaches Ive ever been on.

You can go surfing, paddleboarding and kayaking in mundaka, that looked really cool. otherwise, between there, san sebastian and bilbao, you will have plenty to keep you going.

Garry123

Gernika is well worth a visit, the Peace Museum has a reenactment of the 1937 bombing by Franco troops and is generally a very thought provoking experience. Also in Gernika is a replica of the Picasso painting of the same name and the oak tree central to Basque traditions. The tourist office has plenty of information or local attractions and on the pintxo trail in the city centre.

Bilboa has the Guggenheim museum which is well worth a visit. The old town houses a fantastic market in a beautiful Arty Deco building on the banks of the river. Directly across the road you can get the tram to the Guggenheim. The old town is based around the original seven streets or Siete Calles, these are full of bars, restaurants, cafes, shops and are the heart of the city.

As stated above Vitoria is a lovely city and if driving there from Mundaka the route over the mountains is stunning.

The Basque Country is rich in history, I'd recommend this book https://www.amazon.com/Basque-History-World-Story-Nation/dp/0140298517 as a good insight to the people and the area.

Spanish Eyes

Oh you lucky thing OP.

I did a similar trip in June.

Flew into Bilbao stayed just the one night and that's enough IMO. Guggenheim and a stroll around then off. Took the bus from the bus station to San Sebastian. OMG. I thought it was absolutely brilliant place. Suitable for all ages. Great foodie scene, great nightlife. Stay in the Old Town if you can it is pedestrianised and has a great atmosphere. There is just so much to the place, you will have to look it up!

Then after 3 days in SSeb. took a bus to Bayonne. Well I never. What a lovely spot altogether, very Basque, great food, lovely bars, friendly people, who all love the Irish because of "Le Rugby" even though I am not a rugby fan at all. Still..

Three days there and took a train one day to St. Jean de Pied de Port which is where the Camino de Santiago traditionally starts from because I hope to do a stage next year. Great experience seeing all the walkers and chatting/drinking/eating with them.

Did a day trip from Bayonne to Biarritz, spent the whole day into early night there, but didn't like it much, a bit pretentious if you ask me, but each to their own, the beach area is great though.

Flew home from Biarritz, and the bus from Bayonne to the airport cost just €1. Stops right outside the departure doors.

Everyone's expectations of holidays is different, but you can't really go wrong in the Basque country.

Hope you have a great time.

pavb2

I've got the Mundaka apartments for seven nights but do you think I should change this to 3 or 4 and maybe stay somewhere else like sans seb for 3 nights or stick to the 7 in Mundaka.

pavb2

Thanks to all that posted we had a lovely week exploring the Basque Country. We flew in to Bilbao hired a car and drove half hour to Mundaka. Mundaka and the apartments were just one highlight of the break.

The apartments were clean the staff, Kepa and Maria really helpful in as much that Kepa organised tickets to see Atheletico Bilbao. The strength of the location is that we were thirty seconds from the beach so to swim in the sea at the end of September is a real pleasure.

We had a couple of train trips in to Bilbao and Guernica visiting the Guggenheim museum. But I think the jewel in the crown of the Basque region is San Sebastián. You could easily spend three or four nights there very traditional plenty to do and not too commercialised. We also visited Lekeito and some of the outlying fishing villlages.

So all in all a lovely relaxing holiday so thanks to you all for pointing me in the right direction.