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Itinerary Help

Posted by ( USA) on

Hello All -
This forum has been very helpful for me to not only to aid in planning but to get wonderful suggestions about how to spend our time in areas we are visiting. I am sure that your suggestions this time will be equally invaluable.
We plan to arrive Paris on 5/2 (early AM) and stay in the city until 5/6 when we take a train to Bordeaux. We expect to spend 5/7 & 8 in Bordeaux and then travel to Biarritz on 5/9. On 5/12 we hope to go to San Sebastian, Spain and stay there until 5/15 when we will either fly or train back to Paris for 5/15 an 16. We will return to the Stats 5/17.

We have visited Paris two times before - but for a shorter time each. We are thinking of getting out into the neighborhoods this time but probably will circle back and visit the major sights also - it's been a decade since we've visited.

We have never traveled to the other mentioned above. I am particularly interested in San Sebastian (the food sounds amazing) and would like to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

My wife and I are in our late 60s - fortunately are able to get around - reasonably active and (knock on wood) healthy.

Here are my questions:
1. Itinerary - too much? Too little?
2. Should we rent a car? or will train suffice?
3. (PS - we travelled to Spain in May of 2025 and visited Valencia, Seville, Ronda, Nerja, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo and Madrid. in about 18-19 days so we aren't shy about moving - but also love staying put and enjoying a respite. Travelled by train throughout - although did take a taxi 2 times when I messed up some connections!)
4. I know San Sebastian/Bilbao is another forum - but hoping some of you have done this before and can offer advise.
5. Hotel/restaurant suggestions are welcome!
6. It's our 40th wedding anniversary - so we might spurge a tad!
7. I am picking up the RS France book this week. And will begin listening to his radio/podcast for these areas as well.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions -

Don

Posted by
704 posts

One thought - you might find Bayonne a nicer place to stay than Biarritz, which really is a concrete jungle.
You could di the trip by train, but a car gives you more flexibility, especially if you book hotels with parking.

Posted by
7835 posts

It's a great start on an itinerary. For the cities you are going to, you don't need a car, I love to stay in city centers, especially for those cities. We enjoyed our time in Bordeaux. I also would recommend Bayonne over Biaritz, and I'd stay in or near the more historical area. I would recommend another day or two in San Sebastian, with the day trip to Bilbao. Bilbao also has an interesting food scene. Make sure to see Bilbao's old town area. San Sebastian has an excellent Basque museum as does Bayonne.

From San Sebastian another great day trip is to Hondarribia. There is a castle and lovely square and the beach is also lovely.

Posted by
29822 posts

The itinerary is a bit rushed for me, but I wouldn't have attempted your May 2025 itinerary in 18 or 19 days, so it's clear you move a lot faster than I do. You have just two full days and a few hours at each of your stops except for Paris. That's probably OK for Bordeaux if you don't plan any side trips (St. Emilion?), and the French Basque Country stop sort of depends on how many towns you want to see. I'm another who preferred Bayonne to Biarritz (by a wide margin, in my case), and many people like to see St-Juan-de-Luz as well. That is all doable by public transportation. There are some mountain villages mentioned by Rick that I haven't seen. For those I assume a car would be better--or possibly even necessary. Incidentally, Rick covers the French Basque Country in the Spain guidebook, or at least he used to.

There is a lot to see in the Spanish Basque Country; it think you'll find having just two full days limiting. Bilbao is really worth more than a day as a side trip from San Sebastian, the aforementioned Hondarribia is a good side trip, and there are additional nearby possibilities like Zumaia/Getaria/Zarautz and Gernika.

It would almost certainly be punishingly expensive to pick up a car in France and drop it off in Spain, or vice versa, because of the international-drop supplement.

Posted by
7835 posts

We had a car for our Basque Spain/France trip so that we could do some of the smaller villages and get to Gernika. However, we created a circular route and picked up and dropped our car at the Bordeaux train station. I never looked into, but I heard on this forum that at least some car companies do not allow the cars from France to go into Spain. I didn't verify, but if you do rent, you probably should probably ask them at the car agency--preferably before the trip. That's where dealing like something like Autoeurope comes in handy. All that said, for the cities you are looking at, you do not need a car.

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