Has anyone gone on this tour and stayed someplace in the area ahead ( Bayonne) or after ( Biarritz) that you really enjoyed? We will fly from Toronto ahead of time and then join the tour. Thank you for suggestions.
OK, let me get this right. The two cities you mention are in the French Basque region. Are you on an organized tour of only Basque territory or is it further afield?
North of those two cities is Bordeaux. An absolutely charming place. East of those cities is the Salie de Bearne area. Lovely rolling hills.
Along the coast of Spain, any of the cities are nice. There is a cave you might be able to get into with prehistoric painting called, Pindal. Great setting.
Wayne iNES
The tour ends in Bilboa, Spain. All those "B" names get confusing. 😁
I'm doing this tour in May.
Do you mean 2019?
We spent a night in Bayonne and one full day in it, is sufficient. Prior to the French border is Hondarribia. It too is worth a day. Two somewhat nearby towns we enjoyed are Zumaia and Getaria. Both are worth visiting for a couple hours each. They are only a few miles apart.
kkcmorrow,
You might want to post this here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours
Adding to what Jaime suggested: Zarautz makes a trio with Zumaia and Getaria. It takes a combination of buses and trains to hit all three as I recall, and I linked two of them on foot (don't remember which).
The interior Basque capital in Spain, Vitoria-Gasteiz, is also interesting.