transportation

From Google

What is the nearest airport to Biarritz? The nearest airport to Biarritz is Biarritz (BIQ) Airport which is 2.3 km away. Other nearby airports include San Sebastian (EAS) (23.6 km), Pau (PUF) (93 km), Bilbao (BIO) (110.7 km) and Bordeaux (BOD) (164.9 km).

Check flights from CDG to Biarritz

And others may know better than I

Biaritz has it own airport

Bordeaux is the other closest to that.

From experience, sometimes it could be cheaper to fly into Paris and pay to take the train from there.

Schedules and fares would be factors for me, so I wouldn't make the decision based purely on distance from Biarritz. Options include Bilbao and San Sebastian (fewer flights) in Spain and Bordeaux and Toulouse in France. Although farther away than the Spanish options, Bordeaux has rail service to Biarritz that takes only about 2 hours (plus time to get from the airport to the train station). The trip from Toulouse would be longer, just over 4 hours. At a time of uncertainty, there's a lot to be said for not building in an extra border crossing, I think.

My usual source for rail schedules doesn't provide the necessary information for determining travel time between Bilbao or San Sebastian and Biarritz, but I'm confident it would be longer than the 2 hours from Bordeaux.

You might get lucky and find some sort of connection on a puddle-jumper into Biarritz after changing planes somewhere in Europe. Biarritz does have an airport. Have you gone to a website like Google Flights and entered your nearest airport as the origin and Biarritz as the destination to see whether any options appear?

I'd want to be on a single ticket unless I was prepared to spend a couple of days playing tourist at an attractive transfer point. If you have two separate tickets and the transatlantic flight is delayed enough that you miss your connection, you'll have to buy a last-minute replacement ticket, and there might not be tickets available. In any case, I'd definitely plan to arrive in the Basque Country the day before the tour starts.

My usual source for rail schedules doesn't provide the necessary
information for determining travel time between Bilbao or San
Sebastian and Biarritz, but I'm confident it would be longer than the
2 hours from Bordeaux.

Apart from Biarritz own airport, San Sebastian/Donostia is actually the closest one. It is a literal stone's throw from the border. And the terminal is only a kilometre from Hendaye railway station as the crow flies. Bilbao airport is further away and due to the break of gauge you need to change train at the border if taking the train from Bilbao to Biarritz.

If it was my trip I would look at flying to Biarritz first, but the options there are very limited. Basically the options are Air France, SAS or Swiss. If that doesn't work, Bordeaux. But to be honest, flying to Paris and taking the train to Biarritz is also an option.

this is what Rick said on the page describing the tour:

Most tour members arrange to fly into Biarritz, France (BIQ), and out of Bilbao, Spain (BIO) — choose "multicity" on flight-booking websites. The Biarritz airport is a 20-minute bus ride from Bayonne, where the tour begins. Booking round-trip to one city will require a connecting flight, train trip, or additional overnight stay in Europe.

Or you could just fly into Paris and then take the TGV to Biarritz — it takes about four hours.

You could spend a day or two in Paris before heading down south.

“Or you could just fly into Paris and then take the TGV to Biarritz — it takes about four hours.“

That’s our plan if/when we’re confirmed for this tour!