Hotel Edouard VII, Biarritz

Advantages: Beautiful, inexpensive, friendly (and not too hot!)
Disadvantages: "Posers" in Biarritz, mosquitos

............or "Euskala", as the Basques call the Basque homeland. In April i received an e-mail from Eurostar, informing me that the Independent newspaper was about to run an offer of a return trip to any one of about 50 towns and cities in France for £50, including Eurostar fare. Never one to miss a bargain i signed up, looked at a map to see how far away from London i could get for my £50, and chose Biarritz (it was a choice between there and Perpignan). I have a close friend who is French, and she suggested that i wouldn't like Biarritz too much, and in the ten days i had i would be wise to explore some other towns close by - what excellent advice that turned out to be! I searched for some cheap hotels online and in the "Rough Guide to the Pyrenees", and booked myself a cheap holiday. The first two nights i booked in Biarritz... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...I spent a week in Biarritz during one of the surf festivals, they usually have 2 or 3 each summer. If you enjoy surfing this is the place to be, although the town of Biarritz is rather expensive but there is a large campsite and you can visit the town and survive on a budget. The local scenery is fantastic and there are a number of things to do in the area including taking a day trip to San Sebastian in Spain. One thing to take note of is the thunder storms, there can be great sunshine during the day there can also be great thunder storms during the night, not always so great if your camping!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: good weather, good surf, nice beaches, nice ambience
Disadvantages: long drive, horrendous storms

...We drove from Roscoff Ferry terminal through Brittany down to Bidart, just south of Biarritz. We stayed with Eurosites at a camp called Des Pins. The site was good. The toilets and showers were kept very clean. The tent was good and the facilities satisfactory. There is a tennis court, shop on the campsite, games area for the children but nothing in the evening apart from the bar. The beaches are a mere five minutes walk away and the surf is splendid. The nearby (10 minutes) village of Bidart has good shops and nice bars. There's also entertainment in the village square on many nights of the week. Biarritz is extremely clean and is beautifully lit up at night. There are often very special events centred on surfing festivals. This can be very exciting and quite spectacular. It is about 10 minutes in the car from Bidart to Biarritz. Spain... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful