Bidart
©
Bidart

Bidart

Clifftop Basque village with six beaches below it, between Biarritz and the Spanish border

Bidart sits on the cliffs between Biarritz and Guéthary, and is the highest point on the Basque coast — the village square, with its church, fronton and whitewashed houses under red timber, is a genuine Basque village rather than a resort dressed as one. The fronton is not decorative: pelota is played on it.

Below the cliffs are six beaches, and they are the reason most people come. The Plage du Centre and the long sandy stretch at Uhabia to the south are the swimming and surfing beaches; Erretegia to the north is smaller and sheltered by the headland. Uhabia is where the surf schools teach, because it is sand rather than the rock shelf that makes Guéthary a serious wave and a bad classroom.

The coastal path runs the whole way through, and walking it north to Biarritz or south to Guéthary and Saint-Jean-de-Luz is the best way to see this stretch — about an hour each way, with the Pyrenees visible inland on a clear day.

Guide

Activities

Bidart's teaching beach is Uhabia, the long sandy stretch at the southern end — the surf schools use it precisely because the alternative at Guéthary is a rock shelf, which makes a famous wave and a dangerous first lesson.

Lessons are scheduled around the tide rather than the clock, so the time moves day to day and the schools generally call to confirm a day or two ahead.