216 miles: one week
Fly into 1 Bordeaux (with Easyjet, from £67 return). Hiring a large car for all the surf gear could be a good idea. Try Europcar. Along this coast, there are surf breaks to suit all abilities. You can rent gear and take lessons in most resorts.
Drive west to the 2 Lacanau surf beach and club, a hidden gem with great scenery and surf. The family-friendly P&V Lacanau Holiday Villages (0870 0267 145, from £80pp) is surrounded by forests and sand dunes.
Head south, stopping off to top up your surfing skills and chill with some yoga at Pura Vida Lodge & Surf School (+33 5 58 08 17 42, doubles from €140 including breakfast) in 3 Mimizan Plage, which has surf breaks suitable for beginners and experts.
Then head on down the coast to the busy surf town of 4 Hossegor, near Capbreton. A laid-back place to stay – where you can hear the waves from your bed – is the Shifting Sands Surf Camp (+33 5 5945 6670,), from £22pp, which is run by a full-of-advice local surfer, Paul. The accommodation is set in pines near the dunes.
A couple of miles further down the coast, allow a few days to explore the legendary surfer's paradise area of 5 Biarritz – or Bayonne, Anglet and Biarritz (known locally as "BAB") with world-class surf breaks, cobbled towns and trendy surfer hangouts. Hire equipment from the Seignosse Surf School.
Or go all-inclusive at the Natural Surf Lodge, which has hammam, hammocks and a treehouse chill-out area, all among pine trees by a sandy beach. The "Bungalove" is a surfers' love nest, while the "Farmhouse" would suit families better (, open April-November).
Biarritz has two main surf beaches. La Grande Plage is known for its hollow waves, and suits all standards. The Hotel du Palais, overlooking the bay and lighthouse, is a great spot to watch the posing and get a sense of Biarritz's gliteratti past – it was once a haunt of Victor Hugo, Emile Zola and Ernest Hemingway.
Fly home from Biarritz.
