Stay in Biarritz or St Jean de Luz

We are going to the Basque country next July (07). We love the beach and hope to do some surfing and sightseeing. Can anyone recommend which little town to stay in? We will be there 3 days in that area.

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While St jean de Luz is my favorite beach town, for surfing opportunities it is Biarritz no question.

biarritz.fr/anglais/cgi-bin/tourisme_eau.asp

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Along these same lines, can anyone advise whether St. Jean de Luz or Biarritz would be better for a family with a 5 yr old next July?

We would likely walk on the beach and like to relax, but are not into surfing. We like pedestrianized areas with shops/restaurants and will have a rental car, so parking and ease of getting out of town to explore the area matter too.

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Both St Jean and Biarritz have excellent beaches. Most of the better surfing is a few kms to the north, or further west in Mundaka (the País Vasco) There are several areas at both where you can leave your 5 year old with a group of children for group activities during the day while you enjoy the beach. It really doesn%26#39;t matter if they do not speak French, Spanish or Basque. They will enjoy themselves.

For a little more on the area, you may want to download Maribel%26#39;s Guide to the Pays Basque (http://maribelsguides.com). You may find it very useful.

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We did three nights in Biarritz and two in St. Jean de Luz.

Hubby loves Biarritz ! I loved them both! Alot also depends on the beach weather we had great days on the beach in Biarritz but rain the next three days in St. Jean de Luz. Biarritz seemed to have as much traffic as St. Jean de Luz in July but it is a larger town more places to walk and park.

The road traffic going to and from St. Jean de Luz ( and south beyond) was bumper to bumper!

We loved both places! The beach in front of the Biarritz casino is terrific! ( for surfing with life guards and warning flags). Boy! That is a hard decision but with a young child maybe the beaches at Biarritz ...... on second thought the beaches at St. Jean de Luz are great too..........????

If you do stay in St. Jean you might want to look at %26quot;Donibane Hotel%26quot; for a place with a pool ( we swam in the pool during the rain -no wind!) and a good 1/2 pension with great food! (they seemed to cater to children-- so nice and great!-- it was really neat!) and then drive to the beach if good weather.

In Biarritz we stayed at a hotel near the Casino and had a great time. We walked the beach and the town and also walked to the market.

No matter which place you will have a good time. Please try to decide soon as the hotels fill up fast during July!

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Biarritz is much more a %26quot;proper%26quot; town in terms of things to see, do and so on. I would stay there - St Jean de Luz is a short bus ride away ,so easy for a day trip.

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Mom2Bini , I have been going to this area for a while. If your not into surfing and have a five year old, St. Jean de Luz and it%26#39;s sheltered beach is for you. It also has a beautiful traffic free centre.

Bon Vacances.

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