How to get to Ainhoa and the French Basque Country from the UK and Ireland
The French Basque Country can feel much further away than it really is.
Ainhoa sits in the foothills of the Pyrenees, close to the Spanish border and around half an hour by car from Biarritz airport. From the UK, there are several practical ways to get here: fly directly to Biarritz, use Bilbao as an alternative airport, come by ferry with your own car, or make the journey by train.
Which option is best depends largely on where you live in the UK and whether you want a car during your stay.
The easiest option: fly to Biarritz
Biarritz has direct seasonal connections with London, and depending on the year’s flight programme, there are also direct services from Edinburgh. For visitors coming from Ireland, Dublin is another direct destination served from Biarritz. Routes and frequencies change seasonally, so it is always worth checking the current airport timetable before booking.
The airport is only about 27 km from Ainhoa, with a drive of roughly 30 minutes.
In 2026, Biarritz has direct links with London Stansted on Ryanair and London Gatwick on easyJet. The Biarritz airport schedule also lists a direct seasonal Ryanair service to Edinburgh. Flight schedules vary by season, so it is always worth checking the current programme before booking.
From London, the flight itself is only around 1 hour 45 minutes.
That makes Biarritz remarkably convenient for a part of France that feels very different from the usual short-break destinations.
From Biarritz airport to Ainhoa
If you are staying for several days, I would normally recommend hiring a car at the airport.
You can reach Ainhoa by taxi or public transport, but having a car makes it much easier to explore Sare, Espelette, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the coast and the Spanish side of the border.
Ainhoa itself is small and walkable, and several walks start directly from the village, but the wider region is much easier to enjoy with your own transport.
Bilbao: a very useful alternative
If the Biarritz flights do not work for your dates or departure airport, Bilbao Airport is the next option I would check.
It is further away — around 150 km from Ainhoa and roughly 1 hour 45 minutes by car — but it has a much wider choice of UK connections.
Bilbao Airport currently lists direct routes to London Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton, as well as Manchester and Bristol.
That can make Bilbao particularly useful if you live outside London or if the seasonal Biarritz schedules do not line up with your holiday.
The drive from Bilbao to Ainhoa is straightforward and also gives you the option of stopping in San Sebastián on the way.
For a longer holiday, flying into Bilbao and out of Biarritz — or vice versa — can also work well if the fares and car-hire arrangements make sense.
Should you hire a car?
For a holiday based in Ainhoa, yes, ideally.
You do not need a car every minute of the day. The village can be explored on foot, mountain walks begin nearby and it is perfectly possible to spend a slow day without driving anywhere.
But a car gives you enormous flexibility.
From Ainhoa you can easily reach:
Sare and Espelette
Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Atlantic coast
Biarritz and Bayonne
Urdax, Zugarramurdi and the Baztan Valley in Navarre
numerous walking routes and small villages that are awkward to reach by public transport
The distances are generally short, which is part of the appeal. You are hiring a car to give yourself freedom, not to spend the holiday driving for hours every day.
Coming by ferry with your own car
For British visitors who prefer to bring their own car, the ferry to northern Spain is an interesting alternative.
Brittany Ferries operates services from Portsmouth to Bilbao and Santander, allowing you to arrive with your own vehicle and avoid the long drive through northern France.
The Portsmouth–Bilbao crossing is a longer, cruise-style journey — Brittany Ferries lists it at around 36 hours for its 2027 programme — but for a longer holiday, especially with plenty of luggage, bikes or children, some travellers may prefer starting the holiday on board rather than spending a full day on motorways.
From Bilbao, allow roughly two hours to reach Ainhoa.
Santander is another possibility. From Santander to Ainhoa is around 250 km and about 2 hours 45 minutes by car.
This option makes most sense for a longer stay, when having your own car and being able to bring more luggage outweighs the longer journey.
Driving through France
You can, of course, cross the Channel and drive all the way south.
From Calais to Ainhoa, the road distance is roughly 1,040 km and the driving time is around 10 hours before substantial breaks, so most people would sensibly treat it as a two-day journey.
Using a western Channel crossing can shorten the French driving section. From the Normandy area, the drive south is still substantial but more manageable.
This is a good option if the journey itself is part of the holiday — perhaps with a night in the Loire, Bordeaux or elsewhere en route.
For a straightforward week in the Basque Country, flying is usually considerably easier.
Travelling by train from London
It is also possible to make the journey without flying.
The Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris takes around 2 hours 16 minutes.
From Paris Montparnasse, direct TGV trains to Bayonne can take just under four hours.
You do need to transfer across Paris between Gare du Nord and Montparnasse, so this is not a single seamless train journey. But for anyone who enjoys rail travel or prefers not to fly, it is perfectly realistic.
Bayonne is around 26 km from Ainhoa and roughly half an hour by car.
From there, you could hire a car, take a taxi or arrange onward transport.
The train is unlikely to be the fastest option door to door, but it can be a very pleasant way to arrive in the south-west of France.
Biarritz or Bilbao: which airport should you choose?
If the flights work, choose Biarritz.
It is much closer to Ainhoa, the onward journey is easy and you can be in the village remarkably quickly after landing.
Choose Bilbao if:
it offers a much better flight from your part of the UK
Biarritz flights do not operate on your travel dates
fares are significantly better
you would like to include Bilbao or San Sebastián in your trip
There is no need to regard Bilbao as an inconvenient second choice. It is simply a longer transfer.
How far is Ainhoa from the coast?
One reason Ainhoa works well for a holiday from the UK is that you are not choosing between the Pyrenees and the Atlantic.
The village is inland, surrounded by green hills and mountain paths, but the Basque coast is close enough for an easy day out.
That means you can spend one day walking, another in Saint-Jean-de-Luz or Biarritz, and another crossing the border into Spain — while returning to the same base each evening.
Is the French Basque Country easy for a short holiday from Britain?
From London, particularly during the months when direct Biarritz flights are frequent, surprisingly so.
The flight is short, the airport transfer is short and once you arrive most of the places you are likely to visit are within a relatively compact area.
For visitors coming from other parts of the UK, Bilbao gives you considerably more choice.
And for a longer stay, bringing your own car by ferry can make the journey part of the holiday itself.
The French Basque Country feels tucked away between the Atlantic and the Pyrenees.
Getting here is rather easier than that setting might suggest.
Continue exploring
→ 3 days in Ainhoa: villages, mountains and coast
→ Things to do in Ainhoa and the French Basque Country
→ Hiking around Ainhoa
→ What to eat in the French Basque Country
→ Beaches near Ainhoa
Flight routes and frequencies change seasonally; information checked August 2026.