The San Diego of the Basque coast

Departure from the camping area, east of Hendaye. This route starts more precisely from the Dorrondeguy campsite, but it is very easy to add another campsite.
Please note! This route is not signposted as such, nor is it signposted in its entirety.

(S/E) On leaving the Dorrondeguy campsite, take the street on the left to reach a larger road. Follow it to the left, on the left-hand side. After passing under the railway line, turn right onto Chemin d'Anziola Bidea. Continue along this small road until you reach Route de la Corniche, opposite the Hotel Haicabea.

(1) Change following the 2024 notices: it is no longer possible to reach the coast directly as was initially the case when this circular route was created. Carefully follow the D912 to the left until you reach Asporotza (Park House). Take the path on the right that joins the coastal path, then follow it to the left.

(2) At the Conservatoire du Littoral sign, continue to the right. At the intersection, continue straight ahead for a round trip to the viewpoint.
On the way back, continue right towards Nekatoenea. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead for a few metres for a view of Abbadia Castle. Return to the intersection and turn left. At the fork, keep right and ignore all the paths on the left. You will arrive at a viewpoint on the roof of a blockhouse with a compass rose carved into it.

(3) Continue along the coastal path, passing another blockhouse on your left shortly afterwards. At the crossroads with grassy paths, continue to the right. At another blockhouse on your left, enjoy a beautiful view of the "Deux Jumeaux" (Two Twins), two large rocky islets on your right. Continue, ignoring all the paths on the left, to stay as close as possible to the coast, even if it means making short detours to small lookout points. Further on, the path moves away from the coast and ends at a paved alley.

(4) Follow it to the right. Further on, go through a barrier, then arrive at a car park and note, on the right, a sign and a map of the coastal path. Turn right onto the car park and continue in the same direction on the small road. Continue left on the beach, following the yellow markings. Further on, go back up to the promenade and continue towards the centre of Hendaye-Plage.

(5) Pass in front of the old casino and continue straight ahead. Further on, almost at the end of the promenade, you will see a wide passageway on your left under a building with two red towers on either side (see photo). Take this passageway to reach Place du Port (where the market is held on Saturdays), and continue straight ahead to reach the marina.

(6) Turn left to go around the harbour. Opposite the boat repair yard, continue to the left and you will come to a street opposite the Basque Maritime Cooperative. Follow it to the left for about thirty metres. At the crossroads (large roundabout), take the cycle path on the right until you reach the next roundabout.

(7) Continue straight ahead on the promenade, parallel to the boulevard, which runs along Chingoudy Bay on your right.

(8) At a small square with benches on your right and a roundabout on your left, continue along the promenade, which turns south-west, still along the bay, following the red and white^GR®® markings. You will soon pass the sports fields on your right.

(9) Continue along the coast on a tree-lined footpath. Ignore the steps and turn right onto a footbridge. Shortly afterwards, ignore the ramp that goes up to the left.

(10) At the end of the path, take the stairs up to the old village of Hendaye. At the top, turn right onto Rue Pierre Loti, then right again onto Rue des Pêcheurs to discover the house where Pierre Loti lived and died (commemorative plaque, see photo). At the end of Rue des Pêcheurs, go up the stairs on the left. At the top, note the statue of the Virgin Mary at the corner of the house on the right, and continue along the street on the left. Continue on the left side of the Maison du Port, going straight ahead at each crossroads, until you arrive in front of the town hall with the church on your left.

(11) Turn left to pass in front of the church entrance (I recommend a visit, see photo) then turn right at the first street. At the intersection, turn left then immediately right (Résidence Saint-Jean on the right side of the street). A few metres further on, continue straight ahead along Impasse de la Forte Pente and, at the end, go down the steps. At the bottom, turn left, turn right at the next intersection, then immediately left onto a wider street and you will soon reach a roundabout.

(12) Turn left between a shaded car park on your right and the Belcenia Centre on your left, following the red and white^GR®® markings (on a tree on the right). Go under a bridge and continue straight ahead to the sports facilities, where you will find the promenade along the bay that you took on the way there.

(9) Follow it to the right.

(8) Leave it at the Jean-Moulin roundabout to go around the roundabout on the right, then take the second street on the right, Rue de Larroun. Go up this street until you reach a "Stop" sign at an intersection with a busier street. Turn right to cross over the railway line. On the other side, continue to the left of the cross for about 100 metres.

(13) Take the first street on the right, which quickly turns into a path (Chemin de Goyara) between residences and fields. Further on, ignore the street on the left and continue on Rue Goyara, which is paved again. At the T-junction (house no. 26 on your right), turn left for a few metres then take the first street on the right, Rue Saint-Exupéry. Turn right at the next street, Rue Guynemer, then left onto Boulevard de l'Empereur.

(14) Keep right onto Chemin de Sopite, following the signs for Dorrondeguy campsite, among others. Continue on this road until you reach the roundabout. Turn right, then take the first left to reach the campsite entrance (S/E).

This route is intended more for camping tourists who don't want to spend too much time looking for a parking space, which are scarce and usually paid for in Hendaye Plage. It is a mainly urban route, mostly along roads and streets. Not recommended for those allergic to tarmac. The last part will seem less pleasant, but you have to get "home" somehow.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Some photos here

(2) The Château d'Abbadia

(5) Hendaye Beach. The little San Diego of the Basque coast. It has everything: a lively town, sandy beaches, bohemian surfers who spend hours waiting for the waves and sleep on the beach in their old Volkswagens, and even a distinctly Hispanic atmosphere provided by the Spaniards who happily cross the border to spend the day on the beaches or along the promenades.

(8) to (10) Chingoudy Bay is the name given to the Bidassoa estuary. It is a very interesting wetland area. The presence of marshes, mudflats, beaches and cliffs creates a mosaic that is very favourable to migratory birds. However, given the geographical location of the estuary, which makes it an important transport hub, and the presence of three tourist and industrial towns (Hendaye, Fuenterrabia and Irun), a large part of the wetlands has been urbanised and degraded. Nevertheless, this area remains remarkable, especially since a marshland area (Plaiaundi, in the south of the area) has been restored and transformed into a bird park. Twenty thousand migratory waterbirds are observed each year in Chingoudy Bay.

Between (10) and (11) The House of Pierre Loti. When Pierre Loti took command of the gunboat Le Javelot in December 1891, it marked the end of his voyages. The gunboat was stationed at the La Bidassoa naval base in Hendaye. Until the end of his first command in June 1893 – and during his second, which lasted from May 1896 to January 1898 – he had plenty of time to visit the region and keep watch over La Bidassoa from his official residence on the edge of the estuary, at the top of Rue des Pêcheurs, a narrow, tall house called Bakhar-Etchea (the house of the solitary), with a small garden facing Spain. He rented it in 1894 and became the owner in 1904. What he discovered about the customs and traditions of the region's inhabitants provided the material for his novel Ramuntcho. He died in this house on 10 June 1923.

(11) The Church of Saint-Vincent-Diacre in Hendaye: rebuilt in 1598, then completely renovated from 1867 to 1874 and enlarged in 1902, it has three levels of galleries and stained glass windows by Jules Maumézean from 1881.