Written by Jeppe – surf blogger and former coastal lifeguard on the Danish west coast for 5 years. More about Jeppe.
If you’re a passionate surfer but you’re planning the trip with someone who isn’t, you already know the problem: a week centered entirely on swell forecasts is a hard sell. Most surf destinations are built around one thing, which is great if everyone in your group surfs and less great if they don’t.
This summer we needed a destination that could double as a proper vacation for a non-surfer too — somewhere with a real backup plan built in, not just a pool at the hotel. Southwest France turned out to be close to perfect for that.
The plan: fly into Bordeaux, surf in Hossegor/Capbreton, hike in the Pyrenees, then finish back in Bordeaux for wine and city life. Surf, mountains and a world-class food-and-wine scene, all within a few hours’ drive of each other. Here’s how it worked, and why it’s worth considering over the usual surf-trip destinations.
Why southwest France beats a “pure” surf destination
A lot of surf trips force a choice: go somewhere with great waves and accept that non-surfers will be bored by day three, or go somewhere generically nice and accept mediocre surf. Southwest France sidesteps that trade-off almost entirely, because the region isn’t built around surfing at all — surfing is just one strong option among several.
Within a two-to-three-hour drive you’ve got a serious wave coast, a full mountain range with proper hiking, and one of the most famous wine cities in the world. That density is the whole point. Nobody has to compromise their whole trip around one activity, and you get to build an itinerary that actually rotates between them instead of picking just one.
Hossegor/Capbreton: powerful shore break, but built for everyone
Hossegor and Capbreton sit alongside Biarritz and San Sebastián as the big three of this coast, and each offers a genuinely different experience in both wave type and city life. Biarritz leans more upmarket and scenic, with smaller waves also suitable for beginners, San Sebastián brings Basque city culture and food into the mix, and Hossegor is the more surf-focused, laid-back beach town of the three. We picked Hossegor for its steep beach break — close to shore and genuinely powerful when the swell is running, the kind of wave that rewards experience.
On a good week you’ll also find mellower waves further out, especially at low tide, that suit beginners much better than the shore break does. That range is part of what makes it work for a mixed-ability group: it’s not a one-note beach.
It’s a busy beach in high season, but an organized one: marked surf zones, lifeguards on duty, and surf shops everywhere if you need a board, a wetsuit, or a lesson. And here’s the detail that matters most if you’re traveling with a non-surfer: the water is noticeably warmer than most of the Atlantic coast in Europe. The coastline here sits partly sheltered by Spain, which helps push temperatures up compared to spots further north on the same ocean. That’s the difference between “I’ll come sit on the beach” and “actually, I might get in the water too.”
Read the full Hossegor guide here
The Pyrenees: where the non-surfer wins
This is the part of the trip that made the whole itinerary work, and honestly the part most surf-focused travelers overlook entirely. After flying into Bordeaux and picking up a rental car, we drove straight to the Pyrenees for a few days of hiking before heading to the coast — deliberately front-loading the trip with the part that had nothing to do with surfing.
It’s a different kind of first-class experience than anything you get on a beach: cows with bells around their necks grazing on open hillsides, ice-cold mountain lakes you can (briefly) swim in, and views that stay with you long after the flight home. The pace is completely different from the coast too — quiet trails, small mountain villages, and none of the crowds you’ll find on the beach in August.
Come prepared. Good hiking shoes matter more than you’d think on the rockier trails, and you’ll want plenty of water and snacks, since services thin out fast once you’re away from the villages. Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Laruns are solid bases with good access to trailheads, though the whole range delivers the same idyllic feel — you don’t need to pick the “perfect” town to have a great few days there.
One bonus worth timing your trip around: if you’re there in July, there’s a real chance of catching a stage of the Tour de France passing through the mountains. Watching the peloton grind up a mountain pass, surrounded by fans who’ve hiked up for the view, is an easy, memorable add to the itinerary that costs nothing extra and needs almost no planning beyond checking the route in advance.
Bordeaux: the city (and wine) payoff
Save a few days in Bordeaux, either at the start of the trip or the end. It’s a genuinely beautiful city — historic streets, strong local food, and a wine scene that doesn’t really have an equivalent anywhere else in the world. It’s also an easy city to enjoy without a packed itinerary: wandering the old town, working through a few good restaurants, and taking it slow is enough.
A day trip out to the surrounding vineyards and chateaus rounds the trip off well, and it’s the kind of activity that works for surfers and non-surfers equally — nobody’s compromising on this part of the trip.
This is really the pitch: beach, mountains and city in one trip, each region roughly a few hours’ drive from the next, connected by a single rental car. For a surfer trying to build a vacation both people types will genuinely enjoy, that combination is hard to beat.
Who this trip is for
This itinerary works particularly well if:
- You surf and your partner or travel companion doesn’t, and you want a trip that doesn’t feel like it’s built entirely around your hobby
- You want to combine surf with hiking, without flying to two separate destinations
- You’d rather road-trip through a region than base yourself in one resort town for a full week
- You’re traveling in July and want a shot at the Tour de France as a bonus, not a planned centerpiece
It’s less ideal if you want a single-base, no-driving beach holiday, or if surf is the only thing on the agenda — in that case, a more surf-dedicated destination might suit better.
When to go
Summer (June–August) is the obvious window: warmest water at Hossegor, best hiking conditions in the Pyrenees, and — if you time it right — the Tour de France passing through in July. It’s also peak season, so expect crowds on the beach and in Bordeaux’s old town, and book accommodation well ahead. Shoulder season (May or September) trades a few degrees of water temperature for noticeably fewer crowds, if that trade-off appeals to you more than the Tour de France timing.
Quick itinerary
- Fly into Bordeaux, rent a car
- 2–3 days in the Pyrenees (Bagnères-de-Bigorre or Laruns) — hiking, lakes, Tour de France if the timing lines up
- 3–5 days in Hossegor/Capbreton — surf, beach, warm water
- 2–3 days back in Bordeaux — city, food, a vineyard day trip
Want the full breakdown of Hossegor’s breaks, tide times and where to stay? Read the full Hossegor guide here.