Camping Bixta Eder

Base yourselves here and you can tick off lots of big Basque names without too much travelling: a drive of half an hour or so will get you up to Biarritz (for elegant streets and surf waves) or Saint-Jean-de-Luz (for a sandy beach and lots of fresh fish around the harbour). All about the eating? Once you’ve sampled the seafood in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, plan outings to Bayonne (half an hour’s drive) for the air-dried ham and over the border to San Sebastián (an hour) for a tour of the city’s pintxo bars (said to be one of the top foodie experiences anywhere in the world…) In between all those eats, schedule visits to the weird underground formations at Urdazubi caves (20 minutes) and the beasts of Labenne zoo (40 minutes). And don’t forget to take a wander around Cambo-les-Bains too: walk up to the elegant Villa Arnaga to see paintings indoors and stunning gardens outdoors, then book yourself in for a bit of pampering at the town’s Art Deco-style spa.