Aquitaine Travel Guides (Updated September 2026)

Good way to get an introduction to the valley. If you have a car, you can return to the areas of most interest. Very informative . You don’t spend a lot of time in the small towns, but you get a good feel if you want to return

We were in Biarritz for 3 nights. We Love doing walking tours to get the history and basic layout of the town. This did not disappoint. Great recommendations for lunch spots after the tour also.

Very knowledgeable tour guide. Covered much history and made it interesting through amusing details.

He’s very personable and knowledgeable about his city, and he gave a great talk about its history language, industry, etc.

Excellent experience and highly recommend. The tour gave a great overview and took me to spots I never would have found. A great introduction to a wonderful place

Very fun narrative in French and English.

This was a relaxing experience. It was lovely to be on the water and the tour guide did a great job of explaining all the river sights.

We had a lovely dinner in our hosts apartment. It was nice to see a little more of the city, hear about her experiences living in Bordeaux and cook a delicious meal together.

A very pretty and picturesque tour of a few villages in the Dordogne with the magnificent Château de Beynac to visit another time and a sublime and relaxing discovery of La Roque-Gageac by gabare. The pickup by the guide Léna was very friendly and comfortable with an effort to speak French.... With me alone!! I recommended Ophorus to my friends and I am going to do another guided tour (especially since it also compensates for the lack of local public transport)! Vincent Fonteneau

An absolutely genuine and authentic experience that gave us a true appreciation of Basque Country, the people, the culture and the food. Ettiene was just the most pleasant person to spend the day with and he always went out of his way to take care of us. We spent 5 days in Biarritz and surrounding countryside and it was a once in a lifetime adventure.

During this afternoon tour we visited two Grand Cru estates in Saint-Émilion, Château Rol Valentin and Château Vachon. Both are family owned estates that produce a variety of high quality, affordable Bordeaux wines. They both offer shipping services for guest who’d like to continue enjoying their wines when they return home. Both visits were informative about the region, wine making process and the families historical passion for wine production. Along the way our guide, Margot, provided an upbeat interactive experience for our small group which created a positive atmosphere for us strangers to genuinely enjoy the tour together. She’s highly knowledgeable of wine in the region and its historical context. The only constructive feedback I have is that there wasn’t enough free time in the Saint-Émilion village. That was one of the main reasons I booked this tour vs several other options and 20 minutes just wasn’t enough. The tour should be scheduled for a longer duration to accommodate for delays, traffic and any other factor that may limit free time in this stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site. The aperitif (wine, cheese, nuts, bread) at the second vineyard was very tasty and added an authentic feel to this touristic excursion. I highly recommend booking this tour if you want to explore more than one Château and do not plan to rent your own vehicle while visiting Saint-Émilion. Many thanks to Margot and the rest of the team for a fun afternoon!

Great fun, easy knowledgeable tour guide. Vineyard tours excellent.

This smartphone activity allowed us to discover the city at our own pace. A real success, fun and very accessible for small budgets. We highly recommend it!

It is the perfect compromise between culture, walking, and fun. The application is very intuitive and the pace is ideal. An original activity that I recommend 100% to visit the city differently!

It is impossible to stay in Biarritz without taking a few surf lessons! We had an excellent time with this team that knew how to create a real group atmosphere, mixing good humor, mutual aid, and solidarity, whatever the weather conditions. Sun, clouds, wind, fickle waves... we went through it all, except for losing our motivation!Jarod is passionate, a good teacher, and always encouraging. He knows how to make everyone feel confident, even those who spend more time talking to the ocean than staying standing on their board. His advice was invaluable... and his status as "official hottie" was validated without reservation by Mihaela 😉.A big thank you to the whole team for their welcome, their energy, and their good humor. We are leaving with very good memories, some sore muscles, lots of fits of laughter, and the desire to come back.We hope to return soon with our son for more lessons. With a little luck, he will be more gifted than his parents... which shouldn't be too difficult! 😄See you soon and thanks again to the whole team! 🌊🏄‍♂️🏄‍♀️

Our group of four couples had a most enjoyable trip to the Basque region of Spain and southern France, guided by Etienne Lecuivre of The Basque Way. Our excellent experience with him started with our planning our itinerary together. Of all the guiding firms we contacted, Etienne clearly had the best knowledge of the region and command of the English language, which proved to be most helpful the entire trip. Not only did he command English, but he also spoke French, Basque, Spanish, and probably other languages. We asked him to design an itinerary where we could focus on the people, culture, art, history, and food/wine of the region. For our week with Etienne, we spent three nights in Bilbao and four nights in San Sebastian. From there we took walking tours of the cities and excursions to the surrounding cities/villages of the Basque region. Etienne performed in every respect. He provided a comfortable Mercedes van that accommodated us 8 with luggage, he drove us the entire week and guided us in many locations personally. Since he knew of our particular interest in history and culture, he also subcontracted guides in several locations. Cameron guided us in Gernika and Getaria and provided excellent walking tour of the history and culture of the region. In Hondarribia, Marta was excellent. Charles guided us in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne and couldn’t have been more informative, positive, and educational. One day we spent in the countryside of the region and Etienne’s colleague, Arnaud, guided us there. He has particular insight in the region, is a native of the area, and introduced us to things that most tours would not have covered. He was also excellent and even challenged us to a game of Pala on an outside court in one of the villages. One of the highlights of the week was a preparing our own meal with a local chef Jerôme in Bayonne at L’Appartenance. All in all, we can recommend Etienne and The Basque Way without reservation.