Spanish Pyrenees 2026

The Basque Country and Western Pyrenees

I have long wanted to cycle in the Basque Country and had unfinished business in the Pyrenees. I planned the trip during the winter and thought at one stage I would be unable to do it. Thankfully everything went to plan and I was able to complete a memorable trip.

At the end of April 2026 I entered persistent atrial fibrillation for the first time. I have had the issue since 2012 but episodes have always resolved naturally. This time it didn’t, meaning my heart was irregular and higher than normal for three months prior to cardioversion which restored it to its normal rhythm at the beginning of August. I discovered, however that I was pretty asymptomatic during that period. Previously I had rested until the heart returned to normal but over the longer period I tested it out and found I could still do most things.

Setting off for a trip involving more than 400km and 7000m of climbing, I hoped my heart would remain in rhythm but thought I could still do a modified trip if it didn’t.

I am avoiding taking flights when I can, and fortunate enough that time isn’t any constraint. To get to my starting point on the French Spanish Atlantic border took the best part of two days. It’s no longer possible to take fully assembled bike on Eurostar. Instead, I took a 6am train from Leeds to King’s Cross, then a train from St Pancras to Dover, then a ferry to Calais and another train to Paris. I stayed overnight in Paris, cycling at 9pm from Gare du Nord to the Mercure Montparnasse. Paris is transformed. Cycling with what felt like thousands of Parisians on a warm evening was quite an experience.

On day 2 I took the train from Montparnasse to Hendaye. It’s one of the few TGV’s that allows you to reserve a space for a fully assembled bike. The train took about 4 and a half hours to get to the French Spanish border. I then cycled across the frontier on a pedestrian bridge 2 minutes from the railway station. In another 20 minutes I was in Hondarribia, where I stayed in a lovely hotel – the Hotel Obispo. Hondarribia is a very pretty place with a lovely old town, as well as a harbour facing across to France. That evening there was a festival, with local marching bands with drums and flutes going through the town. I had quirky tapas at the Gran Sol. It was a good start.

Day 1 – Hondarribia to Tolosa

The trip began with a 40km ride hugging the coast. Following the coast road, you climb from the town for 9km to 450m from sea level, so it’s a hard introduction. The day was a bit overcast but there are good views. The road is well used by cyclists but thankfully not much by cars. There is a sweeping descent, with good views of the coast. I was then able to pick up a cycle path which took me to a passenger ferry in Passia, which allowed me to avoid some of the built-up area around San Sebastian. The ferry is just a small boat which holds ten or so people which goes back and forth for two euro.

Cycling facilities are good in the city and I was able to follow cycle lanes all along the beachfront. San Sebastian is a favourite place of mine but on this occasion in early September was very overcrowded. I struggled to find somewhere to eat and ended up with something basic.

Part 2 of the ride mimics the first, with again a stiff climb out of San Sebastian, before a descent to Orio. Again, there were good views along the way.

I stopped in Orio for a brief snack before heading off into the interior. The temperature on the coast had been in the low twenties, but it now climbed to the thirties. The last climb of the day was about 15km with 450m of ascent, so fairly gentle. The road was very quiet and scenic. As the temperature rose, I descended and then took a quiet, flat cycle route to Tolosa.

I stayed in a very pretty square in a nice hotel called Bide Bide. I didn’t get to form much of an impression of the rest of the city. I had an adequate meal but unfortunately most of the restaurants were shut on Sunday evening.

Day 2 – Tolosa to Pamplona

I had breakfast in the separate Bide Bide restaurant in the morning before setting off for Pamplona. The morning was a little overcast and reasonably cool. The route was very quiet, with a very gentle rise over the first 20km. I rode briefly with someone who was on a circular route from San Sebastian, who spoke good English and knew Isaba, where I was heading later. The road went through an attractive gorge before climbing more steeply towards Lekunberri.

Lekunberri was the only place on the route where I could stop for something to eat, so I had a sandwich lunch there before setting off on the last climb to the highest point of the day.

By this time, the skies had cleared and the weather was hot, reaching 35c in the afternoon. Fortunately, the remainder of the ride was either flat or downhill. I stopped for a coffee and cake in Irutzan at the end of the descent and then hit the plain. From Orobia there is a bike path that takes you all the way into Pamplona. Much of the path is gravel, which was OK on my 32mm tyres but maybe not on anything thinner. It’s a pleasant ride avoiding all the busy traffic around Pamplona.

I stayed at the Hotel Leyre for two nights. There were quite a lot of cyclists and camino walkers staying at the hotel. They allow you to store your bike in their security accessed gym. I ate at El Mercao both nights, which does a really good fixed menu for 35 euro including wine, but in my case non-alcoholic beer.

I spent a rest day in Pamplona, washing my kit, visiting the Cathedral, walking the walls and spending time in the old town. Outside the bull running festival, it seems a relatively quiet and interesting place.

Day 3 – Pamplona to Isaba

The road out of Pamplona was the busiest of the whole route but fortunately there are separate bike lanes for the vast majority of it. After 5kms I turned away from the dual carriage way that I was alongside and traffic thinned out a little. 20kms in, I turned at Urroz Villa and the roads became empty. This part of the trip corresponded to images of Spain’s wide-open countryside. It was rolling terrain all the way to Lumbier.

There were few places to stop, so I diverted into the village to buy a sandwich in the bakery. I nearly had a bad fall, passing a stationary truck on a very narrow street, catching the kerb falling against a wall but righting myself against the truck. I somehow miraculously stayed upright, just with some grazing where my arm had scraped the wall.

I pressed on towards Navascues. There is a turn off from the main road to the Mirador de Iso, which is a spectacular place. There was a large car park but only three cars there in mid-September.

After rejoining the road and reaching Navascues, the road climbs to the highest point of the day at the Puerto las Coronas, where for the first time there is a great view of the Pyrenees.

I descended to Bergui Bergui, hoping for a coffee but everything was closed in what seemed a very pretty village. I pressed onto Isaba along an empty and increasingly dramatic road, with signs for walkers dotted around. I reached my hotel just before it opened, so had a drink in a bar in the village first. Isaba is very small but picturesque. The hotel, Hostal Ezkaurre was simple but clean and comfortable. I ate there in the evening and it was surprisingly good.

Day 4 – Isaba to Laruns

If any road summed up for me the advantages of touring, it was the Col de Saint Pierre from Isaba to Arette. There is only one road through Isaba, so there are no opportunities for multiple rides and there are no bike shops to hire. What is by any standards a spectacular road is incredibly empty. I think I counted about five other cyclists over the course of the next few hours and hardly any cars.

The climb is gentle and the temperature was mild, so it was a long but relatively easy climb. I stopped halfway at the only café. There were wild horses on the road at one point. Amazingly, despite its remoteness and the fact that very few people use it, Free Palestine was daubed repeatedly on the road. There is no border facility, just signs to say entering France, before a long and fast descent all the way to Arette.

In Arette, I stopped for a proper lunch for the first time on the trip, having some trout in a pleasant restaurant in the village. From Arette to Laruns, the countryside is green and lush, again with very little traffic. It’s an easy rolling ride. I stopped for another drink in Louvie Juzon before riding a quiet road to the east of the river which took me into town.

I stayed at the Hotel d’Ossau, which was serviceable. I ate at the restaurant L’embaradere which was a little overpriced but probably the best in town.

Day 5 – Laruns to Pau

I had considered taking the easy valley route to Pau if I was feeling tired or concerned about my afib but I felt fine and the weather was beautiful as I set off up the Aubisque. I had been to Argeles twice but for various reasons had never climbed it. The rode was quiet, as I climbed out of Laruns to Eaux Bonnes, where I had a coffee. It didn’t feel like that many people were climbing from this side. I expected another break at Gourette but all the cafés were closed, with a definite end of season feel on the 11th September. What had been a very good ride to that point becomes a very spectacular ride for the last five kilometres

Despite only being a kilometre from the summit, I stopped for another drink and coffee at the Restaurant Les Cretes Blanches which had amazing views. When I reached the top, it was a surprise to see so many people, mostly cyclists. I had an omelette and took the obligatory photo of the col and then descended to Col Soulor. This stretch of road really ranks high among all the beautiful stretches I have been on and was the highlight of what had been a fantastic day’s riding.

I descended from the Soulor towards Pau as I had 13 years previously. It’s a great descent with hardly any traffic and not even many cyclists.

I stopped in Nay for a drink, by which time the road flattens out and then followed pretty country lanes all the way into Pau.

I had been to Pau in 1993 and decided to stay in the same hotel, the Hotel Bristol. It had been pretty shabby in 1993 but is now a beautiful place to stay. I ate at Gueleton, which was probably the best food of the trip.

The Return Journey

My train to Paris was at 1pm, which gave me time to wander around Pau. I hadn’t remembered much of it and was really taken with it this time. There is a boulevard which has wonderful vies of the Pyrenees in the distance. The fresh market is unlike anything one can encounter in the UK.

The direct train to Paris was straightforward, although the guard had to get lots of people to move their luggage out of the area reserved for my bike, which didn’t make me very popular. I stayed in an Ibis near Montparnasse station which was incredibly expensive for what it was – it was a Saturday night but it still seemed high. I ate locally outdoors in a bib gourmand restaurant which was incredibly disorganised but I enjoyed nevertheless.

I rode from Montparnasse to the Gare du Nord early the next morning and caught the train to Calais. I had booked a ferry for about four hours after I got there and decided to chance catching an earlier one and rode straight to the Port. My ticket was changed without any fuss at one of the booths and with no waiting at all I arrived at the dock with a few other cyclists to be immediately waved on. The connection to the train to London was equally smooth although the inability to book bike spaces on the train makes everyone feel a bit uncertain about whether they will be allowed on. It was crowded and chaotic, coming and going. Having arrived early at Kings Cross, I paid a small fee difference to take an earlier train home, again without a problem. Having set off from Paris at nine in the morning, I was home by 8pm.

Final Thoughts

During the summer of 2026 I was doubtful if I would be able to do a trip like this again due to afib, so this was a double triumph. My transport choices obviously are more complicated than taking a plane but, in this instance, went very smoothly and allowed me to take a linear route. The trip had an enormous variety of landscapes and interesting towns. It culminated in two great days in the Pyrenees. I would thoroughly recommend it.