Your walk from
Hendaye to
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

You should be comfortable walking around 20 km / 12 miles a day for five consecutive days, with substantial elevation — the total ascent over the trail is 4,435 metres, and the back half includes two days with peaks above 1,000 metres. The Iparla and Munhoa days are the hard ones — proper mountain walking, with exposed ridgelines and steep descents. If you'd rather lengthen the trip, the Explorer pace gives you seven days and lets you take the high sections more slowly. Hill fitness matters more here than flat miles.

June to September is the settled window. The Iparla and Munhoa ridges are above 1,000 metres and the trail crosses several exposed cols — early-season snow can linger on the high passes into May, and weather closes in by November. May and October are workable if you're flexible with weather and accept that the high days may be windier or wet. July and August are the busiest months and refuges fill up — book early. June and September are the sweet spot: long days, settled weather, fewer walkers.

Yes — your luggage is moved between accommodation each day, with a 20 kg allowance per bag. You walk with a daypack containing whatever you need until evening. On the Pyrenean GR10 the carriers vary by region — we book and time the transfers so they meet you each evening. The remote refuge sections occasionally need a different carrier or a small porter relay; we handle that. Most walkers carry around 5–7 kg in the daypack: water, lunch, layers, waterproofs, a small first-aid kit, and sun protection for the exposed days.

A mix of small family-run hotels in the towns, gîtes d'étape (the French walkers' guesthouses) in the smaller villages, and traditional inns. All come with breakfast included, drying space for wet kit, and rooms en-suite where the village allows it. In some smaller stops — Col des Veaux, Bidarray — the choices are limited and we book well ahead; the trail's popularity in summer means a late booking can mean a longer walk to the next bed. We never put walkers in chains.

Hendaye at the start has a mainline TGV station — direct trains from Paris, around five hours, and good connections from London via Paris. Biarritz Airport is the closest by air, about 30 minutes away. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the finish is on a single regional line to Bayonne, where you can connect to the TGV or the Biarritz airport bus. Most walkers fly into Biarritz or Bilbao (around two hours from Hendaye by bus/train) and out of Biarritz at the end. We'll talk you through the connections when we book.

The Hiker package starts at £609 per person for the five-day route — that covers accommodation with breakfast each night, daily luggage transfer, the planning, route notes, and our support line while you walk. On top, expect €12–18 a day for lunches and €25–35 for an evening meal in a gîte or village restaurant — most gîtes do an evening meal, which you sign up for at check-in. Drinks and bar snacks add up if you stop in the afternoon. Most walkers spend roughly £250–350 in extras across the trip.