Final-year school trip to the Atlantic coast: La Rochelle, Île de Ré, Bordeaux, Dune du Pilat, Biarritz and surfing (10 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and overnight stop in the Loire Valley

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to western France via Paris (about 550 km from Brussels, 6 hours’ driving excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival in Tours in the late afternoon and a short walk in the old town, around Place Plumereau.
• Overnight stop in or around Tours, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: Drive to La Rochelle and the Old Port

• Departure after breakfast and drive to La Rochelle via Poitiers and Niort (about 240 km, 2¾ hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch at the Old Port.
• Walk between the Saint-Nicolas and Chaîne towers, then under the Grosse Horloge clock gate and through the arcaded streets of the old town.
• Visit to the Aquarium La Rochelle, one of the largest private aquariums in Europe (on request).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around La Rochelle for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: The Île de Ré by bike

• Coach trip to the Île de Ré over the bridge of almost 3 km (about 30 minutes).
• Bike hire and a ride along the island’s cycle paths, between salt marshes, vineyards and villages with green shutters (on request).
• Free lunch in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, a harbour surrounded by Vauban’s fortifications, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Stop at the Phare des Baleines lighthouse on the north-western tip of the island and climb to the top (on request).
• Return to La Rochelle, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Drive to Bordeaux and discovery of the centre

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Bordeaux (about 190 km, 2¼ hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch on arrival.
• Walk through the UNESCO-listed centre: Place de la Bourse and its water mirror, the Porte Cailhau, the Grosse Cloche and Rue Sainte-Catherine.
• Climb up the Pey-Berland tower, next to Saint-André Cathedral, for the view over the city’s rooftops (on request).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Bordeaux for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Bordeaux, from the Bassins à flot to the right bank

• Visit to the Bassins des Lumières, immersive digital exhibitions set in the former submarine base (on request).
• Walk through the Chartrons district and along the banks of the Garonne.
• Free lunch, then a walk across the Pont de Pierre to the right bank and the Bastide district, with the finest view of the riverside façades.
• Supervised free time in the centre, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: The Dune du Pilat and arrival on the Basque coast

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to the Arcachon Basin (about 65 km, 1 hour).
• Climb of the Dune du Pilat, the highest dune in Europe (over 100 m), with views of the ocean and the Banc d’Arguin.
• Free lunch in Arcachon, then drive to the Basque coast through the Landes forest (about 200 km, 2¼ hours excluding breaks).
• First walk in Biarritz, to the Rocher de la Vierge and along the Grande Plage.
• Check-in at the accommodation in Biarritz, Anglet or Bayonne for three nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: First surf lesson and Biarritz

• First two-hour beginners’ surf lesson on a beach in Anglet or Biarritz with qualified instructors (board and wetsuit provided).
• Free lunch by the sea.
• Visit to the Aquarium de Biarritz and its Bay of Biscay species (on request).
• Climb up the Biarritz lighthouse at Pointe Saint-Martin for the view over the coast (on request).
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 8: Second surf lesson and Saint-Jean-de-Luz

• Second two-hour surf lesson, to make progress and stand up on the first waves.
• Free lunch, then drive to Saint-Jean-de-Luz (about 25 minutes).
• The fishing harbour, the beach and the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where Louis XIV married the Infanta Maria Theresa in 1660.
• Return to the accommodation, dinner and last supervised evening on the Basque coast.

Day 9: Bayonne and drive to the overnight stop

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and morning in Bayonne: Sainte-Marie Cathedral, the banks of the Nive and Petit Bayonne.
• Free lunch in Bayonne, then drive to the Loire Valley via Bordeaux and Poitiers (about 530 km, 5¾ hours excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Overnight stop in or around Tours, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 10: Chambord and return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and drive to the Domaine de Chambord (about 1 hour).
• Stop at the Domaine de Chambord: walk in front of the château and in the park; visit inside the château (on request).
• Free lunch on site, then daytime drive to Belgium via Orléans and Paris (about 500 km to Brussels, 5¾ hours’ driving excluding breaks).
• Arrival at your school in the evening.