Staying Home Sucks, home

Nive des Aldudes, Banca - St Etienne de Baïgorry

Kayak spot · France

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

61Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Wind 3 kn gusting 9, Air 14 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Wed 4 · 58 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 66 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
13°C
Rain
0.6 mm

Fri 6 · 67 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
14°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 59 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
11°C
Rain
2.4 mm

Sun 8 · 55 out of 100

Wind
11 kn
Gusts
43kn
Air
18°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 57 out of 100

Wind
14 kn
Gusts
44kn
Air
19°C
Rain
0.3 mm

Tue 10 · 57 out of 100

Wind
15 kn
Gusts
50kn
Air
18°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 353, fair
  2. Wed 458, fair
  3. Thu 566, good
  4. Fri 667, good
  5. Sat 759, fair
  6. Sun 855, fair
  7. Mon 957, fair
  8. Tue 1057, fair
  9. Wed 1167, good
  10. Thu 1256, fair

The spot in two facts

  • Grade IIIits hardest rapid IV
  • Moving waterthe water

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know the river level, weirs or your skill.

Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Nive des Aldudes, Banca - St Etienne de Baïgorry
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Tue 3Nov53, fair5 kn15kn7°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov58, fair6 kn14kn9°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov66, good6 kn14kn13°C0.6 mm
Fri 6Nov67, good3 kn9kn14°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov59, fair2 kn16kn11°C2.4 mm
Sun 8Nov55, fair11 kn43kn18°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov57, fair14 kn44kn19°C0.3 mm
Tue 10Nov57, fair15 kn50kn18°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov67, good10 kn31kn19°C0 mm
Thu 12Nov56, fair4 kn21kn11°C8.1 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. The river's level is under In the water. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for expert paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov4of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
  12. Dec3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kayaking near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Nive des Aldudes, Banca - St Etienne de Baïgorry

A river section on the Nive des Aldudes, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade II to III, its hardest rapid IV, on the international scale. Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 16 km away. The town to stay in is St Etienne de Baigorry.

  • River Nive des Aldudes
  • Grade Grade II to III, its hardest rapid IV, on the international scale.
  • Who it suits Suits grade III paddlers and up, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 16 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,410–US$2,620 each

about US$1,410–US$2,620 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to EAS, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$470–US$973
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$235
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$329–US$543
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$584
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$154–US$289
Totalabout US$1,410–US$2,620

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: St Etienne de Baigorry

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

St Etienne de Baigorry

about 10 min by car · 12 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 12 places to stay in St Etienne de Baigorry · Booking.com

About St Etienne de Baigorry its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$121 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 17h 45m

About 17h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → EAS, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 1h 05m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

Gauge at La Nive des Aldudes à Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry, 3 km downstream: 1.6 m³/s, very low for November (updated 3 h ago). Low: it may be too low to paddle.

Bands are this gauge's own record: under its usual low, running, high, and in flood on its few highest days a year. Not a runnable range for the section: check before you go. River flow in France: Hub'Eau (hubeau.eaufrance.fr), data from the hydrometric services (SCHAPI, DREAL), Licence Ouverte 2.0. Credits

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

The nearest named schools, clubs and kayak or canoe hire within 25 km, in a straight line. Listings, not a recommendation. Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits