Airport transfers
Once you get into one of the main airports, you’re almost certainly going to be heading to either Bilbao city proper or to Donostia-San Sebastian. You can hire a rental car or alternatively use public transport. With limited rail infrastructure and a highway network that benefited from mega national funding a few years back, it’s all about the buses here. See the details of each and how to book below:
Bilbao Airport to Donostia-San Sebastian
To get to Donostia-San Sebastian you’ll need to take the Lurraldebus DO04 which is basically a direct intercity coach. It’s cheap (EUR 13.65), quick (takes 1hr 15mins), and regular (buses leave every hour at 45mins past the hour; first = 07:45, last = midnight, with two services per hour in July/Aug). It takes you into the San Sebastian bus station which is very central and located underground.
Buy your tickets online in advance, by 3 or 4 days at the latest, here or using the button below, as they do sell out. You’ll be using the very clunky Pesa.net website, which is now titled as ‘Avanza’ on the page. It’s not mobile optimised so be careful you’ve got the details right (service from/to Bilbao Airport) but at least you can change the language in the top right corner, should you need to. There is also a refund option on the same system which works well as long as you cancel your ticket at least a few hours beforehand.
You can also buy them from the ticket machines (or person in the booth labelled ‘Bizkaia Bus’) located at the far right-hand end of the arrivals area (see the photo). If you’re travelling really last minute, you can just buy a ticket from the driver if you’ve got cash, but only if it’s not fully booked. If it is, he/she may wait until the very last moment and admit you onboard, if you’re nice!
For the return journey, you can also buy tickets at the Donostia-San Sebastian bus station. Services in this direction run every hour, on the hour, from 05:00 until 21:00.
These buses all have a single stop in Zarautz en route.
Bilbao Airport to Bilbao city centre
Very simple. Get on the A3247 Bizkaia city bus, pay the driver EUR4.50 (cash or card) and it’ll take you right into the central bus station at Bilbao Intermodal. There are some other stops beforehand so check out the details of the Bizkaia bus route here if you want to alight earlier. They depart every 15 mins from 06:10 until midnight. Same from Bilbao to the airport, except the hours are different: every 15 mins from 05:00 - 22:00.
from San Sebastian Airport to…
This airport is actually in Hondarribia, on the French border and is only 20 mins away by road from Donostia-San Sebastian. It is served by the E21 city bus all year round (a highway bus that takes 50 mins and departs from stop ‘A’). Services run all week, approximately once an hour starting at 06.55 and finishing at 21.45. See the timetable here. There is also a Fri & Sat night bus, the E77, which runs from 23.00 till 04.00, every hour, departing just before the hour, from stop ‘B’. The E20, E23, E25, E27, E28 and E29 also serve the airport and have various other local destinations. See details of those routes here. These local buses don’t accept card payment so make sure you have change to pay.
To Bilbao it’s a bit more complex. The easiest route is to taxi yourself to the train station just across the border in Hendaye and take a coach (BlaBlaBus runs this route) or get to San Sebastian and take the bus or train.
from Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport to…
To Bilbao, just jump on the new A3720 coach direct to Bilbao city centre. It’s 45 mins, only costs EUR6.20 and you can book your tickets on the Autobuses La Union website here or using the button below.
There are no direct services to San Sebastian from Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport so you’ll need to head in the opposite direction on the same A3720 coach from the airport to the Vitoria-Gasteiz bus station and go from there. The DO02 Intercity coach goes to Donostia-San Sebastian (book here or using the Lurraldebus button above).
Taxis
If for whatever reason you need to take a taxi, there is a taxi rank outside the arrivals area of all the airports where you can pick up a ride at all hours. As you can imagine, it’s never a cheap option. For example, the Bilbao Airport to Donostia-San Sebastian taxi costs around EUR120-180, which is no great surprise given it’s over 100km with tolls. It’s also only a little faster than the bus at 50mins.