airport transfers
Once you get into Bilbao Airport, 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, with a single stop in Zarautz), and regular (buses leave every hour at 45mins past the hour; first = 07:45, last = midnight, with two services per hour in July/Aug).
Buy your ticket from the ticket machines (or person in the booth labelled ‘Bizkaia Bus’) located at the far right-hand end of the arrivals area. You don’t need to book this in advance as the bus will never be full, plus, if you’re in a hurry you can just buy a ticket from the driver if you’ve got cash. Takes you into the San Sebastian bus station which is very central and located underground.
If you’re travelling from San Sebastian to the airport, it’s worth booking in advance, 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 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 30mins beforehand.
You can also buy tickets in the bus station. Services in this direction run every hour, on the hour, from 05:00 until 21:00.
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 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.
Taxis
If for whatever reason you need to take a taxi, there is a taxi rank outside the arrivals area where you can pickup a ride at all hours. It’s not cheap at around EUR120-180, which is no great surprise given it’s over 100km with tolls. Is only a bit faster than the bus at between 50mins and 1hr.