How to Get from Bilbao to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Decision Table: Which Way Fits You

The table compares the four ways from Bilbao. Drive times, lines and car parks come from the Bizkaia provincial council, and tour prices from the tour listings. Bus and train timetables and fares are not printed here: call Bizkaibus on 946 125 555 before you travel.

How to Choose

Drive if you want to set your own slot time and can arrive before the car parks fill. Take the bus if you have no car and travel on a workday, when the van-taxi runs. Join a tour if you want transport and, on most Bilbao tours, the access booking handled for you.

Bermeo tourism advises against driving all the way to Gaztelugatxe and suggests leaving the car in Bermeo.

The Route

Leave Bilbao on the BI-631 toward Loiu airport. Pass Mungia without entering the town, then follow the BI-2101 toward Bakio. The access road to Gaztelugatxe is the BI-3101.

The province gives about 45 minutes for the drive, and Visit Biscay puts the site about 35 km from Bilbao. Cars can no longer drive down to the bridge because of unstable ground, so you park beside the old road and walk.

Parking at the Site

The table compares the parking options near the two entrances, with the space counts and walking distances the Bizkaia provincial council publishes.

Parking Warnings

The car parks are often full, especially from 10:00 to 16:00. A height barrier limits them to 2 m, so motorhomes use the motorhome areas in Bakio or Bermeo. Parking outside the designated areas is banned in the protected area.

Park in Bakio or Bermeo and walk or take the bus if you arrive in the middle of the day.

The Lines

The table lists the Bizkaibus lines the Bizkaia provincial council gives for the trip from Bilbao, with the role each one plays.

Van-Taxi Rules

The A3524 van-taxi does not accept the BARIK card, so carry cash. Turismo Euskadi says it runs only on workdays and holds a maximum of 8 people, so a weekend trip needs another plan. The province does not publish times or fares on its page, and the line page lists no stops or timetable. Call Bizkaibus on 946 125 555 for the day's times before you leave Bilbao.

If the van-taxi is full, the coastal path from the Bakio lookout is about 2 km to the Urizarreta entrance.

The E4 Plus Bus Plan

Board Euskotren line E4 at Matiko in Bilbao and ride to Bermeo. Turismo Urdaibai calls the Muxika-Bermeo stretch through Urdaibai spectacular. From Bermeo, Turismo Urdaibai names Bizkaibus A3524 as the bus to Gaztelugatxe. Boats also leave from the port of Bermeo, run by Hegaluze, if you would like to see the islet from the water.

Bermeo tourism suggests leaving the car in Bermeo, so the train suits a day that adds the town to the walk. Urdaibai, the area the line crosses, has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1984.

Bilbao Tours Compared

The table compares the Bilbao tours by price, length and whether the listing includes the islet access booking. Figures come from each tour listing and prices are per person.

Choosing Between Them

Short on time? The 3.5-hour coast walk caps groups at 8 people and gives a 90-minute guided hike. The 3-hour small-group visit picks you up at your hotel in Biscay, with up to 4 people.

For a full day, the $55 Txakoli day spends 110 minutes at the islet and 2.25 hours in Mundaka. Where the listing does not state the access booking, ask the operator or reserve your own free slot. Every tour listed offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Where Bilbao Tours Meet

The $55 Txakoli day meets next to the Puppy sculpture on Mazarredo Zumarkalea, 60. The $33 coach day leaves from Mazarredo Zumarkalea, 65. The walking day leaves from the Meliá Bilbao hotel, and the coast walk from Plaza Erkoreka Ernesto, 5A.

The San Sebastian day trip leaves at 08:30 from the water fountain under the main gate of the Guggenheim and is back in Bilbao at 18:30.

When You Need a Ticket

The table summarises the controlled-access days on the yearly calendar of the Bizkaia provincial council. On every other day access is free with no ticket. Bookings open only for the current year, so check the new calendar each season.

Timing the Trip to the Slot

Entry at any time other than your slot is not allowed. A booking is cancelled automatically if you have not arrived 60 minutes after the stated time, and a no-show cannot book again for one year. With 1,462 places a day, summer days fill, and the car parks fill from 10:00 to 16:00.

Add the walk from Bakio or Lurgorri to your travel time. Show the ticket printed or on your phone and keep the confirmation email until you finish the route.

The Two Approaches

The table compares the two walk-in approaches and the route inside the site, with distances and gradients from the Bizkaia provincial council.

What to Bring

The province advises comfortable clothing and footwear, water, and sun cream in summer and on sunny days. The walk is not recommended for people with heart or breathing problems, reduced mobility, or with strollers. There are only two sets of toilets, at the Urizarreta attention point and the Ermu control point.

Dogs must stay on a leash, and flying drones is prohibited.

The Tour Options

The Bilbao, Guggenheim and Gaztelugatxe from San Sebastian costs $106 for 9 hours. It includes Gaztelugatxe tickets on all options and an optional climb to the hermitage. The Gaztelugatxe and Gernika Tour from San Sebastian costs $147.58 for 8 hours, includes all ticket fees and needs at least 4 adults per booking.

Both list San Sebastian bus station as the meeting point. If you drive yourself via Gernika, take the BI-2235 toward Bermeo: the province gives about one hour from Gernika.

What You Find

The islet joins the coast by a stone bridge and a staircase of 241 steps. At the top, a bell hangs on the front wall of the hermitage, and visitors ring it three times to drive away evil spirits. Turismo Euskadi adds that a footprint at the foot of the steps is said to be St John the Baptist's, and stepping in it brings good luck.

Game of Thrones and Legends

Turismo Euskadi lists San Juan de Gaztelugatxe as Dragonstone, the castle of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, and Visit Biscay notes that the show replaced the hermitage with a large castle. Legend says St John the Baptist took three strides from Bermeo to the hermitage. The current building is a reconstruction, completed in 1983 after a fire in 1978.

Days to Avoid

The province reserves 24 June, 31 July, 29 August, 31 August and 30 December for local celebrations and asks tourists to avoid them. 24 June is the romeria of San Juan, the busiest pilgrimage day, and on 29 August the Bermeo council procession still walks to Gaztelugatxe.

The Last Stretch on Foot

Cars can no longer drive down to the bridge because of unstable ground. You enter by the Urizarreta route, 1,200 m at a 35% gradient, and leave by the Ermu route, 1,600 m at 15%. Access is only through the signposted zones, where staff check reservations on controlled-access days.

The attention points are staffed from 10:00 to 19:00, and the province tells you to allow about 2.5 hours.

Combining Nearby Places

Bermeo and Bakio are the natural bases. Cape Matxitxako, at the end of the 5.6 km trail from Bakio, has lighthouses from 1852 and 1909 and whale and dolphin watching from summer to autumn. The Gaztelugatxe and Cape Matxitxako Tour from Bilbao pairs the two in 4 hours for $80 and returns to Bilbao around 13:00, though its listing does not state the access booking.