Getaways from Bilbao: day trips and destinations close by.

Three directions share out almost everything

Three directions share out almost everything. To the north, via Mungia, you reach the coast of Urdaibai in about 40 minutes: Bakio and Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo, Mundaka and, upriver, Gernika. The A-8 to the west enters Cantabria via Castro Urdiales on the way to Santoña and Laredo, the Cabárceno park, Santillana del Mar, Comillas and, already in Asturias, Llanes. The same A-8 to the east leads to Getaria and Zarautz, passes San Sebastián and ends at Hondarribia and the border, with the French Basque Coast on the other side of the Bidasoa.

To the south, the AP-68 drops along the Nervión valley to Miranda and Haro, and in an hour and twenty puts you in Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa; a little further is San Millán de la Cogolla. Along the AP-68 and the AP-1 you reach Burgos.

Without a car, the best destination is Urdaibai. The Euskotren E4 train leaves Bilbao every half hour almost all day for Gernika and Mundaka, and in summer the Bizkaibus A3517 goes direct to Gaztelugatxe. Combining all three in the same day without a car is hard: it is best to choose between the hermitage and the estuary.

Sunday by the sea 40 minutes away

Under an hour are the seaside Sundays: Gaztelugatxe and Mundaka, at 40 minutes, and Santoña, at 45, with its anchovy factories, the museum and the boat to Laredo. Both have an overnight version: Urdaibai with the estuary by canoe and anchovies at Santoña and Laredo.

The fan opens in all three directions between one and one and a half hours: Getaria, at an hour, with the Balenciaga museum and the Ratón; Haro, at 65 minutes, with the wineries of the Barrio de la Estación; Hondarribia and Laguardia, at 80, and Cabárceno and the Liencres coves, at 85. To sleep inside the walls of Laguardia there is the Rioja Alavesa in a night.

Between an hour and a half and two hours the day gets tight, but it fits: Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz, La Rhune and the Bidart cliff, at an hour and thirty-five; San Millán and Santillana, at 105, and Burgos, at 113. Here the overnight trips begin: the French Basque Coast in two nights, Santillana and Comillas and Burgos and Atapuerca.

From two hours onwards the trip is a weekend one: Llanes and the eastern Asturian coast, a little over two; San Vicente de la Barquera and Comillas, at 2 h 10; Aguilar de Campoo, Romanesque and bison and Covarrubias and Silos, at 2 h 20; Liébana with Fuente Dé, at 2 h 50; the Laguna Negra and Urbión, at three hours, and the oysters of Arcachon, at three and a half.

Ainhoa and Espelette when the La Rhune train is not running

In winter the cities and wineries work. Burgos, with the cathedral and the castle, suits any Sunday of the year; the Haro wineries stay open by reservation, and from November to March, when the La Rhune train is not running, there is the winter Sunday at Ainhoa, Espelette and Abbadia. The Santoña factories stop from November to February.

In spring it is best to look to the coast. Santoña returns in March, the La Rhune train starts at the end of that month and from May to September is the high season for Urdaibai, with canoeing on the estuary. It is also a good time for San Millán and its Yuso monastery.

The coast fills up in summer. Gaztelugatxe requires booking the access ticket on control days, and on the French Basque Coast it is best to set out early. Santoña, Getaria and Zarautz beach remain July and August plans.

Autumn is for vineyards. In September and October, with the grape harvest, Haro and Laguardia are at their best, and from October to February the ground swell makes the Llanes blowholes roar.

The Gaztelugatxe steps before the crowds arrive

• Without a car, in a day: Sunday at Gaztelugatxe and Mundaka. About 40 minutes away, to climb the steps before the crowds arrive, stroll around Mundaka, have lunch over the estuary and finish at the Casa de Juntas in Gernika; without a car, by Euskotren or the summer bus.
• By car, in a day: Sunday in Haro. A little over an hour along the AP-68 to tour the Barrio de la Estación, taste at Muga, eat lamb at a grill house from 1877 and go down to Briñas beside the Ebro.
• In a day or with one night: Anchovy day in Santoña. 45 minutes along the A-8, to see how anchovies are made, eat at the harbour and cross by boat to Laredo.