# Cerca de Bilbao

From Bilbao the plans head to both sides of the coast and to the wine country. To the north, Gaztelugatxe and Urdaibai, 40 minutes away; to the west, Santoña and Cantabria along the A-8; to the east, Getaria, Hondarribia and the French Basque Coast, and to the south, Haro and Laguardia.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/bilbao/getaways

## Planes de un día
- [Gaztelugatxe, Mundaka and the Casa de Juntas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/sunday-at-gaztelugatxe-and-mundaka.md) (40 min en coche): You climb to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe before the crowds arrive, stroll round Mundaka, eat above the estuary and finish at the Casa de Juntas in Gernika. About 40 minutes from Bilbao.
- [Santoña: anchovies, harbour and boat](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/santona-and-laredo/itineraries/anchovies-museum-and-boat-to-laredo.md) (45 min en coche): You see how anchovy is made at a Santoña factory, taste another's at its museum, eat at the harbour and cross by boat to Laredo. 40 minutes from Santander and 45 from Bilbao.
- [Getaria: museum, the Ratón and grill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz/itineraries/balenciaga-raton-and-harbour-grill.md) (1 h en coche): You see the Balenciaga museum, climb the Ratón of Getaria, eat grilled fish above the harbour and walk to Zarautz beach. Half an hour from San Sebastián and an hour from Bilbao.
- [Haro: winery, grill house and Briñas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/la-rioja/haro/itineraries/station-quarter-wineries-and-lamb.md) (1 h 5 en coche): You stroll round the Barrio de la Estación, visit Muga with a tasting, eat lamb at a grill house from 1877 and finish at La Herradura and in Briñas, beside the Ebro. 40 minutes from Logroño and Vitoria.
- [Laguardia, Baigorri and a night at Viura](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/glass-winery-and-sonsierra.md) (1 h 20 en coche): You arrive by bus in Laguardia, go down into its underground cellars, have lunch in Páganos, taste at the winery under Samaniego's glass cube and sleep in Villabuena. Wednesday or Thursday.
- [Hondarribia: old town, the Marina and Jaizkibel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/hondarribia/itineraries/walls-ferry-and-jaizkibel.md) (1 h 20 en coche): You stroll round the walled old town and the Marina, cross to Hendaye by small ferry, eat at a grill house on the outskirts and in the afternoon see Jaizkibel from the sea. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Laguardia: tower, calado and Riscal](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/wine-cellars-tower-and-marques-de-riscal.md) (1 h 20 en coche): You walk Laguardia inside the wall, climb the Abbey Tower, go down into a winery dug beneath the streets, eat with a view of the vineyard and taste at Marqués de Riscal. 20 minutes from Logroño.
- [Liencres and Santillana: coves, dunes and cave](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/liencres-and-costa-quebrada/itineraries/coves-dunes-and-altamira-neocave.md) (1 h 25 en coche): La Arnía cove and the pinewood of the Liencres dunes in the morning, lunch in the village of Santillana and the Altamira Neocave, free on Sundays. A quarter of an hour from Santander.
- [Cabárceno: elephants, cable car and birds of prey](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/cabarceno-nature-park/itineraries/sunday-with-children-at-cabarceno.md) (1 h 25 en coche): You drive round the elephant, giraffe and bear enclosures of a former mine, ride the cable car and watch the birds of prey swoop. A quarter of an hour from Santander and an hour and a quarter from Bilbao.
- [Biarritz with children: seals and a calm beach](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/biarritz-with-kids-aquarium.md) (1 h 35 en coche): The seals and sharks of the Biarritz aquarium, a bar lunch at the market and an afternoon in the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where hardly any swell enters. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Coastal path and boat along the corniche](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/bidart-cliff-walk-to-saint-jean-de-luz.md) (1 h 35 en coche): You walk the first stage of the GR 8 along the cliffs from Bidart to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, eat chipirones behind the market and see from the boat the coast you have walked. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Saint-Jean-de-Luz: harbour and a fish restaurant](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/saint-jean-de-luz-harbour-chipirones-and-corniche.md) (1 h 35 en coche): The old town and harbour of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the morning, chipirones at a restaurant behind the market and a return along the cliff road. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Biarritz: surf at the Côte des Basques and the market](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/sunday-in-biarritz-surf-and-market.md) (1 h 35 en coche): An hour-and-a-half surf lesson at Biarritz's learner beach, tapas and produce at the covered market and, in the afternoon, the Atalaye aquarium. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [La Rhune: rack railway and Espelette](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/sunday-la-rhune-and-espelette.md) (1 h 35 en coche): You go up La Rhune on a 1924 wooden train, eat inland Basque cooking in Espelette and finish on the main street of Ainhoa. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
- [Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea](https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/winter-ainhoa-espelette-abbadia.md) (1 h 35 en coche): Ainhoa and Espelette without crowds in the morning, inland Basque cooking beside the pelota court and, in the afternoon, the neo-Gothic Abbadia castle on the Hendaye cliff. For when the La Rhune train is not running.
- [Santillana: free Neocave, collegiate church and Capricho](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/santillana-del-mar/itineraries/neocave-free-collegiate-church-and-comillas.md) (1 h 45 en coche): The Altamira Neocave, free on Sundays, the stone village and its collegiate church, a market-cooking lunch and, in the afternoon, Gaudí's El Capricho in Comillas. Half an hour from Santander.
- [San Millán: Yuso, winery and Cañas](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/la-rioja/san-millan-de-la-cogolla/itineraries/yuso-monastery-winery-and-canas.md) (1 h 45 en coche): Tastings at a family winery in Badarán, a visit to the Yuso monastery, lunch inside it and a finish at the monastery of Cañas. Three quarters of an hour from Logroño.
- [Burgos: cathedral, castle and lamb](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos/itineraries/cathedral-castle-and-roast-lamb.md) (1 h 53 en coche): The cathedral first thing, the merchants' churches, the castle reopened in 2026 and its viewpoint, roast lamb at Casa Ojeda and a stroll along the Espolón before heading home.
- [Comillas: Gaudí, palace and Oyambre](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/comillas/itineraries/capricho-sobrellano-and-oyambre-beach.md) (2 h en coche): A guided visit to Gaudí's El Capricho, the neo-Gothic palace of Sobrellano, lunch above the cliffs at Ruiloba and the afternoon on the Oyambre sands. 45 minutes from Santander.
- [Llanes: Cubos, Paseo de San Pedro and bistro](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/llanes/itineraries/llanes-cubes-of-memory-and-blowholes-from-santander.md) (2 h 9 en coche): The breakwater painted by Ibarrola, the walled old town and the grass path above the cliff; lunch at the bistro of a Michelin-starred chef and, with a heavy swell, the Pría blowholes. An hour from Santander.

## Three directions share out almost everything

Three directions share out almost everything. To the north, via Mungia, you reach the coast of [Urdaibai](/en/spain/basque-country/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](/en/spain/cantabria/santona-and-laredo), the [Cabárceno park](/en/spain/cantabria/cabarceno-nature-park), [Santillana del Mar](/en/spain/cantabria/santillana-del-mar), [Comillas](/en/spain/cantabria/comillas) and, already in Asturias, [Llanes](/en/spain/asturias/llanes). The same A-8 to the east leads to [Getaria and Zarautz](/en/spain/basque-country/getaria-and-zarautz), passes San Sebastián and ends at [Hondarribia](/en/spain/basque-country/hondarribia) and the border, with the [French Basque Coast](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/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](/en/spain/la-rioja/haro), and in an hour and twenty puts you in [Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa](/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa); a little further is [San Millán de la Cogolla](/en/spain/la-rioja/san-millan-de-la-cogolla). Along the AP-68 and the AP-1 you reach [Burgos](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/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](/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/urdaibai-canoe-gaztelugatxe-weekend) and [anchovies at Santoña and Laredo](/en/spain/cantabria/santona-and-laredo/itineraries/anchovy-weekend-santona-laredo-from-bilbao).

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](/en/spain/basque-country/laguardia-and-rioja-alavesa/itineraries/rioja-alavesa-wine-weekend-laguardia).

**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](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/weekend-from-san-sebastian), [Santillana and Comillas](/en/spain/cantabria/santillana-del-mar/itineraries/santillana-del-mar-comillas-altamira-weekend) and [Burgos and Atapuerca](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos/itineraries/night-with-atapuerca-from-valladolid).

**From two hours onwards** the trip is a weekend one: [Llanes and the eastern Asturian coast](/en/spain/asturias/llanes/itineraries/llanes-eastern-asturian-coast-weekend), a little over two; [San Vicente de la Barquera and Comillas](/en/spain/cantabria/san-vicente-de-la-barquera/itineraries/weekend-san-vicente-de-la-barquera-and-comillas-from-oviedo), at 2 h 10; [Aguilar de Campoo, Romanesque and bison](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/aguilar-de-campoo/itineraries/aguilar-de-campoo-romanesque-and-bison-weekend) and [Covarrubias and Silos](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/covarrubias-and-silos/itineraries/covarrubias-silos-gregorian-chant-weekend), at 2 h 20; [Liébana with Fuente Dé](/en/spain/cantabria/liebana-and-potes/itineraries/liebana-fuente-de-weekend-la-hermida-hot-springs), at 2 h 50; [the Laguna Negra and Urbión](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/laguna-negra-and-urbion/itineraries/night-in-soria-pine-forests-laguna-negra), at three hours, and [the oysters of Arcachon](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/arcachon-bay/itineraries/oyster-weekend), 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](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/burgos/itineraries/cathedral-castle-and-roast-lamb), 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](/en/france/nouvelle-aquitaine/french-basque-coast/itineraries/winter-ainhoa-espelette-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](/en/spain/basque-country/urdaibai/itineraries/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](/en/spain/la-rioja/haro/itineraries/station-quarter-wineries-and-lamb). 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](/en/spain/cantabria/santona-and-laredo/itineraries/anchovies-museum-and-boat-to-laredo). 45 minutes along the A-8, to see how anchovies are made, eat at the harbour and cross by boat to Laredo.