Gaztelugatxe car parks and bus

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is on the BI-3101 road, between Bermeo and Bakio, and parking nearby is difficult in season. The Bizkaia provincial council, which manages the biotope, recommends leaving the car in Bakio or Bermeo and arriving by Bizkaibus or on foot. Here is what there is.

Car parks

• Urizarreta: 22 public, free spaces next to the main entrance, where the public information point is.
• Private paid car park: larger, just below the Urizarreta one. The council does not publish its spaces or its rates.
• Lurgorri: 57 spaces in the recreation area, a kilometre's walk from the Ermu access.

They fill up mainly between 10:00 and 16:00. All have a 2 m height barrier, so motorhomes cannot enter: the council refers them to the motorhome areas in Bakio and Bermeo.

By bus

• In summer (June to September): Bizkaibus line A3517 runs direct from Bilbao to Gaztelugatxe, every hour in June and every half hour in July and August.
• The rest of the year: there is no direct bus. Take the A3518 (Bilbao–Bakio) or the A3527 (Bilbao–Bermeo) at Plaza Elíptica in Bilbao. From Bakio, the A3524 is a taxi-van with the Bizkaibus logo that reaches Gaztelugatxe; it accepts cash only, not the Barik card.
• By train: Euskotren line E4 runs from Bilbao to Bermeo, and from there you continue by bus.

For timetables, Bizkaibus answers on 946 125 555.

On foot

From Bakio, the Bakio–Matxitxako coastal path leads in about 2 km to the Urizarreta access. The full Gaztelugatxe route, from Bakio to the Matxitxako lighthouse via Urizarreta, is 5.6 km. From Lurgorri, on the Bermeo side, it is a kilometre to the Ermu entrance.

Once inside, from Urizarreta you go down 1,200 m with slopes of up to 35%, cross the bridge and climb the 241 steps to the hermitage; the return via Ermu is 1,600 m with a 15% gradient. Allow about two and a half hours in total.

Booking and services

On controlled-access days, set by the council's annual calendar, you need a free ticket booked at reservagaztelugatxe.bizkaia.eus, with a capacity of 1,462 people a day. The rest of the year entry is free. For queries: 688 73 81 47 or [email protected].

There are only two toilets: next to the Urizarreta information point and next to the Ermu checkpoint. During staffed hours, from 10:00 to 19:00, the checkpoints have a small first-aid kit, and the site has a defibrillator. On the Ermu route there are picnic tables and a viewpoint.

Tips

If you go by car in summer, arrive before 10:00 or leave it in Bakio or Bermeo. The route is not for pushchairs or for people with difficulty walking: for them, the council suggests the views from the Ermu viewpoint. Bring water and sun protection, and avoid climbing to the hermitage during orange-alert hours. More details of the visit are in the San Juan de Gaztelugatxe listing; and if you prefer to see it from the sea, there are boats from Bermeo. To get to Bermeo without a car, the Euskotren E4 train.