Car Rental Bilbao: Airport Pick-Up and Driving Guide

For a short stay in the city itself, probably not. Almost every headline sight is within about a mile of the centre: the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, St. James' Cathedral, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Chavarri Palace, the Alhóndiga and the old streets of the Casco Viejo. The Itsasmuseum and the Puente Euskalduna are barely further, at roughly a mile and a quarter. You will spend more time looking for somewhere to leave a car than driving it.

The picture changes if you want to see the estuary and the coast. Portugalete, around 6 miles from the centre, has the beach at Las Arenas and the Basilica of Santa María, and Santurtzi is about 7 miles out. A car lets you combine both in a day at your own pace, and it makes a run along the coast towards Santander straightforward. Many travellers split the difference: a few car-free days in the city, then car hire in Bilbao for the second half of the holiday.

Car hire at Bilbao airport is the obvious choice. The terminal is about four minutes from the city, eight from Portugalete and nine from Santurtzi, so even if you are staying on the coast you will be at your hotel almost as soon as you have signed the paperwork. If you rent a car at Bilbao airport, you also avoid driving into the centre to collect it.

Santander airport also has direct flights from the UK and is a sensible alternative if fares or times suit you better. Allow around 57 minutes to Santurtzi, 58 to Portugalete and about 66 minutes to central Bilbao.

Arriving by sea is the other option. Bilbao's ferry port is only about a mile from the city, with Brittany Ferries sailings from Portsmouth taking roughly 28 to 32 hours, while Santander, about 40 miles away, has routes from Portsmouth and from Plymouth (around 20 hours). Foot passengers looking for car hire at the Bilbao ferry port can compare options on this page too.

Distances around Bilbao are short. The coastal towns along the estuary are all within about 7 miles of the centre, and the longest drive most visitors make is the hour or so towards Santander. Inside the city, the main sights are so close together that it is usually best to park once and walk between them.

The weather is the thing to plan around. This is a green, wet corner of Spain: November brings around 159mm of rain over 16 days, and even in the driest months of July and August you can expect about ten rainy days. Allow extra time on wet roads, keep your lights and wipers in mind, and do not assume a summer drive will be dry. Daytime highs run from about 12°C in January to 26°C in August, so winter mornings can be chilly, with lows around 6°C.

Choose a full-to-full fuel policy where you can: you collect the car with a full tank and return it full, paying only for what you use. Because the drives around Bilbao are short, a pre-paid full tank is rarely good value.

Read the excess terms carefully before you book, and decide whether you want cover that reduces it. If you are travelling with children, reserve child seats in advance rather than hoping they are available at the desk. Prices tend to rise during UK school holidays, so book early if your dates are fixed. You can compare car rental at Bilbao airport, Santander and the city on this page, alongside hotel prices and tours if you are planning the rest of the trip.