Bilbao and Basque Country in Spain with children
We’ve long wanted to explore Bilbao and Basque Country in Spain with our children and the opportunity came up when we found a great deal using our Avios Points. By using our Companion Voucher and avios points we just had to pay taxes which meant we only paid £100 for the 4 of us return! We were surprised we could get that in peak season and to Spain which is so popular. But it goes to show sometimes if you look you can get a very good deal with Avios points.
Getting to Bilbao
We flew from London Gatwick on a Wednesday morning and got ourselves caught up in some IT technical issues that British Airways were having…the airport was in complete chaos. Fortunately for us, we got shown round to the queue by an extremely organised BA employee and made our flight with a few minutes to spare. British Airways dealt with it exceptionally well – we were both very impressed.
The flight was short and easy, and we landed in sunny Bilbao an hour and a half later. We had hired a car so headed to the car hire, picked up our car and headed off to Getxo which is fishing town about 20 minutes from Bilbao. We always travel with our own car seats after having bad experiences with hire car company car seats. It actually works out cheaper if you are hiring a car for more than a week any way, plus you know the seat is safe and that it is fitted correctly. See more on our essentials for travel here.
Airbnb Accommodation in Getxo
The day before our arrival we’d had a message from the Airbnb host to say that the usual parking wouldn’t be available due to a local festival. So we’d have to park nearby. We fortunately found a decent parking space right by the apartment and headed in. It wasn’t ready so we headed for a drink at a bar. I have to say our first impressions weren’t all that great and sadly Getxo didn’t ever really live up to our expectations.
Once we could get into our apartment we quickly realised it wasn’t quite as advertised, unclean, small and a bit moldy. However we were determined not to let it spoil our trip so we gave the girls some pizza, watched a bit of tv then headed to bed for a fresh start in the morning.
A visit to Santander
The next day we woke up ready to explore so we drove the 1 hour 20 minutes from Getxo to Santander. The reason we chose this was because the weather was expected to be very hot in Bilbao and around, and down the coast was supposedly cooler, but it wasn’t! But we got there and straight onto a City Sightseeing Hop on Hop off bus which was really good value at 15 euros per adult, the children were free.
It was a great way to see the city, especially in the hot weather. However it did seem to stop in the hot sun for 5 minutes at every stop which got a bit much for the girls (and me!) so we moved to a shadier spot of the bus. It lasted for 90 minutes in total which was plenty long enough.
What struck us about Santander is that there were endless city beaches that were full of people enjoying the sunshine. These hugged the entire coast all around the city. It must be pretty nice to live in the city but have the beach right there!
After this we headed back to the car. The parking in Santander was very straight forward, underground and right off the main coastal road. There seemed to be a general rule in the towns and cities that we visited that blue bays mean you pay for parking at the metre and any white bays are free. The ease of parking did vary depending where we were but generally it was ok (apart from in one town where we had to give up as it was so busy!)
The lovely little town of Santillana Del Mar
We then headed inland to Santillana Del Mar which had been recommended to us. I’m so pleased it was as as soon as we pulled up we could tell it would be gorgeous. We managed to find on free street parking just a few hundred metres from the old town.
We headed into the town and had a look around the gorgeous cobbled streets. They were lined with lovely little shops and eateries and we stopped for pizza at a cute little terraced restaurant.
After lunch we popped over the road for ice cream and then back to the car. The heat was getting insane and we really needed some air conditioning!
A visit to San Sebastian, Basque Country
The next day we headed in the opposite direction, 1 hour 20 minutes eastwards to San Sebastian. This city, being extremely close to the border to France had a very different feel to any other city we’ve been to in Spain, heavily influenced by French architecture and design.
We parked on the street, easily, and the machine took coins and card.
We decided to take the Funicular up Monte Igueldo for views over San Sebastian, it cost 3.75 euros return for adults and for children under 7 years old it was 2.50 euros return.
They have put a cash machine at ticket office for the funicular so that you can withdraw cash for the fair ground that is at the peak of Monte Igueldo. The rides only take cash and are usually around 2.50 euros each. Our 1 year old was mostly free.
The fair ground was really good fun and had some different rides to the norm, our 4 year old loved spending a few hours exploring them all.
The view from the peak was really lovely, and you could see in all directions which was beautiful. Some of the rides (the boat and the rollercoaster) took you on little moats that gave you a fantastic (if slightly adrenalin inducing) view.
Hondarribia, Basque Country
After this we went to the coastal town of Hondarribia – on the border to France. Parking, again, was fairly straight forward on the street in blue bays, which you pay for at the meter.
There was handy escalators down to the town itself as it would be a hilly climb otherwise (especially with two young children and a double buggy!) We noticed all around the region that they had lifts and escalators to help tackle the hills that are so predominant in the towns and cities.
The main street in Hondarribia is a pedestrianised tree lined avenue with pretty painted houses either side. There were endless bars and restaurants serving mainly Pinxcos which is similar to Tapas and famous in this area of Spain.
We stopped at one of the restaurants and had our lunch, some sandwiches, omelette and chips to share. It was really lovely and nice to sit and watch people pass by.
Bilbao with Children
The next day, on our holiday to Bilbao and Basque Country with children we went into Bilbao itself, a 25 minute metro ride from where we were staying in Getxo.
Bilbao Metro
The metro is divided into 4 zones and the centre of the city is all zone 1. It costs slightly more to go into 2 zones. We travelled from Algorta Station to the centre of the old town which was a stop called Casco Viejo.
A 1 zone journey costs 1.60 euros or 0.91 cents with a Barik Card. The 2 zone journey cost 1.80 euros or 1.08 euros with a Barik Card. The Barik card costs 2 euros. You only need one per family as you can pass it back across the gates. There is a limit of 10 people allowed to use one card.
Funicular De Artxanda, Bilbao
First stop was the Funicular de Artxanda which takes you up to a nice view point of Bilbao. It cost 3.60 euros return and the girls (under 6) were free. The ride is no longer than 3 minutes. Once at the top there is some lovely green space to wander around. There were lots of places to take photos and enjoy the view.
The girls loved playing in the small sandy area on the peak. This gave Dave and I a little while to relax and enjoy the views and take some photos.
We made our way back down on the funicular and walked the short distance over the river to the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, one of the top things to see in Bilbao. As our main interest was in the sculptures outside we didn’t go in. Had it been quieter we’d probably have braved it, but the girls were tired and it was extremely busy. So we just took a stroll outside and saw some of the fantastic sculptures.
Our final day
This day didn’t go quite to plan, through no fault of our own – it was just one fail after another 🙂 Firstly we tried to go to the Painted Forest, which looked great. On arrival though we found that it was shut! So we changed plans to a slice cake and a play in the park. The girls obviously were none the wiser and will never turn down the opportunity to have a play on swings!
We headed back to Getxo as we knew there was a festival on that day so it might be worth seeing. The festival was unlike anything we’ve seen before. A group of men with huge papier mache heads (clowns, old women, witches etc) were hitting children round the head with hessian bags full of something or other! Everyone seemed very happy with the events so we just went with it and watched as it passed. Both the girls got a, very gentle, bang on the head with the bags. Our eldest hasn’t stopped talking about it since. I think it was a highlight for her, despite her being very unsure at the time!
Following on behind the men with the huge heads was a small percussion band playing a merry tune. It all must have symbolised something, but despite research we are none the wiser.
After this we needed a bit of quiet time so we headed down to the beach. It was neither that pretty or warm, but the girls couldn’t have cared less. They adored splashing around on the empty beach for an hour or so. It showed Dave and I that sometimes things don’t go to plan, but actually it doesn’t matter. We headed back into town, had pizza, then went home to bed.
Our journey home
We headed back to the airport early for our flight home and it was a lot smoother than our flight out! We boarded the plane, and due to a short delay on the tarmac the Pilot offered us the opportunity to go and see him and the First Officer in the cockpit. Talk about bucket list item ticked!! I think I was the most excited out of all of us 🙂 Our eldest was enamoured with all the buttons and getting to sit in the First Officers seat, playing with all the gadgets. She wore the captains hat and got a ‘wings’ sticker which said ‘Pilot of the future’. She was so pleased. Our youngest just hid behind my legs 🙂
It was a great distraction from the delay and it must have exhausted the girls as they both fell asleep for the full duration of the flight. Woo hoo! Dave and I had the best flight we’ve had in years, I even read some of my book.
Final thoughts on our trip to Bilbao and Basque Country in Spain with Children
Bar the bad Airbnb experience which to put in perspective is only the 2nd time in 15 stays that somewhere has been below par, we had a fantastic trip.
This area in northern Spain is rarely mentioned as a tourist destination but it is utterly gorgeous and well worth a visit. The little towns and villages seemed endless and we definitely didn’t get to explore them all.
For more trips in Spain have a look at our blog post on Seville here and Valencia here.
For more on our trip to Bilbao, why not check out our ‘Things to do in Bilbao’ youtube video (don’t forget to like and subscribe once you’re done though!)
For some drone footage of the gorgeous Basque Countryside check out our YouTube video here:
