48 Hours of Basque Country Budgeting

So, you find yourself landing at Bilbao Airport in Spain’s Basque Country, and you only have 48 hours to get the best out of your visit. Understandably, it will be impossible to tick everything off your list in those 48 hours, not to mention while on a budget. The Basque Country, however, is no short of things to do and places to eat, which will want you to come back and experience more of what it has to offer.

So, how best do you spend 48 hours in one of Spain’s northernmost regions, while also on a tight budget? Well, the guide below shows you my experience of just how possible it is.

Day 1: Arriving in and Exploring Bilbao

After making it through the security at Bilbao Airport, you may be wondering how best to transport yourself to Bilbao’s city centre. Luckily, a kiosk is on hand to sell a €4.50 single ticket to Bilbao on the readily available A3247 Bizkaia bus.

The journey into the city centre takes around 15-20 minutes. Its terminus is conveniently located right next to other transport links, such as other buses and the Moyuako Geltokia metro station. These will help you get to your accommodation easily, but you can also choose to stroll through the city centre to your accommodation if preferred.

After checking in and offloading your luggage, you may want to delve deeper into Bilbao's culture. I, for example, offloaded and ventured over to the Guggenheim Museum, located just north of the city centre. A cheap single bus ticket worth €2.00 will get you from one part of the city to the other, and then a short stroll will get you to the Guggenheim Museum.

For €21.56, you can enter the Guggenheim Museum and receive an audio guide to the collections, which are readily available for admiring. You can marvel at the genius artworks of Ruth Asawa, as well as contemporary artworks designed with the impact of climate change in mind. The audio guide will explain the artworks in further detail as you gaze upon them in such awe. It is worth reading their website to find out which other collections are due to be displayed at this museum (you can do this by clicking here: Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. Come in and plan your visit).

Some of the beautiful artwork on show

After a visit to this museum, you may wish to sample the Basque Country’s traditional bar snack, known as ‘Pinxtos’. Well, a short walk from the museum to a bar called ‘GildaToki’ will open your eyes to the world of pinxtos for the first time. A pint of El Aguila lager and GildaToki pinxtos on toasted bread will cost you €4.40.

The pint is complemented very well with the pinxtos, consisting of green chillies, olives and a sardine. It is an opportunity to enjoy the company of Bilbao’s locals as they tell you about the best spots to visit. I had the pleasure of speaking with a man named Nacho, who confirmed the best places to eat and other places of interest.

El Globo Restaurant was one of those recommendations, and it offers a 3-course-style pinxtos menu. For €29, you can sample this 3-course pinxtos menu featuring baby squid, spider crab, seared foie, and even orange marmalade. This restaurant really does give you an in-depth insight into pinxtos and how they complement your alcohol delightfully.

The remainder of the evening is yours to enjoy, be it going out to a cocktail bar or calling it a night early for your first full day exploring the Basque Country.

The 3-course Pinxtos meal at El Globo

Day 2: Exploring the Basque Country Further

Once you wake up, you will hopefully want to venture further to discover more Basque delights. A day’s coach trip to the coastal city of San Sebastián from Bilbao may suffice for this. It would also be €17 well spent for a return ticket with Lurraldebus.

Bilbao’s coach station conveniently includes a selection of cafes both inside and outside. This includes the Santagloria café, where for €5.20 you can purchase a vanilla coffee and a chocolate croissant to sample while on the coach to San Sebastián. While on the coach journey, you can look out at the green scenery passing you by, and glimpse at the small town where the coach stops before its San Sebastián terminus.

After arriving at San Sebastián, the day is then yours to wander around and marvel at what it has to offer. You can walk along its shoreline while taking in views of the sea. You can experience San Sebastián’s Old Town as well as the modern side of the city. You can also stop for lunch at La Viña Café, the birthplace of the San Sebastián cheesecake (I recommend spending €23.50 on their meatballs in tomato sauce and their cheesecake).

The meatballs and San Sebastián cheesecake sampled at La Viña Café

To round off your time here, you can take a short boating trip to the island of Santa Clara, and stop off if you wish to explore it further, for £6.98 (or €8.08). There is a ticket stall, but you can also buy tickets from GetYourGuide if you prefer.

Once you return to Bilbao, you may be wondering where to go for your second, and final, evening meal. With many dining options across a range of cuisines, it may be a good night to discover the city’s appreciation for cuisines from around the world. Why not, for instance, visit the only Greek restaurant in Bilbao, if not the whole Basque Country – Restaurante Grecocina.

A meal at this restaurant certainly doesn’t disappoint, and provides delicious dishes for a decent €37 for two courses. This consisted of their €12 Soutzoukákia Smyrnéikastarter starter (meatballs with pita bread and tzatziki) and their €25 Arní Foúrnou (a baked lamb terrine).

The food I sampled at Restaurante Grecocina

After your meal, you may then wish to go on to visit some of Bilbao’s top bars and clubs, while still budgeting as much as possible. Bilbao is no stranger to unique bars and clubs, including the Azzuro Arcade Rock Bar, which serves up a range of alcoholic beverages while blasting out the best rock tunes.

Day 3: The Final Day

After waking up on your final day in the Basque Country, you may want to make it a day to purchase souvenirs to take home. What better way to do this than by visiting Bilbao’s Old Town and embracing its more traditional side before your departure?

Once you check out of your accommodation, you can either purchase a cheap single metro ticket to get to Old Town, or you can walk it if you’re close enough. If walking from the Miribilla area, you can take the Miribillako Funikularra (funicular railway) to take you down to the Bilbao La Vieja area. You can then find yourself wandering around Bilbao’s Old Town.

You can begin by grabbing a light breakfast and a coffee at one of Bilbao's old Town’s cute cafes for €5. You can then use the time you have left to explore this traditional area and visit some of its attractions. For €10, you can enter the Catedral de Bilbao and be taken around by an audio guide, while gaining an education on the Catedral’s history.

A wide range of restaurants, bars and bakeries are available for you to choose from, where you can buy another San Sebastián Cheesecake, or buy a souvenir to remind you of your 48 hours in the Basque Country.

As you journey back to Bilbao’s airport with another €4.50 single ticket, you can look back and relax in the knowledge that you’ve been able to enjoy this region of Spain. It goes to show that exploring the Basque on a budget is possible, and also reveals when you discover free hidden gems while ‘basque’ing in the sun.

The Travelling Foodie’s Facts and Figures

• I flew from Bristol Airport to Bilbao Airport (Bilboko Aireportua), and back again, for a total of £136.98 with EasyJet. This only included my backpack, which contained the essentials I needed for 48 hours in the Basque Country.

• I stayed at the ‘Bilbao Rooms’ hotel in Bilbao’s Miribilla area for 2 nights, which was a total of £69 (€80). This was for a double room with a private bathroom.

• You can go further inland to the Basque Country’s capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, if you wish to do so. You can catch a coach from Bilbao to this city for €6.20 each way.

• You can Click Here to read more about the history of the San Sebastián cheesecake.