Bilbao Airport has no metro station and no railway platform. A single bus line does the whole job, and it does it well: a departure every quarter of an hour. The catch is that the two directions do not keep the same hours, and the one you need for a late flight closes first.
How do you get from Bilbao airport to the city centre? The Bizkaibus A3247 links Loiu with central Bilbao every 15 minutes, from 6.10am to 11.40pm plus a final departure at midnight. A single ticket costs €5, according to the provincial council of Bizkaia, while Aena publishes €27 for a weekday taxi. No metro line reaches the airport.
Bilbao Airport sits at Loiu, in fare zone 2, roughly ten kilometres north of the city and connected to it by one bus route.
The 10pm problem nobody warns you about
Departures towards the airport stop at 22:00, while departures from the airport run until midnight. That asymmetry is the single most useful thing to know before booking a flight, and it is invisible on most route planners.
In practice it means arrivals are well covered and departures are not. Land at half past eleven at night and a bus is waiting. Need to check in for a 23:30 departure and the last bus that could get you there left at ten. The gap has to be filled with a taxi.
The outbound service starts at 05:00 according to Bizkaibus, which does cover an early morning flight, so the squeeze falls at the end of the day rather than the start.
Where to get off with luggage
Four stops matter and they are not interchangeable. Moyua is the one to aim for: it is the only stop on the route sitting directly above a metro station served by both lines, which turns a long walk with a suitcase into a short escalator ride.
Bilbao Intermodal is the coach station, next to San Mamés, and is the right choice only if you are connecting onwards by long-distance bus. Gran Vía puts you on the main shopping avenue, about ten minutes on foot from the Old Town.
The stop names differ by direction because the bus uses the opposite kerb. Heading into the city it calls at Gran Vía 74, Gran Vía 46, Sota, Alameda Recalde 14 and Bilbao Intermodal. Heading out to the airport it runs Bilbao Intermodal, Alameda Recalde 11, Moyua, Hacienda and Gran Vía 79.
Paying for it
The single ticket is €5, and the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia words it precisely: that is the price for passengers not using a Barik card. Bank cards are accepted at the Bizkaibus booth inside the terminal, which spares hunting for cash after landing.
The booth also sells the Barik card itself: the Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia lists Bizkaibus booths among its sales points, alongside station machines and more than 450 shops. Buying it before boarding turns the airport leg into the first journey at card rates rather than the last at full price. Whether the card is worth buying once you are in the city is worked through in the guide to the Barik card.
The taxi maths
Aena publishes indicative taxi fares from the airport, and they make the comparison unusually clean. To Bilbao it is €27 on a working day and €30 on a public holiday. To Bilbao Intermodal, slightly further out, €32 and €35.
Here is the calculation that decides it. Four people on the A3247 pay €20 in total. A taxi to Bilbao on the same working day is €27. The bus stays cheaper even split four ways, and a standard taxi will not take many more than that.
What the taxi buys is not savings but time and door-to-door convenience. Services are run by the Auto Taxis Femade association with 64 vehicles at the arrivals area according to Aena, and the rank sits on the arrivals level. Radio Taxi Femade takes bookings on 944 800 909.
| Option | One person | Four people | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A3247 bus | €5 | €20 | Any arrival inside the service window |
| Taxi to Bilbao, weekday | €27 | €27 | Late departures and heavy luggage |
| Taxi to Bilbao, holiday | €30 | €30 | Same, with the holiday rate |
| Taxi to Bilbao Intermodal | €32 | €32 | Only when your onward coach leaves there |
Sundays and public holidays
The bus timetable does not change at weekends. Bizkaibus publishes the A3247 as a daily service, with the same 15-minute frequency and the same first and last departures on a Sunday as on a Tuesday, which is not the norm for Spanish regional bus routes.
The taxi does change. Aena’s indicative fare rises from €27 to €30 for Bilbao on public holidays, and from €32 to €35 for Bilbao Intermodal. On a holiday the gap between bus and taxi widens rather than narrows.
Getting to the coast from the airport
There is no way to reach the Bizkaia coast directly from the terminal. The route runs through the city: A3247 to Moyua, then metro Line 1 north, which is the only line serving beach municipalities.
That combination matters most for anyone flying in to surf, since boards travel badly through stair-heavy transfers. The full picture of which beaches the metro reaches, and which need a train or a bus instead, is set out in the guide to beaches near Bilbao without a car. The wider network, card by card and zone by zone, is set out in the guide to getting around Bilbao and Bizkaia.
Loiu sits in fare zone 2, the same band as Getxo. The provincial council does not publish a separate Barik price for this particular line, so the €5 single remains the only confirmed figure for it.
Frequently asked questions about Bilbao Airport transfers
Is there a metro or train to Bilbao Airport?
Neither. Metro Bilbao does not serve the airport and there is no rail link, so a single Bizkaibus line, the A3247, carries all public transport to and from the terminal at Loiu. Anyone heading to the coast has to travel through the city and change there.
What time does the last bus leave Bilbao Airport?
Midnight. Bizkaibus publishes departures from the airport every 15 minutes between 06:10 and 23:40, at 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour, plus a final departure at 00:00. Towards the airport the service is shorter, running from 05:00 to 22:00.
Which A3247 stop should I get off at?
Moyua for most hotels. It is the only stop on the route sitting directly above a station served by both metro lines, which makes it the easiest transfer with luggage. Bilbao Intermodal is the bus station beside San Mamés, and Gran Vía is the shopping street.
How much is a taxi from Bilbao Airport?
Aena publishes an indicative fare of €27 to Bilbao on a working day and €30 on a public holiday, rising to €32 and €35 for Bilbao Intermodal. Taxis are run by the Auto Taxis Femade association, with 64 vehicles at the arrivals area.
One bus line is not bad connectivity. It is connectivity on a timetable, and this timetable closes before the flights do.