Fifteen metres of cliff in Getxo cost nothing to climb, at any hour between 7am and midnight. The same problem across the water, at the Vizcaya Bridge, can cost €11. Bizkaia solves its gradients with six public services, and half of them are free.
Are the panoramic lifts in Getxo free? All three are. Getxo town council publishes the Ereaga, Old Port and Usategi lifts as free services. The Old Port and Usategi cars run daily from 7am to midnight, hold 16 people each and cover 15 metres and almost six respectively.
The Getxo lifts are three free panoramic cars that open daily from 7am to midnight and cover up to 15 metres of cliff between the beach and the districts above.
From free to eleven euros
The whole ladder fits inside €11, and where a service sits on it has little to do with how far it carries you.
The three Getxo lifts cost nothing, according to Getxo town council. The passenger boat to Portugalete costs €0.40. The Artxanda funicular costs €0.73 with a Barik card and Larreineta €1.02. Without a card, Artxanda jumps to €3.50 single and €6.00 return. The Vizcaya Bridge walkway sits at the top at €11.
| Service | Price | When it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Old Port lift, Getxo | Free | Daily 7am to midnight |
| Usategi lift, Getxo | Free | Daily 7am to midnight |
| Ereaga lift, Getxo | Free | Daily 9.30am to 11pm outside summer |
| Portugalete boat | €0.40 | From 5.05am weekdays, to 10.15pm weekends |
| Artxanda funicular | €0.73 with card | 3-minute climb |
| Larreineta funicular | €1.02 with card | Neighbourhood service |
The two ways across the water
Getxo offers two crossings to Portugalete and the gap between them is more than ten euros.
The cheap one is the boat, at €0.40 a passenger, operated by the Portugalete boatmen’s association between Las Arenas and Portugalete. It runs weekdays from 5.05am to 10.10pm, Saturdays 7am to 10.15pm and Sundays and holidays 9am to 10.15pm, with tickets issued on the Portugalete platform.
The other is the Vizcaya Bridge, where two official sources disagree on the fare. Getxo town council publishes €0.45 for the gondola and €9 for the walkway, while the operator publishes €0.60 and €11. The operator sets its own price, so that is the figure to budget for, and the case is set out in the guide to Getxo from Bilbao.
For a traveller the difference is not only money. The boat is a crossing at water level; the walkway is a viewpoint along the top of the bridge that happens to reach the other side.
Three lifts, three different jobs
Each Getxo lift solves a specific bit of terrain rather than duplicating the others.
The Old Port lift covers 15 metres from the lower car park into the old fishing quarter and holds 16 people. The Usategi lift covers almost six metres between the Genaratxu path and the park, making the coastal walking route accessible, with the same capacity.
The Ereaga lift connects the beach with the Algorta district in a glazed, air-conditioned car, and it is the one whose hours move: June to September, Sunday to Thursday 9am to 11pm and Friday, Saturday and eves of holidays until 00.30; the rest of the year, daily 9.30am to 11pm.
The funiculars, and why they are not priced alike
Fares for both funiculars are set by the Bizkaia transport consortium rather than by the operators, which is why they can be compared directly.
Artxanda costs €0.73 with a Creditrans fare on a Barik card and takes 3 minutes to a viewpoint over the city, with hours and alternatives in the guide to the Artxanda funicular. Larreineta costs €1.02 and serves a hilltop village in Trapagaran, with the accessibility detail in the guide to the Larreineta funicular.
Both accept the Bidai 50, Bidai 70 and Gazte 70 passes, and on both under-15s travel free where Euskotren is the operator. How the card works across operators is covered in the guide to the Barik card.
Which one you actually want
- A view over Bilbao → Artxanda funicular, a 3-minute climb
- Ereaga beach from Algorta → the Ereaga lift, free
- The Old Port without stairs → the Old Port lift, 15 metres
- An accessible coastal walk → the Usategi lift, almost six metres
- Crossing to Portugalete cheaply → the boat, €0.40
- Crossing with a view → the Vizcaya Bridge gondola or walkway
Doing all six in one day
Nothing stops a visitor riding the lot, and the order that works is geographic rather than thematic.
Start with Artxanda for the overview, cross the city to Areeta on the metro, take the Vizcaya Bridge gondola for €0.60 or the boat for €0.40, then walk to the Old Port and ride its lift and the Usategi one. Larreineta sits apart, on the far bank, and needs its own trip.
Counted in fares, the whole set costs under €3 with a Barik card in hand, which is less than a single adult museum ticket in the same city.
Where the published information stops
It is worth saying where official sources run out, because the gaps are not random.
Bilbao itself has more public lifts than appear here, scattered across the slopes of its districts, but the city council publishes no consultable list with hours and heights comparable to the one Getxo maintains.
The same applies to the Larreineta timetable: the operator distributes it as a scanned PDF with no extractable text, so the figure that can be verified and published is the fare, not the schedule.
Everything listed above with an hour and a price is published by the body that runs it: the three Getxo lifts and the boat by Getxo town council, and the funicular fares by the transport consortium.
Frequently asked questions about lifts and funiculars
Are the panoramic lifts in Getxo free?
All three are. Getxo town council lists the Ereaga, Old Port and Usategi lifts as free services. The last two run daily from 7am to midnight and each holds 16 people.
How much height do the Getxo lifts save?
The Old Port lift covers 15 metres from the lower car park, and the Usategi lift almost six between the Genaratxu path and the park. The Ereaga lift links the beach with the Algorta district in an air-conditioned glass car.
Which Bizkaia funicular is cheapest?
Artxanda at €0.73 with a Creditrans fare on a Barik card, against €1.02 for Larreineta. Without a card the order reverses in practice, because Artxanda charges €3.50 single and €6.00 return as a visitor attraction.
What is the cheapest way to cross the estuary in Getxo?
The passenger boat at €0.40, run by the Portugalete boatmen’s association between Las Arenas and Portugalete, according to Getxo town council. It sails from 5.05am on weekdays and until 10.15pm at weekends.
Do the lifts and funiculars take the same travel card?
The funiculars do: both accept Barik, the Bidai 50, Bidai 70 and Gazte 70 passes. The Getxo lifts need no ticket at all, and the Portugalete boat sells its own fare on the Portugalete platform.
Six ways to gain height or cross the water, and three of them ask for nothing at all.