My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Spain. We had four pre-planned nights in Barcelona then three open nights before heading out. For the open nights, we decided on Bilbao, mainly to see the Guggenheim. Bilbao wasn't a mistake, but our itinerary certainly was.

Admittedly we should have done better homework before the trip. The hotel staff in Barcelona told us the drive to Bilbao would be about 4.5 hours from the airport. It ended up taking almost 7 hours, with stops only for fuel and restroom break. Also, the A2 is the major highway between the two cities, with several regional routes available. We saw signs for the AP2 to Bilbao and ended up taking this. It is a toll road, and the tolls are very pricey. Round-trip we paid about 65 euros.

Once is Bilbao, parking is hard to find. When it is found it too is expensive, though comparable to large US cities. In an overnight garage we paid 17 euros.

Arriving in Bilbao on a Friday night without a hotel reservation was another of our tactical errors, though we've always had luck using the local tourism office to help us locate lodging. None of the tourism offices in Spain were especially helpful. In Bilbao we set out on foot to try and find something, with our handy Fodor's book. All recommended hotels were booked; we eventually landed at the HighTech Hotel, which was fine for our needs.

The Guggenheim is certainly worth the trip. Another post mentioned their collection isn't much. I disagree, though I loved their current exhibit on Scultpure + Architecture, as I am an architect.

We were not able to find another night's lodging in Bilbao so we decided to head to San Sebastian. Another tactical error - no hotel reservation for a Saturday night in the desirable resort town. Absolutely no hotels anywhere.

We decided to drive on back towards Barcelona and possibly stay in Zaragoza for the night. When reaching the city at 10 pm and seeing nothing in the way of a hotel, we decided to stop at the Spanish version of the next Motel 6 we came upon, bed down for the night, then head back to Barcelon for our last night.

We did do this, which was fine as we both felt like four days in Barcelona was not enough. We thought we'd actually save a little money because we turned the car in a day early than planned. Nope. We wrongly assumed that our car rental included unlimited mileage, when we were actually allowed only 400 km per day. The trip was almost 1200 km which ended up to be 600 km per day. The cost for the extra km more than offset our savings of returning the car early.

We certainly enjoyed out trip and didn't allow some of the relatively minor issues to effect the totality of our time in the country. We always enjoyed a little 'fluidity' during our trips, but after this we will probably do better at planning, as I know many on these boards do. Hopefully these lessons will help someone on their next trip.

Thanks for posting. I too have been drawn to Bilbao because of the Guggenheim, but will make sure we have reservations if we go. I bet you really appreciated the architecture in Barcelona too, huh? I love that place!

Thanks very much for posting this. You obviously don't drive as fast as those hotel people you talked to in Barcelona!!!

I'm not certain a lot of people in the US realize how expensive toll roads in Europe can be and the problems that parking in some places can present.

Glad you had an overall good trip and enjoyed Barcelona and the Guggenheim, both of which I think are worthwhile.

Is there a train from Barcelona to Bilbao? Trying to plan a trip from Barcelona. We'll only have 5 days touch down to take back off to the States.
Thanks,
Lulu

Most of the guides I've seen do not include Bilbao as a day trip from Barcelona. I've seen one. A 4-5 hour drive is pretty major. So it's more of an overnight or 2-day trip rather than a day trip.

I'd like to see the Guggenheim too but for an upcoming 5-night trip to Barcelona in March, I hadn't really thought about it. If there was a fast train though...

The best way to get from Barcelona to Bilbao is to fly - takes an hour. The route is served by Vueling, Spanair and Iberia. Vueling should be cheapest, but check out the others to make sure. Always click through until you get the full fare including all taxes, fees etc. If you book early, the fare should be under EUR 100 per person all in roundtrip.

www.vueling.com
www.spanair.com
www.iberia.es

Hope this helps,
Andre

I am afraid there is no fast train between the two cities to make easy day trip, but if you check: www: iberia.com, the lowest airfare is 60 Euro one way, makes the daytrip feasible. Bilbao's old town is interesting, but Guggenheim is truly impressive. However, with only 5 days, I am not sure you would have time even to see Barcelona all.

Thanks for posting. You sound like my husband! He never wants to make reservations, and I always do (I win). Glad you had a good trip.

Here's some info I found on transportation from Barcelona-Pamplona and Bilbao-Pamplona...

BARCELONA - PAMPLONA

Recommended:
* Bus:

The bus company is “Vibasa”. Buses leave from the “Nord” or the “Sants” bus station (direct train connection from the airport). For more information call +34 902101363 or consult http://www.vibasa.es
The trip takes approximately 5 hours and the price is approximately 40 euros (return). The timetable is:
Barcelona-Pamplona:
From Monday to Sunday: 7:30, 15:00, 15:15, 23:00
Fridays and Sundays: 23:15
Pamplona-Barcelona:
From Monday to Sunday: 8:35, 16:40 (except Fridays), 1:05 (depart from Tudela street).
From Monday to Saturday: 8:05
Fridays and Sundays: 16:05
Fridays: 17:00


* Train
There is also a possibility to travel between Barcelona and Pamplona by train. To consult timetables and prices for trains from any city in Spain to Pamplona you can look them up on the website: http://www.renfe.com or call +34 902-240202 or +34 902243402. The price is 31 euros and the schedule is:
Barcelona-Pamplona:
From Monday to Sunday: 07:03, 12:30, 22:00 (except Saturdays).
Pamplona-Barcelona:
From Monday to Sunday: 00:57 (except Sundays), 12:31, 17:20


BILBAO - PAMPLONA

* Bus:
Company: “La Burundesa”. Trip takes approximately 2 hours. Price: 11.60 euros.

The timetable from Bilbao to Pamplona is approximately:
Monday to Thursday: 7:30, 10:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00
Friday: 7:30, 10:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 20:00
Saturday: 7:30, 10:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00
Sunday: 8:30, 11:45, 16:00, 17:30, 20:00

Departures: Termibus.
The connection between Bilbao airport and the bus station (in the city center) can be made by taxi. Approximate price: 20 euros. Or by bus: Price: 1.15 euros. The bus departs every half-hour from the airport (arrivals area) and from the bus station. It takes approximately 25 minutes.

The schedule from Pamplona to Bilbao is approximately:
Monday to Saturday (except Friday): 7:00, 9:00, 10:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00
Friday: 7:00, 9:00, 10:00, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 20:00
Sunday: 9:00, 11:15, 16:00, 17:30, 20:00

More information: +34-948221766 or http://www.laburundesa.com or [email protected]

There are two trains daily from Barcelona to Bilbao, with a journey time of over nine hours: one is a daytime train and the other is overnight with sleepers and couchettes.