Port accessTrips on offer from the Port of Bilbao by cruise liners and ferry will have a privileged position at the Expovacaciones Fair at Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) from May 10th to 13th. The Bilbao Port Authority will highlight its facilities for this type of tourism at Stand G-38 in Hall 3 where the three lines that offer trips from Bilbao and the ferry company will inform visitors of this attractive tourist option.
57 cruises
This year, around 80,000 cruise passengers will travel on one of the 57 cruises expected at the liner facility that the Port of Bilbao has in Getxo. So far this year, 5 liners have visited, one to take on new passengers. The next arrival is on Wednesday May 9th. The lines that are taking advantage of Bilbao as a port for passengers are:
Pullmantur with the liner ‘Empress’
May 5th: 8 day cruise; Bilbao, Cherbourg
(France) Tilbury (UK), Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), Hamburg (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark) September 22nd: 7 nights; from Bilbao calling at La Coruna, Lisbon, Casablanca, Gibraltar, Almeria and Valencia.
MSC Cruceros with the liner ‘MSC Opera’
July 7th, 15th, 23rd and 31st, August 8th, 16th and 24th: 9 days; from Bilbao calling in at La Rochelle (France), Southampton (UK), Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), St. Peter Port (UK), La Coruna returning to Bilbao.
September 1st: 8 days; from Bilbao calling in at La Rochelle (France), Southampton (UK), Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), Cherbourg (France) and Vigo.
Iberocruceros with the ‘Grand Mistral’
September 1st: 8 days sailing from Bilbao, Bruges (Belgium), Ijmuiden (Amsterdam), Le Havre (Paris), Dover (London) returning to Bilbao.
September 8th: 5 days; Bilbao, Lisbon, Tangiers and Malaga.
Ferry to the UK
Visitors to the UK also have the Brittany Ferries service. There are two sailings per week from the Port of Bilbao; Tuesdays at 10.30 and Saturdays at 20.30. The trip lasts 24 hours and disembarks in Portsmouth, only one and a half hours from London.
The wild Cornish coast, the Welsh countryside, the lochs and highlands of Scotland, the Roman city of Bath and the cosmopolitan and modern city of London are all easily visited from Portsmouth.
The ferry ‘Cap Finisterre’ offers a full range of services; restaurants, shops, a cinema, bars and a swimming pool. Brittany Ferries also offers the option of ferry + hotel at the destination.
