The new ferry season of the Port of Bilbao kicks off with the new tourist product ‘Bilbao cruise and stay’

The two cruise ferries of the Brittany Ferries company operating between the Port of Bilbao and the United Kingdom and Ireland resume their activity in March after the customary winter break, with new tourist initiatives and a minibus laid on to take passengers to and from the city of Bilbao.

This season, Brittany Ferries, the shipping company that runs the ferry service, is offering a new tourist product called ‘Bilbao cruise and stay’, which consists of round trip packages for foot passengers, including transfers from the port to the centre of Bilbao and stays in a choice of hotels in the city for 3 or 4 nights.

For its part, and as from 1 April, the Bilbao Port Authority will provide a transfer service between the maritime terminal at the Zierbena quay, exclusively for ferry passengers and equipped with a small tourist information office, and the centre of Bilbao. From there, foot passengers will have the option of either returning to the ferry after a few hours, staying on a few days in the Basque Country before catching another ferry, or continuing their journey elsewhere in the region by some other means of public transport. This new offer is designed to attract passengers to travel to Bizkaia/the Basque Country by sea, thus avoiding the use of private vehicles.

In the words of Ricardo Barkala, President of the Bilbao Port Authority, “in recent years, the infrastructure of the port has been improved and adapted to accommodate new, more modern, longer and more sustainable ferries, with work on both the ro-ro ramp and the refurbishment of an LNG filling station for the new ferries to refuel. Now we are taking another step forward, improving the services available to passengers and contributing to tourism in the region that will benefit sectors such as the hotel and catering trade and small businesses”. The Port Authority is also going to electrify the dock where the ferries berth so that the vessels can connect to the onshore power grid during their stay in the Port of Bilbao, enabling them to switch off their engines and thus reduce fuel consumption and gas emissions and to minimise noise and vibration levels. “The power supply will be of renewable origin, provided by an array of solar PV panels set up in the car park of the ferry terminal itself”, the President of the Port Authority explained.

For his part, Roberto Castilla, Director of Brittany Ferries, expressed his satisfaction with the initiatives currently being taken, and thanked the Bilbao Port Authority for its collaboration. “The transfer service will not only facilitate access to our ferries, improving the travel experience for foot passengers, but will also enable our British and Irish customers to discover Bilbao in a comfortable and accessible way, and from there to travel to other parts of the region. It also strengthens our commitment to sustainability, promoting more efficient transport alternatives. We remain committed to offering well-connected and environmentally responsible routes”, he said.

More information at: https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/offers/cruise-and-stay-breaks/bilbao