Port accessFrom 10 to 12 May, the Port Authority of Bilbao will be taking part in Expovacaciones, the annual travel and tourism fair, to be held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Barakaldo.
At the stand that the Port of Bilbao and Brittany Ferries will share at the fair (Hall 3 / Stand E-23), the Port Authority will be showcasing the possibilities that Bilbao has to offer for enjoying sea travel, a practical, comfortable and sustainable way of enjoying a holiday and an option of increasing interest among travellers. These include connections to Ireland and the United Kingdom on Brittany Ferries’ modern ferry-cruises, designed to provide the best travel experience possible and to maximise comfort both for passengers and their pets.
Two LNG-powered ferries, the Salamanca and the Santoña, depart weekly from the Zierbena ferry terminal, on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively, for the port city of Portsmouth, in the south of England. Portsmouth is very well connected by road with some of the main tourist destinations in the UK, such as London (120 km away), Cardiff (200 km away), Manchester (370 km away) and Edinburgh (720 km away).
The Galicia ferry links Bilbao every Thursday and Sunday with the Irish port of Rosslare, the perfect starting point to explore the Emerald Isle and discover the magical County Cork in the south, the dynamic capital Dublin, the always lively Belfast, or to take a circular tour by car or caravan along the spectacular coast of Ireland.
Cruise ships from Bilbao
In recent years, Bilbao has established itself as a cruise destination thanks to the cultural, monumental, nature and gastronomic attractions of Bizkaia and the surrounding area.
This is further confirmed by the forecasts for this coming season, when around 80 cruise ships from 28 different companies are expected to call at the Port of Bilbao cruise ship terminal in Getxo, with a total of around 150,000 tourists on board.
The Port of Bilbao is also an excellent embarkation port for those who wish to start their maritime adventure and get to know some of the most incredible places in the world on board these floating hotels with entertainment for the whole family.
Both the ferry passenger terminal and the cruise terminal of the Port of Bilbao will soon be equipped with OPS technology, which will enable ships to connect to the onshore power grid during their stay in port and thus reduce their emissions. The BilbOPS project has been awarded a 14.2 million euro grant by the European Commission through the CEF Facility 2021-2027. Total investment for the project, scheduled to operational in 2026, will be 78 million euros.
