Burgos to Bilbao

[DBart]

Has anyone taken the bus from Burgos to Bilbao? I’m walking the Camino Frances in May and taking my time. Read about the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and thought it would be a nice day off of walking. Thoughts?

 

[J Willhaus]

It's a bit out of the way. I wouldnt say its really a day trip. There is a nice museum in Burgos dedicated to Human Evolution. Show your pilgrim credential for a discount.

We went to Bilbao 2 years ago and saw the Guggenheim. It was nice, but expensive and only took me a couple of hours to see the whole thing. The museums in Madrid were much larger and I enjoyed them more.

I may be biased because that day in Bilbao I dropped my phone and shattered the screen and walked around on an extremely hot day to find the shop needed to fix that. Had it been a more pleasant day, my memory might have been different.

Edit: if you do go to Bilbao it might be good to buy your museum ticket in advance to avoid a wait.

 

[henrythedog]

Has anyone taken the bus from Burgos to Bilbao? I’m walking the Camino Frances in May and taking my time. Read about the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and thought it would be a nice day off of walking. Thoughts?

It’s going to be 2 hours each way, plus the usual ‘being there in good time for the bus’, ‘getting to the bus station’ etc.

It’s certainly do-able as a day-trip; but I wouldn’t.

As an alternative might I suggest:

The memorial grave of El Cid and his wife Ximena are in Burgos cathedral. Fresh flowers every day. Not a bad outcome for a mercenary.

Lamb roasted in a wood-fired oven is a speciality of Burgos.

Calle San Lorenzo is an excellent venue for an evening if you’re not getting up at the crack of dawn. Seek out a Cojanudo.

 

[davejsy]

I love Bilbao, it's probably my favourite city (and I don't actually like cities!). But agree with the others that it is quite out of the way albeit doable for a day trip.
However, if you are unlikely to get the chance again anytime soon and have plenty of time then maybe consider going for a couple of days. The coastline of NW Spain is some of the most beautiful in the world, and very very different to what you will encounter on the CF (which is still beautiful).

 

[kayagee66]

It’s going to be 2 hours each way, plus the usual ‘being there in good time for the bus’, ‘getting to the bus station’ etc.

It’s certainly do-able as a day-trip; but I wouldn’t.

As an alternative might I suggest:

The memorial grave of El Cid and his wife Ximena are in Burgos cathedral. Fresh flowers every day. Not a bad outcome for a mercenary.

Lamb roasted in a wood-fired oven is a speciality of Burgos.

Calle San Lorenzo is an excellent venue for an evening if you’re not getting up at the crack of dawn. Seek out a Cojanudo.

The lamb at Restaurante Mesón Los Herreros in that street was superb.

 

[DBart]

I love Bilbao, it's probably my favourite city (and I don't actually like cities!). But agree with the others that it is quite out of the way albeit doable for a day trip.
However, if you are unlikely to get the chance again anytime soon and have plenty of time then maybe consider going for a couple of days. The coastline of NW Spain is some of the most beautiful in the world, and very very different to what you will encounter on the CF (which is still beautiful).

Yes I may see where I am on my walk and may still go if I am walking faster than my schedule. My husband is meeting me in Santiago on my 42nd day and wants to see me arrive. I was already thinking an extra day in Pamplona, Burgos and Leon. Helpful, thank you

 

[Tandem Graham]

You can also catch a bus from Logrono to Bilbao. As others have said, taking 36 hours away from the Camino to visit Bilbao makes more sense.
The Guggenheim (it's a tremendous building and some of the art in there is also world class) and a few pinchos in Bilbao old town would make an overnight stay worthwhile. Otherwise your rest day will be more exhausting than a walking day!

 

[davejsy]

Yes I may see where I am on my walk and may still go if I am walking faster than my schedule. My husband is meeting me in Santiago on my 42nd day and wants to see me arrive. I was already thinking an extra day in Pamplona, Burgos and Leon. Helpful, thank you

Oh so you will have plenty of time for stops. TBF the cities along the CF are some of the most beautiful historical places you will find, and if you are of that persuasion you will have no problem losing yourself in them for extra days.

 

[jpatharris]

I took a morning train from Burgos to Bilbao for about €20. The trip did not take much more than an hour. You can catch a bus from the train station to the main bus station in town. It’s about a mile walk from the bus station to the Guggenheim. I took s walking tour of the Bilbao old town the 2nd morning. There are also small boat tours to the coast.

 

[DBart]

I took a morning train from Burgos to Bilbao for about €20. The trip did not take much more than an hour. You can catch a bus from the train station to the main bus station in town. It’s about a mile walk from the bus station to the Guggenheim. I took s walking tour of the Bilbao old town the 2nd morning. There are also small boat tours to the coast.

Nice info. Thank you

 

[Anamiri]

I just saw this thread.
We took a day and a half, and did a side trip to Bilbao by bus from Burgos. A worthwhile trip.