By bus
All buses to other provinces leave from the Termi Bus terminal. There are regular connections to Santander (75 minutes) San Sebastian (60 minutes) and Madrid (arriving at Avenida de Las Americas bus station, 4-5 hours) among others.
The bus companies connect Bilbao with many cities in Spain more cheaply and frequently than the rail companies.
The company linking Bilbao to Santander is ALSA , and in theory you can get info about buses from Santander to Bilbao. Be prepared for long waiting lines of half an hour as there are only two ticket offices. It's usually better to buy the ticket the day before or print your ticket on the company's website. Instead of printing, you can also use the text message they send to your mobile as proof of purchase.
For Vitoria-Gasteiz, take La Unión Alavesa buses.
By plane
Bilbao Airport (IATA: BIO) is served by Lufthansa, Air France, Air Berlin, TuiFly, AerLingus, Iberia, Air Europa, Vueling and several other airlines. Easy Jet flies from London Stansted to Bilbao airport. You can also fly with Ryanair to Santander.
To get to downtown from the airport, take Bizkaibus A3247 from the arrivals sidewalk: there is no arrivals hall. The bus leaves every half hour at: 15 and: 45 past the hour from the airport to Bilbao bus terminal. The reverse journey is at: 25 and: 55 past the hour from the bus terminal to the airport, stopping at Plaza Moyua on the way. A single ticket costs €1.35.
Taxis to downtown Bilbao from the airport cost about €25-30.
By train
RENFE-- runs intercity trains to Madrid, Barcelona, Vigo (Galicia). All Renfe trains leave from Abando Station.
FEVE -- runs regional trains to Santander (3 daily), and Leon (1 Daily). They are very slow, and make a stop in almost every single town they pass through. From Santander you
