Gaztelugatxe Day Tour from Bilbao

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is the most photographed place on the Basque coast. A small hermitage crowns a rocky islet joined to the mainland by a narrow, zigzagging stone causeway, and the climb of 241 steps to the top, with waves breaking on either side, is unforgettable. Tradition says you should ring the bell three times and make a wish when you arrive. The islet became world-famous as a filming location for Game of Thrones, where it stood in for Dragonstone, but its history as a place of pilgrimage goes back many centuries. It sits inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, a landscape of cliffs, estuary and wetlands between Bakio and Bermeo. Getting there without a car is awkward, especially in winter, when there is no direct bus from Bilbao, so a guided day tour is the easiest way to see it. This tour, sold on Tiqets and run by Buendía Tours, leaves from beside Puppy at the Guggenheim and spends almost two hours at Gaztelugatxe before visiting Bermeo, a working fishing port with a colourful harbour, and Mundaka, a pretty village at the mouth of the Urdaibai estuary famous among surfers, with free time for lunch. In the afternoon it stops in Gernika, the town whose bombing in 1937 inspired Picasso’s painting and where the Tree of Gernika symbolises Basque liberties, and ends with a tasting of txakoli, the local white wine.

How the day runs: departure is at 08:30 from beside Puppy, in front of the Guggenheim, with the Buendía Tours logo to look for. After about ninety minutes on the road you reach Gaztelugatxe for a guided visit of nearly two hours, followed by a short stop in Bermeo, lunch time in Mundaka, a two-hour visit to Gernika and the txakoli tasting at a winery, with return to Bilbao at around 18:45. Transport, the guide and the tasting are included; food, drinks and any entrance fees are not. Groups can be large, up to 55 people, and free cancellation runs until 24 hours before. The itinerary can change with weather and traffic, and the tour is rated highly by Tiqets reviewers.

Access rules: the Bizkaia provincial council controls access to Gaztelugatxe on busy dates, when every visitor needs a free online ticket booked in advance; on other days access is open. The calendar for 2026 is published on the council’s website, so check whether your date is controlled and confirm with the operator whether they handle the reservation. Avoid local festival days, such as 24 June, 31 July and 30 December, when the site is crowded.

Is it hard? The visit is a real walk: about 1.2 kilometres downhill on a steep path, the causeway and the steps, then a longer climb back up. Wear good shoes and bring a waterproof, as the path can be slippery. On orange weather alert days, the council advises against climbing to the hermitage. It is not suitable for strollers or for visitors with limited mobility, who can see the islet from a viewpoint on the Ermu route. If you are based in San Sebastián, Tiqets also sells a small-group day trip that combines Gaztelugatxe with the Guggenheim.