Trips & tickets
Direct transfer from Bilbao with two free hours to cross the stone bridge and climb the 241 steps to the hermitage, then Bermeo and Gernika.
A full guided day from Bilbao along the coast, finishing with a txakoli wine tasting.
A guided tour in an air-conditioned vehicle, starting at the hermitage and continuing to Mundaka and Gernika.
The full GetYourGuide listing for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe — day trips from Bilbao and San Sebastián, boat trips and private tours, with live prices.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a hermitage on a rocky islet joined to the Basque coast by a stone bridge and a long stepped path. Reaching it means a walk down from the road and back up again, which shapes the whole visit.
You can drive yourself, join a coach day trip from Bilbao or San Sebastián, see the islet from the sea on a boat trip, or book a private driver. These pages compare the options and what each one involves.
Plan it properly
Getting to Gaztelugatxe from Bilbao and San Sebastián: bus A3527 from Termibus, the Bakio connections, driving the BI-3101 and the three car parks, the two walking routes down, and the tours that include time on the steps.
When you need a free ticket for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and when you don't, the daily cap of 1,462 visitors, the Urizarreta and Ermu routes, the bridge and the 241 steps, the hermitage at the top and how to plan the walk.
How to build a day around San Juan de Gaztelugatxe: the coast between Bakio and Bermeo, Mundaka and the Urdaibai biosphere reserve, the Casa de Juntas and Tree of Gernika, and the tours from Bilbao and San Sebastián that combine them.
The islet
Photographs licensed from Shutterstock.
On days with controlled access, yes — you need a free ticket booked online.
A stone bridge and a stairway of 241 steps link the islet to the coast, between Bakio and Bermeo.
Yes. From Bilbao's Termibus station, bus A3527 (Bilbao–Mungia–Bermeo) stops at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
The first hermitage is believed to date from the ninth century; the present church has been rebuilt many times.