Brittany Ferries sails Portsmouth to Bilbao in around 36 hours, a two-night sailing and the longest direct crossing from the UK to Spain, up to twice a week, all year round. It’s a proper stretch across the Bay of Biscay, landing you deep in the Basque Country.
Research-based guideLast checked October 2026
We haven’t sailed this route ourselves yet. Our own Brittany Ferries experience so far is on the shorter France crossings (see our Cherbourg and Saint-Malo write-ups). What’s below is based on route research and current operator information, not a first-hand crossing. We have this one on our own list for summer 2027, and we will rewrite the page properly once we have made the crossing.
Departures
Sailings run a few times a week, less often than the France routes, and the schedule thins out further in winter. In winter 2026/27 it is one sailing a week out of Portsmouth, on Tuesday night, and no regular sailing back: plan your return from Santander. Given the crossing length, this is a route to plan around rather than book at the last minute. Check current departure days at Brittany Ferries.
Winter 2026/27 sailing times
| Direction | Day | Departs | Arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth to Bilbao | Tuesday | 22:45 | 08:00 Thursday |
| Bilbao to Portsmouth | No regular sailing | One sailing only, Wednesday 2 December | Use Santander instead |
The regular pattern from 1 November 2026 to 21 March 2027, in local time. A few dates differ, so check yours when you book. Every route on one page: Portsmouth ferry times, winter 2026/27.
Ship and stay
The “Galicia” is the ship most closely tied to this route, running Bilbao to Portsmouth twice weekly since April 2023. She’s built for up to 1,050 passengers, with the decor and artwork on board deliberately inspired by Galician culture and countryside rather than generic cruise-ship styling, and Spanish crew were added specifically for the UK and Ireland sailings the same year. The “Santoña”, the ship we ourselves sailed on (on our Cherbourg crossing, not this one), also rotates onto this route, so don’t be surprised if you end up on her instead. A cabin is the sensible option for a crossing this long, most travellers treat it as a proper overnight (or two-night) stay rather than a seated journey, with a wider range of onboard facilities than the short Channel routes: multiple restaurants, lounges, entertainment and outdoor deck space.
Departure from Portsmouth
As with the Santander route, check-in for the longer sailings tends to open earlier than on the short crossings, go by your ticket. See our Portsmouth port guide for check-in, parking and getting to the terminal.
Same Bay of Biscay crossing as the Santander route, and the same caveat applies: it has a reputation for rough water, especially outside summer. Big ferries handle it fine, but you may feel it. A cabin with a window is worth it if you’re at all prone to seasickness.
Arrival in Bilbao
The ferry terminal sits at Zierbena, outside the city itself, with a drive in to central Bilbao from there. It’s a genuinely good arrival point for the Basque Country, plus decent onward road access into central and southern Spain if Bilbao itself isn’t the final stop.
Bilbao itself is worth a day at either end of a trip. The Guggenheim is the obvious draw and the building is the point as much as the art. The Casco Viejo, the old quarter, is where you go in the evening for pintxos, which are Basque bar snacks ordered a couple at a time while you move from bar to bar rather than sitting down to a meal. It is a working industrial city that reinvented itself, and it reads very differently from the coastal resorts further east.
Where you actually land, and how to get out. This is the one that catches people. The terminal is at Zierbena, about 21 km west of Bilbao, roughly 25 minutes by car. It is not walkable into the city and there is nothing much at the terminal itself, so foot passengers need a plan before they get off.
The options, in rough order of cost: it is about a fifteen minute walk to Santurtzi, the last stop on Metro Line 2, and from there around 25 to 30 minutes into central Bilbao for a couple of euros. There is a shuttle bus that runs to the Guggenheim. A taxi is roughly 20 to 25 euros and takes about twenty minutes. Check the current shuttle arrangement with the operator, because it is the sort of thing that changes.
Costs and booking
This is the most expensive route from Portsmouth simply because it’s the longest, you’re paying for more time and a cabin, not just a ticket. Book ahead, availability on the less frequent sailings tightens up faster than on the daily France routes. A Flexi ticket is worth the extra here too: with only a couple of sailings a week, there’s far less room to simply catch a later crossing if your plans shift, unlike the daily France routes. Check current prices at Brittany Ferries for your dates.
Alternatives
Portsmouth to Santander is a similar crossing time and worth comparing if Bilbao itself isn’t the specific draw. If two nights at sea doesn’t appeal at all, the usual alternative is driving down through France to a shorter Spanish crossing further south, which trades ferry time for road time rather than cutting the journey down. See all five routes on the Portsmouth ferries overview.
Heading to San Sebastián
There is no ferry from Portsmouth to San Sebastián, and there never has been. It is not a ferry port. But plenty of people searching for one are not really after a boat to San Sebastián, they want to get there with their car, and this is the route that does it.
Bilbao is the closest practical arrival, roughly 100 km and about an hour’s drive west of San Sebastián, and closer than Santander. So for a Basque Country holiday, La Concha beach, the Parte Vieja, or the coast road between the two cities, this is the crossing to book. Treat San Sebastián as the destination and Bilbao as the way in, rather than as a day trip you tack on.
We cover this and a few other crossings people look for that do not exist on our page about ferry routes that don’t exist.
FAQs
How long is the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao?
Around 36 hours, a two-night sailing and the longest direct UK to Spain crossing. Santander is around six hours shorter: the Spain comparison sets out when each one makes sense.
Which ship sails to Bilbao?
Usually the “Galicia”, with the “Santoña” rotating onto the route as well. Both are large ships built for these long crossings: see ships from Portsmouth for what is on board.
Does the ferry arrive in Bilbao itself?
It docks at Zierbena, a short drive from central Bilbao, not right in the city centre.
Is this route only for cars?
No, foot passengers can travel too, and it is much the cheaper way to cross, though most people take this route with a vehicle given how far it goes. See the prices page for what changes with a car.
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