What a trip to Bilbao costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.
Food, getting around and sights in Bilbao come to €53.00 – €72.00 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top.Prices reviewed: October 2026.
Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.
You still need, flights aside
€760 – €1,000
≈ $860 – $1,200 · rate of October 6, 2026
€54.00 – €74.00 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people
Expected
€760 – €1,000
Most trips land in here
Set aside
€1,000
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
€89.00
10% of the trip
Food€480 – €640
Getting around€41 – €170
Airport, both ways€20.00
Sights and activities€84 – €250
Lodging tax and odds and ends€30.00 – €53.00
Of that, in cash: €180 – €370
The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.
Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
Flights are not included.
You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles
What a day in Bilbao costs, by how you travel
Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.
Budget
€48.00 – €64.00 per person per day
Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, public transport and the odd paid sight.
FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
€34.00 – €46.00
Getting aroundPublic transport
€2.90 – €12.00
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
€3.00 – €9.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
€2.00 – €3.40
Mid-range
€53.00 – €72.00 per person per day
Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.
FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
€34.00 – €46.00
Getting aroundPublic transport
€2.90 – €12.00
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
€6.00 – €18.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
€2.10 – €3.80
Comfort
€91 – €120 per person per day
The best food level we can price, a taxi when it helps, two paid sights a day.
FoodRestaurants most of the time
€63.00 – €70.00
Getting aroundPublic transport, and a taxi now and then
€4.80 – €14.00
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
€12.00 – €36.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
€4.00 – €6.00
A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.
By length of trip
How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Bilbao
Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.
Days
Budget
Mid-range
Comfort
3
€150 – €200 €51.00 – €68.00 a day
€170 – €230 €56.00 – €75.00 a day
€280 – €360 €95 – €120 a day
5
€250 – €330 €50.00 – €66.00 a day
€270 – €370 €55.00 – €74.00 a day
€470 – €600 €93 – €120 a day
7
€350 – €460 €49.00 – €66.00 a day
€380 – €510 €54.00 – €74.00 a day
€650 – €840 €93 – €120 a day
10
€490 – €650 €49.00 – €65.00 a day
€540 – €730 €54.00 – €73.00 a day
€920 – €1,200 €92 – €120 a day
14
€680 – €910 €49.00 – €65.00 a day
€750 – €1,000 €53.00 – €73.00 a day
€1,300 – €1,700 €92 – €120 a day
Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.
Prices
What things cost in Bilbao
Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.
What
Price
Source
Eating and drinking
Ham croquettes (Joselito), La Viña del Ensanche
€8.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy sauce), La Viña del Ensanche
€10.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Russian salad (ensaladilla), La Viña del Ensanche
€12.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Iberian ham croquettes, El Globo
€14.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Txistorra sausage cooked in txakoli, El Globo
€14.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Spider crab Russian salad, El Globo
€14.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Iberian pork cheek with mashed potato, La Viña del Ensanche
€16.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Grilled chicken with yellow pepper purée, La Viña del Ensanche
€16.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Baby squid with onions and piparra peppers, El Globo
€20.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Bermeo tuna with teriyaki sauce, El Globo
€21.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Grilled hake with vegetables in Biscay sauce, La Viña del Ensanche
€22.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Entrecôte with roasted red peppers and potatoes, El Globo
€24.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Getting around
Bilbobus (city bus), one trip with the Barik card
€0.73
From the sourceOct 2026
Metro Bilbao, one zone, single ticket
€2.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Bilbobus (city bus), single ticket bought on board
€1.70
From the sourceOct 2026
Metro Bilbao, one zone, with the Barik card
€1.02
From the sourceOct 2026
Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting time
€7.33
From the sourceOct 2026
Bizkaibus A3247, Bilbao – airport, single ticket
€5.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Sights
Artxanda funicular, return ticket
€6.00
From the sourceOct 2026
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, adult (under 18 free)
€18.00
From the sourceOct 2026
From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.
What each food level is made of
A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Ham croquettes (Joselito), La Viña del Ensanche + Patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy sauce), La Viña del Ensanche + Iberian pork cheek with mashed potato, La Viña del Ensanche (€34.00) to Russian salad (ensaladilla), La Viña del Ensanche + Txistorra sausage cooked in txakoli, El Globo + Baby squid with onions and piparra peppers, El Globo (€46.00).
Restaurants most of the time
From Russian salad (ensaladilla), La Viña del Ensanche + Grilled chicken with yellow pepper purée, La Viña del Ensanche + Iberian ham croquettes, El Globo + Bermeo tuna with teriyaki sauce, El Globo (€63.00) to Patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy sauce), La Viña del Ensanche + Grilled hake with vegetables in Biscay sauce, La Viña del Ensanche + Spider crab Russian salad, El Globo + Entrecôte with roasted red peppers and potatoes, El Globo (€70.00).
Accommodation
What the night costs, and the tax on top
There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.
Lodging tax
From January 1, 2027
Five stars: €4.50 – €6.50 per person per night
Tourist flat, whole or by rooms: €4.50 – €6.50 per person per night
Four stars: €3.50 – €5.50 per person per night
Three stars: €1.50 – €3.50 per person per night
Tourist apartments (apartment building): €1.50 – €3.50 per person per night
Two stars: €1.00 – €2.50 per person per night
One star, guest house, hostel, campsite or rural house: €0.75 – €1.75 per person per night
For seven days, €380 – €510 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
How much money do you need for 3 days in Bilbao?
For 3 days, €170 – €230 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
What is a realistic daily budget in Bilbao?
Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: €48.00 – €64.00 on the “Budget” style, €53.00 – €72.00 on the “Mid-range” style, and €91 – €120 on the “Comfort” style.
Can you travel to Bilbao on a budget?
The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: €48.00 – €64.00 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, public transport and the odd paid sight.
How much does food cost in Bilbao?
From €34.00 per person per day (“Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner”) to €70.00 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.
How much does transport cost in Bilbao?
A ride on public transport costs €0.73 – €2.00. “Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting time”: €7.33.
Is there a lodging tax in Bilbao?
Yes: €0.75 – €6.50 per person per night, depending on the category of the accommodation. Only the first 6 nights are charged. Under-18s don't pay. It is charged from January 1, 2027; until then, it is not.
How much cash should you carry in Bilbao?
For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about €88 – €190 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.
Is it better to use cash or card in Bilbao?
By card: in general.
Do you tip in Bilbao?
Restaurants: customary. Bars and cafés: customary. Hotels: customary. Taxis: customary.
Sources
Where every figure comes from
Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: October 2026.
This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.
Joru works out the budget of your itinerary day by day and sets it against what you actually spend, by category and with the exchange rate. On your phone, with no account.
