Tickets are purchased from the machines only which are in
Spanish and English and are very easy to use. They always work,
always give change, they take coins or notes. They are operated
by just touch screen. You purchase single or return tickets but
if you think you will use it a few times then the creditans
(tickets for multi-use) are the best value. They come in 5, 10,
15 and 20 euros. Each time you use it the price is clocked up on
the back so you always know how much credit you have left.
The trains and stations are spotless and very safe. The arrival
times and destinations are clearly shown on the platforms. There
are usually 2 exits from each station, it's useful if you know
where you want to exit at but in most cases the two exits are
never very far from each other above ground anyway.
Trains run from early morning to 11pm Sunday to Thursday. On Fridays they run until 2am (plans to make it all night ). On Saturdays they run 24 hours. In peak hours the trains come every few minutes, and off peak you will never wait more than 10 minutes and usually less.
The two lines are as follows:
Line one goes south to Extebarri and north to Plentzia.
Line two travels the same route until San Ignazio where it
branches off to Sestao.
So Lines one and two will have Extebarri as their southern
destination and Plentzia OR Sestao for the northern destination
(see map below).
If you are just travelling around the centre then you can take
either line for all stops north or south. If you want to go to
the beach then head off to Plentzia, a very nice village and
beach. Also Sopelana has some lovely beaches. More within
the city, Areeta, Algorta and Gexto will also get you to the
seaside.
For more information see the Metro Bilbao Website.
