sopelana beach

Beautiful beach, you can watch the tide change from the comfort of a bar on the hill behind. Showers as you come off the sand. Tram ride from Bilbao.

Great surf and very safe beach with very active Lifeguards, making sure people swim between the designated flags.

Apparently this is the best beach in Bilbao, according to other reviews, but I can't attest to that, as it was the only beach I visited in Bilbao. Sopelana (or Sopela according to some signs) is the third from last stop on the Bilbao metro towards Plentzia. The beach is not that accessible from the station. It's possible to take a bus (ask around for the bus stop), but we walked. With 2 children it took about 25 minutes to get out of the residential area and to the beach. It's a tough walk if you're carrying things - you need to negotiate 2 hills, a bridge over a motorway, and steep steps down to the beach.The beach itself was not crowded (we visited at 2 pm on a Monday afternoon), and the tide was out. The sand is fairly coarse but great for building sandcastles. There were a fair number of large rockpools for kids to play in. I wouldn't recommend venturing into the surf with children, as it was quite strong, and even as an adult I feared that the undertow would whisk me out to sea if I wasn't careful. The water was fairly cold and refreshing though.It's best to pitch your picnic site farther away from the cliff faces, as some of them are quite crumbly and there's a risk of rock falls. Having said that, the life guard post is right underneath a rock face, and presumably they'd know if there was a risk.After a couple of hours of messing around in the sand, the sea and the rockpools, we decided to clean up and head for home. There are open showers on the rock face above the beach (strong jets, little children be careful) and a changing room free for public use. The facilities are basic but adequate.We ended up at a cerveceria above the beach to refresh ourselves, then took the bus back to the station. It's a nice walk but just a little too hot in the Spanish afternoon sunshine.

We stayed for 1 week. Two couples. Very good accommodation and the location was just great for getting to Bilboa and friends in Portugalete. Just a few miles to the motorway. Good restaurants in Sopelana. We had a kettle and coffee maker fail during our stay and they were replaced the same day. Such a good service. We highly recommend this property. Would be difficult for people with walking difficulties (no lift). We would definitely stay here again.

The beach is very large, very clean and has good services. Junior surfing schools are nice to watch. Parking is limited, but free if you agree to walk 0,5 - 1 km.

My husband and I were in looking for a beach where we could set up our small barbecue and cook our dinner - but we knew that it would be a bit difficult on the beach itself - so completely by chance we ended up on this beach! What a find!We arrived to find this stunning cliff overlooking the beach with the sea covered by people surfing! So beautiful! We set up our barbecue on top of the cliff overlooking the beach and we had no problem at all! Afterwards we walked down to the beach to find nudist and non-nudists enjoying the beach in perfect harmony. There is no shade on the beach itself - so we took our little Igloo. The sea is a bit lethal there (hence the surfists) - so it is not ideal for kids, although there are life guards on the beach at all times.On top of the cliff there is a green area where people go running up and down this hill - so scenic! And close by there very nice post-surf bars that well worth a visit!

Very big and beautiful sandy beach; you can walk all along if the tide is not too high. Be careful with the sea if there is a red flag!

It's the best beach near Bilbao. You can go there sunbathing, bathing, surfing, skite surfing, parapenting... There is also place for nudists.

The small city of Sopelana, located some 30 minutes with metro outside Bilbao in the Basque country, offers two large beaches to its visitors. Unlike the beaches of southern Spain, the Sopelana beaches are large and very much preserved in touch with nature. This means little commercial activity on the beach itself (just a little bar) and no gigantic hotels right on the beach. The two main beaches of Sopelana, Barinatxe and Arrietara, have different kinds of visitors. Barinatxe is a partly nude beach (clothing optional) and frequented by a younger crowd. Arrietara is a family oriented beach, with lots of young families visiting all the week through. Both beaches, and also the beach of Meñakoz, are loved by surfers from all over the world for the year-round good surfing conditions.

Seas surfer, vayas en familia, en pareja o con grupo de amigos, en Sope tienes el plan que necesites. Don't even miss it !

es una playa preciosa, a la que se puede llegar andando desde la estacion de metro en 15 minutos o en bus que te coje en las cercanias del metro y te deja a pie de playa

Hemos pasado unos días en Navidades en Bilbao y como fuimos con nuestra perra, buscamos un sitio donde poder ir con ella. Vimos que en esta playa estaba permitido llevar perros desde el 1 de noviembre hasta Abril con lo que alla fuimos. Se puede aparcar bien y tras bajar una cuestecilla llegas a la playa en la que hay tambien una escuela de surf y siempre se encontrará a alguién surfeando, además la gente aprovecha pra jugar al futbol, frisbee, andar, correr o pasear a los perros, respetandose unos a otros. Nuestra perra lo pasó genial y nosotros también

Playas por excelencia de la zona norte para la práctica del surf, buenas olas,buen ambiente,hay para todos los gustos familiar,juvenil,nudismo.Buenos chiringuitos y vistas desde sus terrazas.

La playa de Barinatxe, o la Salvaje como popularmente es conocida, es una magnifica playa de arena dorada, equipada con duchas, socorristas, txiringuito...etc en verano, en la que hay dos accesos; escaleras y rampa. Es una playa amplia donde díficilmente hay problemas de saturación que te obliguen a compartir toalla con tus vecinos/as aunque quién sabe si eso es lo que se busca. A lo largo de la playa se puede practicar el nudismo sin ningún problema y en perfecta armonía, lo cual es un grado de consolidación del mismo. Es abierta al mar, y es peligroso el baño por las corrientes que se forman especialmente en las zonas más mansas en bajamar. Durante la bajamar se pueden recorrer varios kms de flysch que dejan entrever las rocas en estado puro, y se puede pasar andando a la playa contigua de Sopelana ( Arrietara ). La sensación de integración con la naturaleza es muy alta porque debido a que está encajada entre acantilados no se divisa ninguna construcción. Es una de las mejores playas de la zona, y destaca también por sus variadas zonas para hacer surf; la batidora, la triangu....etc Una magnifica playa que no debes de perder de conocer.

La playa por excelencia del surf en Vizcaya,situada a unos 15 km de Bilbao,sin desmerecer a otras con tradición surfera como Baquio o la de Mundaca con su famosa ola. Bonita playa y tranquila aunque el mar tiene sus corrientes