Port accessThe shipping company, which connects the Port of Bilbao with the UK and Ireland, has won the award in the Wine Tourism Services category
The shipping company Brittany Ferries has won an award at the Best Of Wine Tourism Awards gala organised by the Bilbao-Rioja Great Wine Capitals Global Network, held at the headquarters of Bodegas Bilbaínas in Haro, La Rioja.
Organised by the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce alongside the Chambers of Álava and La Rioja, Bilbao City Council and the Regulatory Council of the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja, these awards are designed to recognise companies that combine the best of tourism and wine, offering top-quality products and services in Álava, Bizkaia and La Rioja.
The jury awarded Brittany Ferries the prize in the Wine Tourism Services category for operating as a link between the United Kingdom and Ireland and Bilbao-Rioja, and more specifically for promoting their wine destinations and main tourist, gastronomic, wine, artistic and cultural attractions among passengers disembarking at the Port of Bilbao by providing them with information and encouragement, through its online holiday planner, to enjoy the tourism and wine experience of Bilbao-Rioja. With direct connections between Bilbao and the ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth in the UK and Rosslare in Ireland, Brittany Ferries brings thousands of travellers together, providing them with eco-friendly transport that guarantees its commitments through Green Marine Europe certification.
‘Rioja Wine Experience’
Through an agreement signed with the Regulatory Council of the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja (DOCa), Brittany Ferries offers a holiday package on the company’s two cruise ferries between the Port of Bilbao and the United Kingdom and Ireland, enabling tourists to spend four days (flexibly and in their own vehicle) visiting some of the most emblematic towns and wineries of the region. The aim is to promote the DOCa’s tourist offer in both countries and to strengthen commercial links with consumers in these markets, which are essential for Rioja.
Two sailings to Ireland and the United Kingdom
The Salamanca ferry connects the Port of Bilbao with Ireland twice a week: on Thursdays, departing at 18:00 and arriving at the port of Rosslare at 20:30 on Friday, and on Sundays, departing at 11:00 and arriving at 14:30 on Monday.
In turn, from 25 March through to the end of October, the Galicia will connect the Port of Bilbao with the English city of Portsmouth twice a week: on Tuesdays and Saturdays, departing at 13:00 and arriving in the United Kingdom at 20:30/20:45 the following day.
In 2024, 147 ferries belonging to the Brittany Ferries company called at the Port of Bilbao, with a total of 144,455 passengers on board.
