Here's the deal: Buy your tickets online beforehand and you'll be golden. Otherwise, be ready for…read morechaos. It's a large area with lots of slots, so be ready. It's best to avoid going inside the building and wait it out outside until your bus arrives. After that, you'll be okay. They have some vending machines if you want a snack, but you'll be better off going across the street to grab some food if you're hungry. In all, take it all in and enjoy mingling with people from all over the place. I even saw a mariachi at one of the vending machines! It felt like home.

Best to buy your bus ticket online beforehand because you have to find the building which is where…read morethe tourist info office is to buy a ticket before boarding the bus because not all destinations are available electronically on site. The tourist info booth is two doors down from the actual place to buy the tickets. Make sure you have enough euro cash on you because not all bus companies accept credit card. They also stop selling tickets for the bus ten minutes before it leaves. There is a cafeteria nearby and a candy store in case you need to kill time. Not the cleanest place but not the dirtiest I have been in. Their bus ticketing system isn't efficient.

I arrived in Bilbao on the bus and it was just an easy transfer from the bus station to the metro…read morestation. The entire walk was indoors in an climate controlled environment. The signs were plentiful and well set up. I had a public transportation card from Vitoria, which I was able to use in the Bilbao metro and bus system.. All the Basque country networks are now linked so all cities accept each other's transportation cards. The map made it easy for me to find out which direction to take and where to get off. Easy, clean and frequent.

Taking public transport in a foreign country especially when you don't speak the language can be…read moreintimidating. Thankfully not an issue with the metro here. Very easy to follow and took us everywhere we needed to go without much of a fuss. Very clean and on time as well. I wish I could take the metro back to San Francisco with me.