Catch some rays at these Valencia beaches
Valencia, Spain's third largest city, is surrounded by beaches. Well, OK, that's not technically true, otherwise it would be an island, but it does have a lot of beaches within easy reach. The city's own beach isn't really walking distance from the city. If you have to take a bus anyway, what's the difference between a ten-minute ride to the beach in Valencia and a 25-minute one to a reallygood one?
Valencia's Local Beach
Take a bus (no. 19) from Plaza de la Reina to Playa de la Malvarrosa. Playa de las Arenas is a short walk from Malvarrosa and is a little nicer.
Valencia's Bus Turistic - The Beach Bus!
Valencia's Bus Turistic will take you to the city beach as well as to El Saler beach. It's a hop-on-hop-off service, so it will allow you to explore all of Valencia as much as you like for a whole day, at your own pace. Read more about the Valencia Bus Turistic.
Paella and Playa: Eating at the Beach in Valencia
Paella, a Valencian resident once told me, is eaten at home. Therefore more restaurants that serve it are aimed at tourists. Except, she said, when you go to the beach. Eating paella at a beach-side restaurant is a tradition in Valencia, which means you'll find locals who know what's what if you eat near one of these beaches. And remember, true Valencian paella has no seafood in it!
Read more about Paella in Spain.
Beaches Less Than One Hour from Valencia
- El Saler
The nearest good beach to Valencia, close to the Albufera Natural Park, the home of paella! There are several paella restaurants on or near El Saler beach, including La Dehesa and Casa Carmina. - Cullera
A popular and convenient beach town with a water park and a pirate's cave! Easily accessible by Cercanias train from Valencia Train Station. One Cullera restaurant, Casa Picanterra, came second in Spain in a recent international paella competition! - El Puig
The grand monastery in El Puig makes a great break from all that exhausting sunbathing! - Sagunto
More nice beaches, this time with a 2,000 year old Roman amphitheatre.
Beaches More Than One Hour from Valencia
- Javea (Xabia)
Javea (or Xabia in Valencian) is a beautiful beach that also has a nice old town to go with it. - Denia
A bit bigger than most of the towns listed here, Denia has a good beach and some good hiking trails to work off the ice creams. - Gandia
A nice beach town where, as a foreigner, you might actually be in a minority.
Beaches to Avoid
- Benidorm
Benidorm is the budget-priced package holiday of choice for lager-louts from throughout Europe. Despite reputedly having more hotel beds than anywhere in Europe after Paris and London, most of them are being slept in by hungover Brits and Germans on package deals so the options are limited for independent travelers.
Having said that, I remember really enjoying the Aqualandia waterpark in Benidorm when I was about ten years old!
