Transport tips, Weather & When to come

Weather and When to come

Now, you already know that Valencia basks in 320 days of sunlight a year, however let’s get real about the actual temperatures because, as someone from the UK, I know that sunny days and blue skies DO NOT always mean warmth.

Thanks to good old climate change, for the last 3 years that I’ve lived here, each season has been unpredictable.

So let’s break it down:

June - mid September - Easy one. Hot, insanely humid and can be overwhelming.

Late September - Early December - Still hot with less humidity and getting cooler in the evenings and colder temperatures and windy by mid November.

Mid December - February - The coldest it’ll get. My first year here I really felt the cold but January 2024 was the mildest I’ve ever experienced. With an average low of 9°C (48°F).

March - April - This can vary between excessively rainy or bright and sunny but it’s always blustery and can be chilly

May - I’m writing this in May so this is the most accurate reflection I can give. This May has been a dream, the weather has been perfect, each day it gets a little warmer although the early mornings and evenings still require a light jacket.

So a bit of a mix of weather but whenever you come, it’s almost guaranteed to at least be clear skies and sun!

Las Fallas

One thing to think about if you’re planning a trip, or moving over is the Fallas, which I will write about in a future blog, but the festival of the year here in Valencia ‘Las Fallas’ is a crazy experience and it brings in around 3 million tourists to the city! Festivities usually start around the 1st March and last until the 19th, with the third weekend of March being the most explosive (literally!)

So normally prices go up in the hotel and tourist rentals and it’s practically impossible to move about the city centre in any form of transport so you will certainly get your steps in! The city more than triples in size so it takes longer to get around just to keep in mind when you are going to and from the train station or airport!

Transport tips

Valencia has plenty of options for ways to get around the city. An ever expanding metro, bike lanes on the majority of the streets, rentable bikes and moped, reasonably priced taxis and buses galore.

Airport:

One of the best features a city can have is a close by easily accessible airport, and guess what, Valencia has it. With a metro line right under the airport with only one track, so no chance of getting on the wrong train, the green line, number 5 takes you to the city centre in about 20 mins.The line runs from about 05:30 to 23:30, unfortunately the only way of getting there in the early hours of the morning is by taxi which usually costs about 25-30€.

Taxis:

I always recommend to use the normal white city taxis as they are often very reasonably priced and there are lots of taxi ranks around the main parts of the city, however they will stop for you anywhere, and I mean anywhere. There are other options like uber and cabify but from my experience are generally more expensive. In any case taxis are really easy to come by, apart from in the early hours at the weekend of course!

Metro and Buses:

Both are pretty inexpensive if you just go journey to journey. There is an ever expanding metro that is extremely well connected to basically every corner and curve of the city. Buses are very frequent all over the city, however, make sure you have change as that’s all they accept. At the time of writing bus journeys cost 1.50€. HOWEVER, if you want to make your life easier there is the Transbono ticket that you buy from the ‘Estanco’ (tobacco shops) where you pay about 6€ for a plastic card with 10 journeys for either the metro or the bus! Super easy and affordable! There is also another option of the Tourist Card that you can purchase from tourist information (North Station or City hall) which includes a plethora of discounts, free entrances and transport for 24, 48 or 72 hours! Not bad!

Apart from all the transport, Valencia is a really easy walking city, as it is almost completely flat, so a day spent on foot in the old city can take you through many beautiful neighbourhoods, each with different style cafes and bars to stop at as you wander round!