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1. Port Saplaya

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Just outside of Valencia you’ll find a town called Port Saplaya, but due to its similarity to Venice, Italy, it has earned the nickname little Venice. And that’s a pretty accurate description of what it is. Little colourful houses lined up around a canal, as well as a beautiful sandy beach just across the road. Around the canal you’ll find a variety of bars and restaurants, where you can sit down and take in the views. The walk through the whole canal can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or two, depending on how much you stop. We stopped for photos approximately every 5 minutes, so it took us a while to get through haha. I loved that it isn’t the typical touristy place, with souvenir stores and aggressive sales people on every corner.

I wasn’t really expecting it to look a whole lot like Venice, but you can definitely see why it’s called little Venice. It sure managed to make me feel like I was in Italy for a day. One of my top picks for day trips from Valencia!

How to get there: By car/taxi or take a local bus to Patacona and from there it’s about 10-15 minutes walk to Port Saplaya. You can also take a metrobus (line 112) that will take you all the way to Port Saplaya in approximately 40 minutes.

2. Montanejos

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Montanejos is a mountainous village, located inland just over an hour drive from Valencia. Known for both its hot springs and beautiful landscapes, it makes for an ideal destination whether you’re looking to have an active day and do some hiking or just want to sit back and relax. I must admit, out of these 8 amazing day trips from Valencia, this might be my favourite!

You can choose from plenty of hiking trails that will take you through all sorts of beautiful scenery and viewpoints. The trails are clearly marked at the beginning, however we found ourselves a bit lost after starting the trail, as it wasn’t clearly marked after the starting point. Maybe we just weren’t paying enough attention, but we just ended up just taking our own way back. I would suggest that when you arrive, you mark the car park location on your google maps app, so that you’ll easily find your way back.

The main attraction in Montanejos is probably Fuente de los Baños, natural pools where you can swim in crystal clear water. Even though there are plenty of signs stating the temperature stays at 25 degress throughout the year, it felt colder but was warm enough to get in. This was around 5pm so I could believe that the temperature does reach those 25 degress in the middle of the day. A part from swimming, there is plenty of space to lay down and chill. It makes for a fun alternative to relaxing on the beach, with different types of views

Food options are limited so I’d recommend bringing some snacks.

You can visit Montanejos all year round, however it does get incredibly crowded during July and August, especially on weekends. The best time to visit is during the spring months or in September.

How to get there: Montanejos can only be reached by car, no regular public transport is available. You’ll need to have a car or you can go for a day trip. Click here to compare rental car prices of all the major car rental agencies!

3. Peñíscola

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Peñíscola has been named the most beautiful village in Spain, and it’s not hard to see why. A seaside historic town and a beautiful sandy beach. During the summer it’s a popular tourist destination, but remains pretty quiet throughout the rest of the year. The beach is lined with hotels and resorts, as well as restaurants, which for the most part were closed when we visited in October.Walking through the cobble stone streets of the old town will make you feel like you’re wandering through a Greece village. While wandering through the old town, make sure to visit the Peñíscola Castle (Castillo de Peñíscola), which is located on a large cliff overlooking the coast.

How to get there: By an Alsa bus or a train to Benicarló, from there it’s about a 10 minute taxi ride to Peñíscola.

4. Benicassim

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Benicassim is a beach town located about an hour north of Valencia. It’s best known for its long stretches of sandy beaches and the Festival Internacional de Benicassim, an indie music festival that takes place every summer. But being a sucker for water parks, I would say my favourite activity in Benicassim is the Aquarama water park. Pretty much a guaranteed way to have a fun day. They have tons of rides, some kinda scary, some not at all scary, and everything in between. A part from going on the slides, you must try the waffles there! Thank me later Try to visit during the week if you possibly can, as it can get very crowded during weekends and as such you can find yourself waiting in a line for up to 30 minutes for some of the slides. It’s possible to purchase an afternoon pass, which will allow you to visit from 3pm until close, and I’d say that’s enough time, especially on weekdays. With that said, you could absolutely spend a whole day there

How to get there: There is a direct train from Valencia to Benicassim.

5. Calpe

Once a fishing village, Calpe is now one of the most popular tourist destinations on Costa Blanca. Calpe is home to the famous landmark Peñon de Ifach, or rock of Ifach, a massive rock which has become an icon of the Costa Blanca. Climbing the 332m high rock is possible, and it’s in fact a very popular hike. Reaching the summit is pretty challenging and will take about an hour and a half, but will reward you with an incredible view of the Mediterranean and the beaches on both sides. A part from the rock and the beautiful sandy beaches, interesting things to do in Calpe include visiting the old town, taking a walk down Calle Puchalt (Puchalt Street), eating at one of the many restaurants next to the beach and visiting Las Salinas de Calpe, where you can spot pink flamingos, among other things.

How to get there: You can take an Alsa bus, the journey takes about 3 hours

6. Altea

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Altea is an incredibly charming town situated on the Costa Blanca, not far from Calpe. The picturesque old town is the heart of the town and features white houses and narrow streets. If that’s not enough to convince you – being located on a hill, you will also have gorgeous panoramic views of the coastline from the many viewpoints throughout the old town. You will find plenty of shops and restaurants, which in the summer months can become pretty packed with tourists, especially during late July and August. Altea also has a beautiful beach as well as a beach promenade which is lined with cafés, restaurants and some shops.

How to get there: Alsa has a direct bus between Valencia and Altea, the journey takes around 4 hours

7. Denia

Denia is a large coastal town with a Spanish feel to it, located at the Northern end of Costa Blanca. The main sight is the Denia castle, which was originally an Arab fortress. My favourite thing about Denia is the marina, which offers beautiful view of the mountains, the town and the Mediterranean. The restaurant Mala Vita is located on the marina, and offers incredible views of both the sea and the mountains. It’s worth mentioning that Denia is a thriving ferry port and ferries to Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca depart from there.

How to get there: Denia is easily reachable by Alsa bus, the journey takes just under two hours.

8. Pinedo

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Pinedo, a laid-back beach town only a short ride from Valencia, is a great choice if you want to get away from the hustle of the city for a day. Being only a 10 minute car ride away from Valencia, it’s perfect for when you want to have a beach day away from the city without having to spend a lot of time commuting. In Pinedo you will find plenty of restaurants along the beach, two small supermarkets as well as some cafés. The main beach, Playa de Pinedo, can feel pretty touristy, so walk a little further to Playa Autocine, which is gorgeous and a lot less touristy! It’s actually one of the best beach I’ve been to in Spain.

How to get there: Take the local bus (line 24 or 25) to Pinedo which take about 30 minutes, from there it’s about 10 minute walk to Playa Autocine.

Why not finish off one of your days in Valencia with a sunset boat tour & some wine?

I hope this post was helpful and that you will get to experience some of these 8 amazing day trips you can do from Valencia! If you want to get notified when I publish new blog posts, simply click the red bell in the lower right corner or follow me on Instagram where I usually announce new posts

If you are planning a trip to Spain, you might also want to check out:

• Best coffee shops in Madrid
• How to get around Spain
• Best hostels in Spain
• Most Instagrammable places in Valencia
• Best things to do in Granada
• How to find apartments to rent in Valencia
• Best cafés to work from in Valencia

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What a normal day looks like

Although no two days are the same, a typical day for me in Valencia looks something like this. I usually wake up around 9 by the sun shining into my room. Getting up fast is really not my thing. It takes me at least 15 minutes to actually get up haha. Which feels so much better than waking up to an alarm and having to jump out of bed and rush to work :)) By that time my roommate is already off to work so I have the apartment to myself. I don’t really like to talk to people before I’ve had my coffee and had a moment to properly wake up so this works out just fine lol. So obviously I start by making some coffee & usually have some kind of rice cracker thing with hummus/avocado & dates. Then I spend about an hour having breakfast and just chilling, reading up on news related to the stock market, watching Friends, pinning to my new Pinterest account that I made for my presets. I’ve never been very active on Pinterest so I’m not quite sure what I’m doing, but at least I’m doing something haha.

Around 10.30, when I have managed to properly wake up, I usually head to the gym. It takes me about 5 minutes to bike there, love how easy it is to get around here. The program I have at the gym takes me about 1,5 hours, although it often takes me longer if I stay on my phone too much, or if there is something “happening” on the stock marketing and I need to be watching it closely and buying/selling. When I get back home I make a smoothie bowl (so goood)- well except for the month or so my blender was being repaired. It broke down sometime in May, and just like pretty much everything in Spain, it took a ridiculously long time for no apparent reason, but eventually it got done :)))

Then it really just depends on what I feel like and what day is what I do after getting back from the gym. Sometimes I meet up with someone at a café, either to “work” or just to chill. Other days I go the beach or to the centre. Always watching the stock market from my phone though haha. It’s not uncommon that I’ll be walking somewhere with someone and then I’ll be like ah we need to stop for a moment I need to buy/sell this one stock the price just went up/down. Then other days I just stay home and maybe work on this blog or procrastinate or whatever. I’m not gonna make this sound like I’m always super productive and using my time wisely – some days it’s 6pm and I’m just like wow where did this day go?! What happened to 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock and all the other o’clocks :)))

A lot of my friends here work during the day so often we’ll meet up in the afternoon for a drink or dinner or something. Going out for drinks here is sooo cheap it’s almost ridiculous haha, especially when compared to Iceland where you pay about 8-10 euros for a beer lol. A beer or a cider here is about 2 euros and cocktails around 5-8 euros. Then I go to the supermarket around 3 times a day for no good reason haha. I don’t know why I just always forget something or I get a random craving and/or I can’t decide what I wanna eat until the moment I’m gonna eat. I’m a mess. I try to go to sleep no later than midnight but well, doesn’t always happen. Sometimes I stay on my phone until I start dropping it on my face repeatedly. Luckily I’ve never happened to be two years deep into someone’s instagram feed and accidentally liked a family christmas photo from years ago :))) But yeah that point it’s really time to go to sleep lol.

The not normal days

So that was pretty much what an average day has been like. But other days I’ve been out exploring – doing day trips, weekend trips, beach days and stuff like that. And I gotta say that Spain really keeps surprising me. Even though I’ve been to Spain probably about 20 times and have visited all the major cities as well as some smaller ones, there is so much I haven’t seen. Montanejos was probably the one that surprised me the most, it reminded me of Switzerland at time while other parts looked a lot like Asia!

Montanejos

So in June I went on a day trip to Montanejos with a few other people & lots of dogs!! A dream :)) It’s about 1,5 hour drive from Valencia, however there are no buses or trains that go there – but luckily one of my friend has a car so off we went! It’s a pretty big area, with lots of hiking trails and a hot spring where you can go for a swim. We followed one of the hiking trails, or well we did our best to Like many other things in Spain, it was not very clearly marked and we ended up getting lost several times. It wasn’t all bad though cause the views where so worth it. But we walked a looot and I ended up having to rest throughout the next day haha.

Enjoying some beach time

I’ve probably had a few people’s share of beach time this summer. It’s one of the privileges of spending a summer in Valencia. We usually just go to the beach here in Valencia, which is actually a pretty nice one. Surprisingly, it’s a lot better than the beach in Barcelona, in my opinion. It does get pretty crowded, especially on weekends, but you can still manage to find a pretty quiet spot. During the middle of the day it gets very very hot, so we normally try to go around 3pm, stay for a few hours and then grab a drink or two before heading back.

Eating (tacos) & drinking (mostly Aperol)

I would say wine & dine, except I don’t really drink wine. And also it just sounds a little fancier than what I’ve been doing. I’m not really a fan of fancy food. The portions are usually tiny, and more importantly, I don’t know what half the stuff on the menu is Anyway. I’ve been going out for food and/or drinks pretty frequently. Aperol being my number one choice for a drink. I will also never say no to tacos

Visiting Málaga

At the end of June I went to Málaga with one of my friends. Originally we were only planning to go to Granada, but as it turned out, our only realistic option to get to Granada was to fly to Málaga, we figured we might as well spend a day or two there. And I’m so glad we did.

We only had one and a half day in Málaga, but I feel like we managed to do quite a lot. Málaga is not to big and it’s easy to explore by foot. It’s a “typical” Spanish city, with a bit of Mediterranean vibes mixed with some Andalucian/Moroccan style architecture.

I also loved roaming around the historical centre. Just like other cities in Spain, it’s very cute & colourful – with plenty of cafés and terraces to sit down and enjoy the views.

Granada

After spending two nights in Málaga, we jumped on a bus and headed to our next stop, Granada! A city that has been on my bucket list for far too long! Granada is mostly famous for the Alhambra – a palace constructed a very long time ago, between 1238-1538 to be exact The Alhambra was the main reason I wanted to visit Granada, which I think you’ll understand once you see what it looks like!

A part from visiting the Alhambra, we walked around the city a whole lot, admiring the Alhambra from different angles In the Albaicin neighbourhood, there are a variety of cafés and restaurants with terraces that offer views of the Alhambra. I literally could have spent days just hanging out at all of them and taking in the views!

Day trips to Pinedo

One of the best things about spending a summer in Valencia is Pinedo! A very cute and pretty quiet beach town not too far from Valencia. Although it’s only a 10 minute drive there, it actually takes about 45 minutes by public transport. I have close to no experience with public transport within Valencia as I bike or walk everywhere, but this bus never arrives on time. It can be up to 30 minute late for no clear reason, so that’s kinda the only drawback about visiting Pinedo But it’s such a pretty beach, and doesn’t even get crowded on weekends. I will add that this isn’t the main beach in Pinedo, that one is indeed very touristy, this one is called Playa Autocine and is much prettier! Actually one of the best beach I’ve been to in Spain. Usually we bring picnic and just chill on the beach, but there are also a few restaurant in Pinedo.

Museums

I’m honestly really pushing by using the plural. I have visited two, that it is if you count both the one we visited mostly for the pretty pink court yard and another one that wasn’t really a museum, but the ruins of the “old Valencia”. So yeah I guess museums is kinda stretching it, but I think I’ll just go with it

Day trip to Port Saplaya “little Venice”

So the actual Venice is of course in Italy, but there is a “little Venice” just outside of Valencia. It’s called Port Saplaya, but due to its similarity to Venice, it’s often referred to as little Venice. We went on a day trip there at the end of May, it was quite a struggle to get there by public transport, but eventually we made it haha. Someone asked me afterwards why we didn’t just take a taxi, and honestly we didn’t even think about it, I’m just not used to taking taxis so often I forget they exist haha I wasn’t really expecting it to look a whole lot like Venice, but you can definitely see why it’s called little Venice. It sure managed to make me feel like I was in Italy for a day

Chilling in the park

So in Valencia we have this giant park, that runs throughout the city. It’s huge – 9km long to be exact. Clearly it has lots of greeneries, palm trees, with views of the city, bike paths, cafés, all of it. A lot of people go there for running.I do not. I go there all the time to sunbath, chill, have a picnic, go for drinks, meeting doggos and whatnot. Usually I try to sit close to someone with a cute dog, not so close that it’s very obvious, but close enough so the dog can come over to me so I can pet him

Benicassim & water park – a must when spending a summer in Valencia

Spending a summer in Valencia wouldn’t be complete without going to a water park! When my friend told me that there was a water park about an hour away from Valencia, I knew I had to visit. I hadn’t been to one in years so I was already way too excited about it haha. Then we finally found a day to go there, and boiii was it fun. After spending the day there I came to the conclusion that I should spend more time in water parks and less time not in water parks :)))

So this is pretty much what my summer has been like! It’s been one of the best summer I’ve had, filled with lots of summer-y things I’m writing this in past tense because I’m actually headed to Iceland in the first week of August, so who knows if it will be summer there haha. You really can’t count on it. But I hope so! As for the rest of the year, I have no concrete plans and have no idea where I will be. My life is kind of an uncertain mess haha. But I feel like that’s what makes it exciting. People keep telling me things like “oh I can’t wait to see where you end up next” and I’m like “yeah me too” cause I honestly don’t know. Since Asia and Australia are still out of the picture, I figure I’ll be somewhere in Europe. Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Greece and Malta are some of the countries that are on my list. Although I’ve been to all of them except Greece, I feel like there is so much I haven’t seen. As an Icelandic passport holder, traveling in Europe is very easy and I don’t need a visa or anything like that. Then I might just as well visit Mexico or Colombia, I’ve been dying to go back there. Who knows.

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