In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The pier boat is €4 to €6 for about 40 minutes, with no booking and no set times, and it runs until sunset. EMT bus 24 or 25 takes under an hour from the centre and is free with the 24, 48 or 72-hour Tourist Card. Visit València’s own Albufera Tourist Bus is €22 (€15 for ages 5 to 12), Monday to Saturday, two hours in all; its boatmen do not speak English. The coach tours cost €39 to €75, more than either. Sunset is about 17:48 in mid-November and 21:30 in mid-June. Or book now: the guided electric boat ridead is from €4.90, and the Albufera tour with a boat ride, drink and sunsetad from €54.56 for 4 hours (GetYourGuide).
Getting there
About 10 km south of the centre · under an hour by bus
L’Albufera is a freshwater lagoon in a natural park, with rice fields around it and the village of El Palmar on its shore.
| Way | Price | Time | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMT bus 24 or 25 | €2.00 single; free with the 24, 48 or 72-hour Valencia Tourist Card | Under an hour | Bus 24 runs to El Palmar and bus 25 to El Perellonet, near the pier. Read the destination board |
| Visit València’s Albufera Tourist Bus | €22; €15 for ages 5 to 12; under 6 free | 2 hours in all, with a boat ride of about 30 minutes | Monday to Saturday, three departures a day (four in peak season). Non-refundable; a date change needs 48 hours’ notice |
| Visit València’s bus, boat and paella | €39; €32 for ages 7 to 16 | 4 to 6 hours | Leaves at 10:00 or 12:30 from the Aqua shopping centre, with lunch at La Sequiota in El Palmar |
| Visit València’s guided bike tour | €35 | 4 hours 30 minutes | Tuesday and Thursday at 09:30, with horchata and fartons; an English guide is available |
For the Racó de l’Olla visitor centre, get off at the “Pinars - Carretera del Palmar” stop on bus 24 or 25. The Tourist Card takes 15% off the adult Albufera Tourist Bus and 10% off the bike tour. Valencia public transport has the EMT fares, and the bike tours page compares the rides.
Tours worth paying for
Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price per adult. The park puts the pier boat at €4 to €6, so the boat-only listings below sell the same ride for the same money or a little more; what they add is a guide and a booked place.
| Tour | Length | From | Rating | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided electric boat ride, also at sunsetad | Not stated | €4.90 | 4.6 from 1,056 | The boat only; you travel to the pier yourself |
| Sunset and a visit to a barracaad | Not stated | €6.75 | 4.6 from 785 | A boat plus a barraca, a traditional thatched farmhouse |
| Albufera natural park with a sunset boat tourad | 4 hours | €39 | 4.7 from 498 | Coach from the city, a boat ride and the sunset |
| Albufera guided tour with a boat ride, drink and sunsetad | 4 hours | €54.56 | 4.5 from 835 | Coach, guide, boat and a drink |
| Boat ride, sunset and paella includedad | 4 hours | €74.76 | 4.7 from 58 | The coach tour with paella |
The coach tours cost €17 to €52 more than Visit València’s €22 bus, which also returns you to the city. Take a coach tour for the guide or the paella; take the bus or the pier boat to see the lake.
What to see
Go to the visitor centre in the morning, eat in El Palmar at lunch and take a boat in the afternoon or at sunset.
The boat on the lake
€4 to €6 · about 40 minutes · no booking
The boats are traditional albuferencs, leaving from municipal piers at Port del Saler, the Gola de El Pujol jetty, Port del Palmar and Port de Catarroja. Visit València says most trips leave from the Gola de Pujol, at Avinguda dels Pinars 89, and that the other piers are less crowded. The park asks you to check the price before you board. Sunset is the busiest time, and Visit València recommends booking ahead for it.
The bow of an albuferenc on L’Albufera at sunset. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Date | Sunset |
|---|---|
| 15 November | About 17:48 |
| 15 December | About 17:39 |
| 15 January | About 18:00 |
| 15 February | About 18:37 |
| 15 March | About 19:07 |
| 15 April | About 20:38 |
| 15 May | About 21:07 |
| 15 June | About 21:30 |
| 15 July | About 21:29 |
| 15 August | About 20:59 |
| 15 September | About 20:12 |
Times are Valencia clock time. The clocks go back on 25 October 2026 and forward on 28 March 2027.
El Palmar
Rice restaurants · lunchtime
The village is where Visit València says paella was invented. Its restaurants serve paella at lunchtime. Best paella in Valencia names the restaurants the sources agree on.
A flooded rice field beside El Palmar. Photo: Joanbanjo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Racó de l’Olla visitor centre
Daily 09:00 to 14:00 · last entry 13:30 · no price printed
The park’s visitor centre. Groups of fewer than 10 need no booking, and the capacity is limited. It is closed on 1 and 6 January, 19 March, and 24, 25 and 31 December, and dogs are not allowed except guide dogs. Visit València adds that the park has more than 300 bird species and that autumn has the highest concentration of birds.
What the trip costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pier boat | €4 to €6 |
| EMT bus, each way | €2.00 |
| Pier boat and bus, return | €8 to €10 |
| Albufera Tourist Bus | €22 |
| Bus, boat and paella lunch | €39 |
Before you go
- The thing that ruins a trip: the Albufera Tourist Bus does not run on Sundays, and its ticket is non-refundable.
- Season: the clocks change on 25 October 2026, which moves sunset to about 17:48 by mid-November, so the late boats leave earlier.
- Which to take: the pier boat and bus 24 or 25 for the least money; Visit València’s bus if you do not want to work out the buses; a coach tour only for a guide or paella.
Day trips from Valencia compares every trip. Valencia’s beaches have the Cabanyal and Malvarrosa sand, and bus 24 and 25 also pass El Saler beach. Best time to visit Valencia covers the season, and where to stay in Valencia compares the areas. What to book before you go to Valencia lists the closed days.
Common questions
How do I get from Valencia to L'Albufera?
By EMT bus 24 or 25 from the centre, which Visit València puts at under an hour; the Valencia Tourist Card covers both. Check the destination board, because Visit València's own pages disagree on which line stops nearest the pier. Visit València also runs an Albufera Tourist Bus for €22, Monday to Saturday.
How much is the boat trip on L'Albufera?
The natural park says €4 to €6 on the pier, for a trip of about 40 minutes, and tells visitors to check the price before boarding. There are no set departure times and no booking: boats run all day until sunset.
Do the boatmen speak English?
On Visit València's Albufera Tourist Bus, no: the city's page says the boatmen do not speak English, and the bus has an audio guide in eight languages. The GetYourGuide tours list a guide.
What time is sunset at L'Albufera?
About 17:48 on 15 November, 17:39 on 15 December, 19:07 on 15 March, 20:38 on 15 April and 21:30 on 15 June, in Valencia clock time. The clocks go back on 25 October 2026 and forward on 28 March 2027.
Is the GetYourGuide Albufera boat ticket cheaper than the pier?
No. The boat-only listings start at €4.90 and go up to €7, against the park's €4 to €6 on the pier. The coach tours at €39 to €75 include the transport from the city and cost more than Visit València's €22 bus.
Where is paella valenciana said to come from?
El Palmar, the village on L'Albufera. Visit València calls it the place where paella was invented. Its rice restaurants serve paella at lunchtime.
