Day trips from Valencia: L'Albufera, Xàtiva and Sagunto by bus or train, Requena, Montanejos, Chulilla and Peñíscola by tour

💡 The Short Version: L’Albufera is under an hour by EMT bus 24 or 25, with a €4 to €6 boat from the pier. Xàtiva is 49 minutes by train, with a €6 castle; Sagunto is about 30 minutes, and its castle and Roman theatre are free. Both trains leave from Estació del Nord. Montanejos and Chulilla have no train: take a tour, from €33 and €74.80. Requena’s high-speed station is about 25 minutes away but 5.5 km from the town; the C-3 line is a train to Buñol plus a replacement bus. Peñíscola, Alicante and the Costa Blanca are long days. A tour saves the transport and the planning, not the entries. Or book now: the Montanejos thermal pools tripad is from €33 for 8.5 hours, and the Albufera tour with a boat ride, drink and sunsetad from €54.56 (GetYourGuide).

The day trips compared

Entry prices are the operators’ own, for one adult. A tour’s price is GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price, which moves with the date.

When a tour is worth it

A tour buys a seat on a coach with fixed times. It is worth it where there is no train (Montanejos, Chulilla), where the train needs a bus (Requena’s wineries), or where the day is long (Peñíscola, the Costa Blanca). It is not worth it for Sagunto, where the entries are free, or for L’Albufera, where the tours cost more than Visit València’s €22 bus. The listings do not say whether entries are included, so check before you book.

Trains from Valencia

• Two stations: Cercanías trains to Xàtiva, Sagunto and Buñol leave from Estació del Nord; high-speed trains to Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Requena-Utiel leave from Joaquín Sorolla. Visit València says a free shuttle bus links the two for Renfe ticket holders. Valencia public transport has the station details.
• Fares: Renfe sets the fare for each trip and sells at the stations and in its app.
• The Tourist Card: the 24, 48 and 72-hour cards cover Cercanías only inside zone AB, so buy a Renfe ticket for Xàtiva. The Tourist Card sums cover the rest.

The trips

L’Albufera

EMT bus 24 or 25 · under an hour · boat €4 to €6

A freshwater lagoon about 10 km south of the city, with rice fields and the village of El Palmar, where paella valenciana is said to come from. The Albufera guide has the piers, the sunset times and Visit València’s €22 bus.

Xàtiva

49 minutes · Cercanías C-2 · castle €6

A castle town with Borgia connections. The castle is closed on Mondays and closes at 18:00 from 1 November. The Xàtiva guide has the Sunday shuttle.

Sagunto

About 30 minutes · Cercanías C-6 · free

The castle, the Roman theatre and the History Museum are free, closed on Mondays and open until 14:00 on Sundays. The Sagunto guide has the free guided visits.

Requena

High-speed train about 25 minutes · Cuevas de la Villa €4

Requena has two stations. The high-speed station, Requena-Utiel, has eight trains a day from Valencia and is 5.5 km from the town; Transvía GO buses CV-104 and CV-108 also serve the town. The C-3 Cercanías line is not a through train. Renfe’s December 2025 notice has 48 trains a day, 24 each way, between València and Buñol, with 19 buses a day between Buñol and Utiel calling at Requena, and Renfe’s Cercanías page keeps the alternative transport plan in place. The town’s Cuevas de la Villa are 22 medieval cellars under the Plaza de la Villa: €4 for an adult, €3 reduced, €1 super-reduced. From 15 September to 15 June the Tourist Info is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 19:00, and closed on Mondays. Wineries in the DO Utiel-Requena run visits and tastings; each sets its own hours, so a tour is the simple way to reach several.

A street in the old town of Requena. Photo: 19Tarrestnom65, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Montanejos

No train · the 25°C spring · tours from €31.20

The Fuente de los Baños gives about 6,000 litres a minute at a constant 25°C, so bathing is possible all year, and the River Mijares forms natural pools. The village sells entry tickets to the spring online. The tours include the transport; the Montanejos thermal pools tripad has 3,695 reviews.

Chulilla

No train · hanging bridges · €1 route fee

The Ruta de los Pantaneros is 5.05 km through the Turia gorge, rated medium to high difficulty by the council, with two hanging bridges and the Los Calderones nature reserve, whose canyon walls rise over 80 m. The fee is €1 a day, paid at the information point at the start, with no booking. The Chulilla hikead is from €74.80 for 7 hours.

Peñíscola

Castle €5 · tour 8.5 hours

The town’s castle was built in the 14th century on a 64 m rock and was the home of Pope Benedict XIII, known as Papa Luna. The Diputació de Castelló’s page lists €5 for adults, €3.50 for ages 9 to 16, students, teachers and over-60s, and free entry for under-9s with an adult and for residents. Payment is by card only. From 16 October to Palm Sunday it is open 10:30 to 17:30, and from Palm Sunday to 15 October 09:30 to 21:30. It is closed on 1 and 6 January, 9 September, 9 October and 25 December. Trains serve Benicarló-Peñíscola station; the tours at €75.20 and €89.30 include the transport.

Peñíscola’s castle on its rock above the sea. Photo: Millars, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 es.

Alicante and the Costa Blanca

Train from Joaquín Sorolla · castle lift €2.70

Alicante’s Santa Bárbara Castle is open daily: 10:00 to 18:00 from 15 November to 27 February, 10:00 to 20:00 from 28 February to 16 June, 10:00 to 23:00 from 17 June to 4 September and 10:00 to 20:00 from 5 September to 14 November. The lift opposite Postiguet beach is €2.70. The castle is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December, 1 and 6 January and 24 June. The Costa Blanca resorts are reached by tram from Alicante, so from Valencia the practical option for Guadalest, Altea and the Algar waterfalls is the 11-hour coach tourad from €29.15, or a night on the coast.

The Cuevas de San José

The boat trip on an underground river at Vall d’Uixó is sold as a tour from Valencia; the Caves of San José tourad has 2,801 reviews and a 4.6 rating.

Madrid and Barcelona

These are rail days.

• Madrid: Ouigo runs from Madrid-Chamartín to Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla in 1 hour 50 minutes without stops, and Renfe’s first train from Madrid-Atocha leaves at 06:30. See the Madrid guide for the city.
• Barcelona: Renfe’s Euromed runs between Joaquín Sorolla and Barcelona Sants; check Renfe for times. See the Barcelona guide for the city.

Before you go

• Mondays: the Xàtiva and Sagunto sites and the Requena cellars are closed on Mondays.
• Winter: Xàtiva’s castle closes at 18:00 from November to February, and Sagunto’s at 18:00 from 15 October to 29 March.
• Which to take: L’Albufera, Xàtiva and Sagunto on your own; Montanejos and Chulilla by tour; Requena by tour for the wineries.

Valencia public transport covers the way to the stations, and the airport page the way in by air. Where to stay in Valencia compares the areas, and what to book before you go to Valencia lists the closed days.