Valencia Cruise Port

Valencia, Spain

The large city of Valencia is one that many cruisers will have heard about via the big events it has hosted, its football club or just for been one of the biggest cities in Spain but few may think of it as a tourist destination.

That is because many visitors to the area will head along the coast to the numerous seaside resort nearby including Benidorm and Alicante but thankfully, the city is now starting to develop a reputation as a city break getaway.

By offering the best of a city break and a beach break, Valencia really does have something for everybody but best of all is the fact that it is all one of the leading cruise ports in Spain.

Many itineraries call into the city on cruises around the Western Mediterranean whilst some lines also offer the chance to start or end your adventure in the city, allowing for plenty of time to explore all that Valencia has to offer.

Cruises To Valencia

Our Visit

We visited the city onboard the Norwegian Prima cruise ship in October 2023 as the last stop of a repositioning cruise between Southampton and Barcelona.

It is quite some walk from the cruise port to the city, so you really need to take a shuttle and that is exactly what we did.

The shuttle dropped us off in the new part of town where many numerous museums, music halls and more have been built in a futuristic style.

A dried riverbed that has been turned into a park allows for an easy walk to town but we would head out of the main city centre to start with to take a look at the Mestalla, a large football stadium home to Valencia FC.

After that we would walk back to the old town of the city to se its main sites including an impressive cathedral, a large market (which was actually closed for renovations when we were there) and then we would head to the main square in Valencia for a drink and some lunch.

We then walked down to the main train station, which is an impressive building in its own right, before following the Avenue del Regne, a large diagonal boulevard that links the town centre with the City of Arts, where our shuttle bus would pick us up from.

Valencia Cruise Guide

In this guide, we bring you all that you need to know about visiting the cruise port of Valencia in Spain which is taken from our own personal experience of visiting the ort in 2023 and the research that we did before then.

If you have already booked a cruise that visits the city, this guide should help you to make the most of your time ashore whilst if you are still at the research stage, this guide should hopefully help you to decide whether an itinerary with a stop in Valencia is right for you or not.

Type of Cruises Available

There are plenty of options for those who want to visit the city on a cruise including round trip journeys from the UK, repositioning itineraries between the UK and ports around the Mediterranean, round trips from ports in the Med and there are also a number of cruise lines that start their itineraries in the city.

Valencia Cruise Port Location

The cruise port of Valencia is located on the far northern end of the cities port, which is past a large container port and a marina from the port gate, which makes it too far for most to walk from their ship to the city centre.

It is around a 40-minute walk (3km) to the port gate, around a 1 hour 15 minute walk (5km) to the City of Arts area and around a 2 hour walk (8km) walk to the centre of the old town.

The cruise port itself is split into 3 separate docking area, Muelle Cruceros, Muelle Cruceros 2 and Muelle Cruceros 3.

Valencia Cruise Facilities

For a turnaround port in a major city, there is a distinct lack of facilities in the cruise port of Valencia as if you stop there as a port of call, there are no facilities whilst if you are starting or ending in the port, you will only have a temporary structure awaiting you, with only basic necessary facilities.

Valencia Attractions

As a major city that is also next to the sea, it is no surprise that there are plenty of attractions on offer for those wanting to visit Valencia on a cruise holiday.

There is a large sandy beach next to where you dock, although there is no direct way of getting to it, so it is still quite a walk.

Although most people cruise the Western ed for the warm weather, there is always a chance that it will rain for your visit and if that is the case, a trip to the cities Oceanografic aquarium is a great option.

If the weather is nice and you would still like an animal adventure, the cities Bioparc zoo is a great way to pass a few hours or to keep kids happy if travelling as a family.

Unless it is closed like it was for our visit, the city’s historic market, the Mercat Central, is well worth visiting and is a great place to buy some gifts and try some local food and drink.

The modern city of art and music features many interesting buildings and a small park area complete with parakeets, but we also found it to be a soulless area.

The massive Jardi del Turia, a garden built along a dried riverbed, allows you to walk for miles around the city but without traffic and as it is perfectly flat and full of play areas, cafes, sculptures and more, it can be a great place to simply relax in.

One of the highlights, especially if you are travelling with kids is the Gulliver Park which features a large structure of Gulliver complete with climbing areas, slides and more.

The cities main cathedral and the square outside of it is a great place to spend time as not only is the architecture impressive but it is also one of the main hubs of the city.

Another impressive square is the Plaza de la Virgen which is where the Casco Historico can be found where a number of narrow, winding streets meet at the square and set off in every direction.

The Plaza del Ayuntamiento is lined with impressive building and features a beautifully kept garden in the centre highlighted by a large fountain.

At the far end of the plaza is the cities train station which whilst disappointing inside, is an impressive Art Nouveau building on the outside.

The eastern side of the old town is bordered by the Barrio del Carmen district which is well worth a visit.

The Avenue del Regne is a along tree lined diagonal which makes for a great place to walk between the old and new parts of the city.

Valencia Shorex

The sheer size of Valencia and the distance from the cruise port to the city can make it difficult to explore, especially for those who have mobility issues but thankfully most cruise lines will offer the chance to explore on a coach tour.

Another option for those visiting is to take a guided walking tour of the city which gives a great insight into the sites you come across and can also save you some walking as you try and find your own way around the city.

Although Valencia is a great place to visit, there are plenty of options for those who want to head away from the city and to explore the nearby region.

One option is to visit the nearby historic town of Xativa and its hilltop fortress accessed by a trolley train.

The San Jose cave offers an experience with a difference as not only to you get to walk through the cave but you can also take a boat ride through its flooded caverns.

The region is known for its wine and there are a few options to explore local vineyards and try a tipple or two of local produce.

Best Time To Visit Valencia

It is possible to visit the city all year around on a cruise, but it is a city that can get very busy during the summer months, especially in the more touristy areas.

In the winter, there are a lot of storms in the region, and you can also have rough seas, so for us, the best time to visit somewhere such as Valencia is between May to early July or in September or October.

Transport

As you would expect from a large city, Valencia has a decent public transportation network that includes many bus routes, several metro lines, some tram lines and also a few local train routes.

It can be tricky for buses to enter the old town, but the metro does run close to it but arguably the biggest issue in the city for getting around, is the distance from the cruise dock to the city, even from the port gate if you have a free shuttle included.

Valencia Cruises From UK

If you wan to sail from the UK to Valencia, you can do and there are plenty of different options to do just that including round trips and repositioning routes.

Valencia Cruises From Southampton

The port of Southampton offers the widest range of itineraries for visiting the city from the UK and also the best choice of lines and ships.