A Solo Traveller's Guide To Valencia

The idea of travelling solo can be intimidating, but if you take the plunge you’ll find it can also be exhilarating and intensely rewarding. With a little planning, your solo trip might just be one of the best you’ve ever taken. And Valencia, a small, safe and friendly city packed with activities that are easy to enjoy alone, is the perfect place for a solo adventure.

Visit the top attractions

Enjoy the freedom of setting your own schedule, see only the sights you’re really interested in, and head for any unusual or off-the-beaten track sights that you fancy, without worrying if others in your group will be entertained or not. Here’s our guide to the best attractions in the city to get you started.

Explore the Old Town

Portal de la Valldigna in El Carmen, Valencia.

Get to know the public transport

If you’re travelling a bit further you don’t need to worry about travelling alone within Valencia. The city has a speedy and reliable system of buses, trams and metro trains, plus taxis here are cheap and safe, too. Even getting around at night is simple and safe with the night bus system. Ticket machines can be used in English and there’s a helpful English-speaking metro ticket office at the airport, but you might also want to check out this guide before you go.

Take time out to relax

Not only will you have plenty of “me” time when travelling alone, you can do whatever you like without having to cater to the demands of others. If you feel like doing absolutely nothing, Valencia is a great place to be: relax in a city park, hop on a tram to the beach or hit the spas.

Check out the cafes

It’s true that eating lunch alone in a restaurant in Spain can feel awkward, as it’s pretty unusual to see Spaniards eating alone ever. But thankfully it’s totally normal to sit in a cafe and relax by yourself over a coffee, gelato or Valencian brunch (almuerzo) of tomato on toast and fresh orange juice. Stroll through the Old Town or Ruzafa districts and you’ll find no end of appealing cafes, ice cream shops and horchaterias where you can try the local drink, horchata, made of tiger nut.

La Estrecha cafe, Valencia. Photo courtesy of La Estrecha.

Meet new people

Travelling alone is a great way to expand your horizons and meet people you might never otherwise get to know. If you feel like socialising, head for one of the city’s many language exchanges – no matter how good, bad or nonexistent your Spanish language skills are, you’ll be welcome. Some of the best ones can be found at Tyris on Tap and Cafe Berlin. You can also join a day trip or event through Meetup.com – the city has a relatively small but active and friendly community.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.