Valencia Airport, otherwise known as Manises Airport, has just 1 terminal building and 1 runway. Still, nearly 7.8 million passengers passed through this Spanish airport in 2018. But how do they get from the airport to the city of Valencia and back? Keep reading to find out.
VLC – practical information
VLC is the airport code of Valencia Airport. With nearly 7.8 million passengers in 2018, it barely makes the top 10 busiest airports in Spain. It is, however, the second biggest airport in the region, after Alicante-Elche Airport.
How many airports in Valencia?
Valencia has just 1 airport, called Valencia Airport or Manises Airport.
How far is Valencia Airport from the city centre?
Valencia Airport is located 10 km (~ 6.2 miles) west of Valencia, in Manises, a town in the province of Valencia. This explains why it’s also known as Manises Airport.
By car it takes about 15 minutes to get from Valencia Airport to the city centre. Depending on where you’re staying, public transport might be a good option too.
Public transport from Valencia Airport to Valencia
As we explained in our post about getting around in Valencia, public transport is very well organised there. It’s fairly easy (and rather cheap) to take the bus or the metro to travel from Valencia Airport to the city centre.
TIP: The Valencia Tourist Card includes unlimited travel over 24, 48, or 72 hours, valid on the bus and metro, including the airport line.
Valencia Airport Bus
There are 2 busses you can take to get from VLC Airport to the city centre of Valencia. Either you take the regular city bus, line 150, or you take the Valencia Airport shuttle bus called Aerobus. Both busses stop just outside the departures hall.
Bus Line 150
Bus Line 150 is a bus line from Metrobus, the intercity bus. It services over 25 stops between the airport and the city centre, so the trip easily takes 40 minutes. It is the cheapest option though, costing only €1.45 (~ $1.65) for a one-way ticket.
This bus leaves every 25 to 35 minutes. It runs between 5:30 and 22:00 on Monday to Saturday, but there’s no service on Sunday and public holidays. You can buy your ticket from the bus driver.
For the up-to-date information on the bus schedule and the route of line 150, check out the Fernanbus website.
Aerobus Valencia
A faster option is taking the Aerobus, which gets you from Valencia Airport to the city centre in just 25 minutes for €2.50 (~ $2.80) per person. Unlike bus line 150, the Aerobus just makes one extra stop before reaching the city centre.
The Aerobus leaves approximately every 20 minutes, running daily between 6:00 and 22:00. You can buy your ticket from the bus driver.
Valencia Airport Metro
Again, there are 2 options for taking the metro from Valencia Airport to the city centre. Either you take metro line 3 or metro line 5. Both lines follow the same route to the city centre, which takes about 20 minutes.
From the city centre, the red metro line 3 continues to Rafelbunyol in the north, while the green metro line 5 goes east, towards La Marina.
As the airport is located in the outer zone, you need to buy a ticket that’s valid to cross 4 zones to get to the city centre of Valencia. That will cost you €4.90 (~ $5.50) one-way. A return ticket of €8.40 (~ $9.50) is only an option when you’re returning to the airport within 24 hours.
Note that these ticket prices include the €1 (~ $1.10) you have to pay for a rechargeable cardboard card.
If you plan on taking the metro more often or with a group of people, you should consider buying a metro card. Check out our post about transportation in Valencia for more information.
The Valencia Airport Metro leaves approximately every 15 to 20 minutes. It runs between 5:30 and midnight on Monday to Saturday, and between 7:00 and midnight on Sunday and public holidays.
The metro station is underneath Valencia Airport, just follow the signs. You can buy a ticket from the automatic vending machines, or stop by the Metrovalencia information office in the arrivals hall. It’s right near the stairs towards the metro platform.
You can find the entire map of all metro lines, the timetable and more information on the fares on the Metrovalencia website.
Taxi from Valencia Airport to Valencia
Taking a taxi is definitely the easiest and fastest way to get from Valencia Airport to the city centre, but often not the cheapest. Count on paying a taxi fare somewhere between €15 to €30 (~ $17 to $34) for about a 15 to 20 minute drive.
You can find the taxi stand just outside the arrivals hall. Simply join the queue and wait for your turn. Make sure to have the address of your destination ready on your phone or a piece of paper, as not all taxi drivers speak English. They are friendly though and use their meters, so no need to haggle.
We took a taxi van from Valencia airport to our accommodation with 6 friends, paying €30 (~ $34). It wasn’t that busy when we arrived on a sunny weekday in April, so we didn’t have to wait at all.
Welcome Pickups
If you’re visiting Barcelona in high season and hate waiting in line, you might want to consider Welcome Pickups. You can book and pay your taxi beforehand through their website, and your driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall, holding a sign with your name on it.
It’s slightly more expensive than taking a regular taxi, but not having to wait in line is worth something of course. Check out the rate for a Valencia Airport taxi transfer with Welcome Pickups here.
We used the Welcome Pickups service on our trip to Barcelona and can definitely recommend it!
Valencia Airport car rental
If you’re just visiting Valencia as a city trip, we don’t see any reason to rent a car. However, if Valencia is the start and/or end of your road trip (through Spain), check out Auto Europe for a range of options to hire a car at Valencia Airport. Good to know: they drive on the right.
Hotels near Valencia Airport
Spending the night in a hotel near Valencia Airport probably doesn’t make sense if you’re just visiting Valencia. If Valencia is the beginning and/or end of a road trip on the other hand, a hotel near the airport might be convenient. Check out all accommodation options near Valencia Airport on the map below:
There’s a lot of choice when it comes to Valencia Airport transfers to the city centre. Depending on how big your group is and where you’re going, different options might be better. Hope this helped you decide which mode of transport to Valencia suits you best. Let us know in the comments!
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