The first money most visitors lose in Valencia is at the airport ticket machine. A zone A ticket will not open the gate at Aeroport station, which sits in zone B+, so the fare into town is €4.80, and the machine also sells the €1.10 cardboard card that carries it. Both are one-off costs, and both are cheaper than the budget item that actually matters. A trip to Valencia costs 38.42 to 130 euros per person per day before accommodation, depending on how you eat, and the average hotel room adds 122.64 euros a night.
How much does a trip to Valencia cost per day? A day in Valencia costs 38.42 euros per person on a tight budget, 90 euros mid-range and 130 euros at the comfortable end, before the hotel. The average hotel room costs 122.64 euros a night according to Spain’s statistics office, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), shared between two in a couple, with no tourist tax added.
What you pay before leaving the airport
Leaving Valencia Airport by metro costs 10.70 euros a person for the return trip: two €4.80 fares plus the €1.10 card, bought once. Metrovalencia lines 3 and 5 reach Xàtiva, next to the Estació del Nord, in about 20 minutes, and a taxi starts at a regulated €12.50 minimum and runs to about €20 into the centre.
At the machine the order is fixed, and getting it wrong is the classic cash trap:
- Buy the €1.10 card first. It is kept for the whole stay and carries every later fare.
- Load a zones A and B+ fare, €4.80. A 1.50 euro zone A single will not open the gate.
- Keep the card for the return. The second airport fare goes on the same card, so the return costs 4.80 euros, not 5.90.
The time you land decides more than the price. Line 3 makes its last airport departure at 10:32pm from Monday to Thursday, and after that only the taxi is left. The MetroBus 150 charges the same 4.80 euros and takes about 45 minutes, and Aena confirms its tickets are sold by the driver. Times and the full timetable are in the guide to getting from Valencia Airport to the city centre.
Should you pay by card or cash, and do you tip
Valencia runs almost entirely on cards. The airport metro machines take cards and cash, and on EMT València city buses the Ayuntamiento de València runs MovimEMT, which validates a registered bank card at 0.51 euros a trip with a 21 euro monthly ceiling. Paying cash on board for an EMT single costs 2 euros, almost four times as much.
Two cash traps are worth knowing. The €1.10 card is a separate line at the machine, and people who skip it cannot load the fare. And a zone A metro single at 1.50 euros works anywhere in the city but not at the airport, because the airport supplement has to be on the ticket.
At the table the bill carries no service charge. Spanish menu prices already include VAT, as Arrocería Maribel states on its menu, and tipping is optional: rounding up or leaving some change after good service is normal. The booking and paying habits of each house are covered in where to eat in Valencia.
How much three days cost one person
Three days and two nights in Valencia cost one person 366.24 euros on a tight budget, 540.03 euros mid-range and about 725 euros at the comfortable end. The hotel is the same in all three, two nights at the 122.64 euro average, so the gap comes from meals and from which paid sights you choose.
Sights and transport together come to 23.76 euros on the tight plan, 84.75 euros mid-range and about 165 euros at the top.
| Cost line for 3 days, one person | Tight | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food over 3 days | €97.20 | €210.00 | €315.00 |
| Hotel, 2 nights at the city average | €245.28 | €245.28 | €245.28 |
| Paid sights | €10.00 | €65.05 | €100.75 |
| Transport, airport included | €13.76 | €19.70 | about €64 |
| Total for the trip | €366.24 | €540.03 | about €725 |
The tight plan eats paella at La Riuà, at 17.00 euros a portion, and three small plates at Casa Montaña in the Cabanyal, where the anchovy is 4.50 euros, the broad beans 5.40 and the titaina sandwich 5.50. Its sights are the Lonja at 2 euros, the Miguelete tower at 3, the ceramics museum at 3 and the Torres de Serranos at 2, with the Museo de Bellas Artes free.
The mid-range plan pays the 12 euro cathedral, spends day two at the Oceanogràfic, 43.05 euros at peak rate for three to four hours, and dines on the 40 euro sharing menu at Canalla Bistro in Ruzafa. The comfortable plan buys the three-building City of Arts and Sciences ticket at 51.25 euros, adds Bioparc Valencia at 32.50 euros and takes taxis, counted at about 40 euros for the airport round trip.
How much a couple or a solo traveller spends
A couple on the same three-day trip spends 487.20 euros in total on a tight budget and 834.78 euros mid-range, because the room is split. Per person that is 243.60 and 417.39 euros, roughly a third less than travelling alone on the tight plan.
| Trip length | Tight | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| One day, no night, per person | €38.42 | €90.00 | €130.00 |
| Two days and one night, solo | €208.18 | €339.39 | about €457 |
| Two days and one night, couple in total | €293.72 | €556.14 | about €751 |
| Three days and two nights, couple in total | €487.20 | €834.78 | about €1,165 |
Solo diners hit one rule that couples never notice. La Pepica cooks paella for a minimum of two and asks for at least 30 euros a head, and La Riuà quotes its portion rules when you book. Arrocería Maribel in El Palmar is the house that makes a single portion, at 20 euros. The full list is in where to eat paella in Valencia.
Hotel prices in Valencia by month in 2026
The average hotel room in Valencia cost 122.64 euros a night across the twelve months to September 2026, the simple mean of the monthly average daily rate that the INE publishes for the city. January was the cheapest month at 87.66 euros and September the dearest at 138.44 euros.
From May to September the rate never fell below 135 euros, so summer and early autumn are effectively one price band. March, the month of Fallas, came in at 120.13 euros, which is below the summer level. Two nights in January cost 175.32 euros, against 276.88 euros in September, a gap of 101.56 euros for the same average room.
Do you pay a tourist tax in Valencia
Valencia charges no tourist tax. The regional levy on tourist stays that the Generalitat Valenciana passed, with an optional municipal surcharge, was repealed before it was ever collected, and the BOE records it as repealed from 15 November by a single-article decree of the regional government.
That makes the room rate the whole accommodation bill, with no nightly charge per guest at check-in. Visitors arriving from cities that collect one should not add it to a Valencia budget.
When the Valencia Tourist Card beats paying as you go
The 7-day Valencia Tourist Card at 13.50 euros online pays for itself on any trip that includes the cathedral, which it covers free alongside the 2 euro municipal sites. The cathedral plus the Lonja alone are worth 14 euros.
The transport versions struggle on short stays. The 48-hour card is 21.60 euros online, while the mid-range plan’s airport metro with its card, two days of metro and the Lonja come to 18.70 euros. Sundays shrink its value further, since the Lonja, the towers and the other free museums in Valencia charge nothing on Sundays and public holidays. The version-by-version maths is in whether the Valencia Tourist Card is worth it.
Frequently asked questions about the cost of a Valencia trip
Is Valencia expensive to visit?
Valencia is cheap on sights and dearer on hotels. The Lonja de la Seda charges 2 euros and the cathedral 12 euros, while the average hotel room in the city costs 122.64 euros a night according to the INE. A tight day of sightseeing and eating runs to 38.42 euros a person before the room.
Do I need cash in Valencia?
Very little. Metro ticket machines at the airport take cards and cash, and city buses run MovimEMT, which charges a registered bank card 0.51 euros a trip. Cash matters on the MetroBus 150 from the airport, where the driver sells the 4.80 euro ticket, and for small change when rounding up a bill.
Should I tip in Valencia?
Tipping in Valencia is optional and restaurants do not add a service charge. Menu prices already include VAT, which Arrocería Maribel spells out on its menu. Rounding up or leaving some change after good service is normal; a fixed percentage on top, American style, is not expected.
How much is the metro from Valencia airport to the city?
The Metrovalencia fare from Aeroport station to the city is 4.80 euros each way, because the airport sits in zone B+. The first trip also needs the 1.10 euro cardboard card, so a return comes to 10.70 euros per person. Lines 3 and 5 reach Xàtiva in about 20 minutes.
Is there a tourist tax in Valencia?
No. The regional tax on tourist stays passed by the Generalitat Valenciana was repealed before anyone paid it, with effect from 15 November, and the BOE lists it as repealed. Hotels in Valencia add no nightly levy, so the room rate is the whole accommodation cost.
In Valencia the sights are the small change; the table you book and the month you sleep decide the bill.