Need a guide on how to ride the buses? Valencia has a great public transport system that makes it easy to get around. So let’s talk about how to take the bus in Valencia – and what tickets you need! 

Buses in Valencia

Valencia has a fairly strong public transport system, especially when it comes to their buses. Valencia uses a fleet of all-electric vehicles that pass through just about every street in the city. 

So if you want to get around the city easily, then taking the bus is a great option. 

They are run by EMT Valencia, which is a private company with public funding. That helps make the bus tickets super affordable. 

If you’re not used to taking public transport, then you’ll have no problems at all learning how to utilize these convenient options. 

The best part about them – they have great air conditioning. Which makes those July and August trips to the City of Arts and Sciences much nicer. 

Are the Valencia buses reliable?

For the most part, the buses in Valencia are reliable. 

Just like in any city, they can run a bit late if there is a ton of traffic. So unlike taking the metro, the bus has some wiggle room for arrival times. 

So if you know you need to take a bus at 10:30, I would get to the bus stop at least 5 minutes early. 

I would say that the Valencia buses are reliable – just not super fast. If you’re in a huge rush, sometimes you can there faster on foot. But if you’re tired, want to rest your feet for a while, or have mobility needs – then the buses are a great option! 

How to Take the Bus in Valencia

Let’s talk step-by-step how to ride the buses. Valencia makes it quite simple, so my American friends that aren’t used to public transport don’t need to worry! 

Here’s how to take the bus in Valencia:

1. Wait at the bus stop, and make sure you’re on the right side of the road. There should be an electronic sign or a physical map. 
2. Flag down the bus as it’s approaching, just in case. 
3. Hop on through the front door. 
4. Pay the driver in cash OR show him your activated electronic ticket OR scan your physical card at the red machine right behind him. 
5. As a courtesy, go as far back on the bus as possible. Make sure to avoid the priority areas for people in wheelchairs or baby carriages. 
6. Use Google Maps to figure out your location, there are no electronic signs (as of 2024). 
7. When you’re coming up to your destination, press the red “request stop” buttons on the rails. 
8. Get off the bus via the back door(s). 

So as you can see, it’s really easy to take the bus in Valencia! 

The only downside: the majority of the buses don’t tell you where you are. So tourists will want internet access to access a Maps app. Although the most common destinations are fairly obvious (e.g. The City of Arts and Sciences, the beach, the City Hall Square). 

Want cheap internet access? Here is my favorite esim app!

Bus Tickets and Prices

The fares are affordable and simple for the buses. Valencia offers both single and integrated public transport tickets, so the best option for you depends on how often you’ll use it. 

If you just need to take a one-off trip, you can pay the driver (in cash!) directly. 

You can also choose to go for some of the different packages if you’ll be using public transport frequently. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the prices:

Ticket	Price
Single Ticket	€1.50
Bonobús	€8.50
SUMA 10	€8.00 (+€1 card)
Valencia Travel Card	€13-€25

Bonobús: Currently €4.25 throughout 2024. 

Bonus Packs vs Single Tickets

If you’re going to be a frequent user of the buses, Valencia has plenty of bonus packages to make it even more affordable. 

In fact, you can look at all the options and see that there are tons of different choices available. Especially if you live here long-term, you have plenty of options. 

But let me simplify it a bit for you as a traveler. 

• If you don’t plan on using the buses in Valencia very often: just go for a single ticket. 
• If, for some reason, you only want to use the buses – then the Bonobús is the most affordable option. 
• But if you want to have the option to use the bus, metro, trams and trains, then I’d go for either the SUMA 10 or the Valencia Travel Card. 

Valencia Bus Routes

Basically, buses in Valencia pass through every major street in the city. 

This makes hopping on a bus really easy, as they stick to all the main avenues and pass by relatively frequently. You can check out the full map and see how they reach basically everywhere. 

A notable exception is that for the city center – the buses only go through certain streets. This is to keep the city center as pedestrian-friendly as possible. 

So you’ll see buses go down:

• Carrer de la Pau
• Carrer de Sant Vicent
• La Plaça de l’Ajuntament
• Avinguda de l’Oest
• Carrer de Colom

And plenty of streets near the train station and the Russafa areas. 

There are also buses that go in a circle around the outer perimeter of the old town. 

This isn’t a problem, as anything in the city center is easily accessible on foot.

I recommend using the bus system to get to areas that are further away, like the City of Arts and Sciences, l’Albufera, or the beaches. 

Common Destinations and Routes

Since it can sometimes be difficult for newbies to know where to take the bus in Valencia, let me give you a few pre-planned routes. 

Here are the 3 most common destinations for buses in Valencia. At least, for tourists, these will be the routes you’ll use the most! 

Destination	Line and Leaving Point
Platja del Cabanyal (The Beach)	Line 32: Passeig Maritim from La Plaça de l’Ajuntament
La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències	Line 35: C. Arts i Ciències from Marqués de Sotelo Line 19: La Malva-Rosa from La Plaça de l’Ajuntament Line 95: Marina Real from La Porta de la Mar
La Plaça de l’Ajuntament (The City Hall Square)	Line 35: Estació del Nord from Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències Line 19: Estació del Nord from El Cabanyal

Long-Distance Buses

Important: We need to make a quick distinction between the types of buses. 

Valencia has a local transport system called EMT (Empresa Municipal de Transport). Everything in this article is relevant to these big red buses you’ll see moving through the city. 

However, there are long-distance buses in Valencia as well. 

The majority of them are run by Alsa, and can be found at the bus station just north of the Túria gardens. 

So if you’d like to go to Barcelona, Madrid, or even Paris via bus – this is the bus station you’ll need. The EMT tickets do not work for these long-distance buses. Valencia uses separate businesses to operate them. 

Location: Estació d’Autobusos C/ Menéndez Pidal 11 

Valencia Bus App

If I’m being honest – I think my biggest complaint about the bus system in Valencia is that they use TWO different apps. 

They have one app for route planning, and another app for buying electronic tickets. 

Which personally, I think is just incredibly inefficient. 

So if you want to use the Bonobús package, then you’ll need to download EMTicket to purchase the tickets online. 

But if you want to pay in cash or use the integrated tickets (either SUMA 10 or Valencia Tourist Card), then you don’t need this app at all. 

And the EMT Valencia app is helpful for planning your trip. I recommend downloading this one, as it is sometimes more accurate than Google Maps. You can also use it to get real-time data on how far away your next bus is. 

You can download them here:

Valencia Tourist Card

As I mentioned in the public transport guide, the Valencia Tourist Card can be a great option if you’re staying here for 1, 2, or 3 days. 

This is an all-in-one ticket that gives you unlimited access to all public transport, as well as free access to municipal museums, PLUS a bunch of other discounts. 

So it’s a great option if you’re planning on visiting the major attractions. 

It’s a nice money saver for the majority of tourists. 

Other Public Transport Resources

Hopefully this guide makes it easier for you to take the bus in Valencia! If you’d like to take full advantage of your trip to the city, here are some other resources that might help you out:

• Full Public Transport Guide
• A Guide to the Metro
• How to take the train
• Where to get cheap train tickets
• Where to rent a car
• Best place to find accommodations
• How to find cheap flights
• How to get mobile data in Spain

And as always, if you have any questions – just send me a message!

Bon viatge!

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