Spain · budget cars
Cheap car rental in Valencia
The lowest daily rates on car rentals in Valencia, Spain. Expedia Cars compares budget brands against the majors — economy cars and the majors side by side.
- ✓Cheapest daily rates across Valencia's rental fleets
- ✓Economy, compact, and intermediate filters
- ✓Pay-later and flexible plans shown per booking
- ✓No hidden fees · Powered by Expedia Cars
What things cost in Valencia
A single metro ride within the central zone is a little over a euro and a half, and the airport journey needs a supplement on top. The menu del dia at lunch covers three courses with wine for roughly €12 to €16. Horchata with fartons runs about €4. The Oceanografic is the expensive ticket, well over €30 for an adult.
What first-timers get wrong in Valencia
Do not eat paella at dinner, and treat with suspicion any restaurant offering a single portion inside ten minutes, since the real thing is cooked to order. Fallas in mid-March means fireworks at two in the morning, closed streets and full hotels. The metro from the airport is quick, while the tourist tram to the beach is slower than the map suggests.
What's actually worth your time in Valencia
The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies is Calatrava's white complex laid out along the drained riverbed, and the Oceanografic is the part that repays the money; the Hemisferic is one film. La Lonja de la Seda, the Gothic silk exchange with spiralling stone columns, is UNESCO-listed and cheap to enter. The Cathedral displays a chalice it presents as the Holy Grail.
What to eat in Valencia
Paella is Valencian, and the original takes rabbit, chicken and garrofo beans, with no chorizo and no seafood unless you specifically order paella de marisco. It is a lunch dish, cooked to order, usually for a minimum of two, and eaten in El Palmar or out at Malvarrosa. Horchata, pressed from tiger nuts, comes with fartons. Mercat Central trades every morning except Sunday.
Valencia after dark
Ruzafa is where the evening actually happens, along Carrer de Cadis and Sueca, with terraces and vermouth before dinner. El Carme in the old town runs later and rougher. Nothing fills before midnight and clubs continue to six or seven. Agua de Valencia, cava with orange juice, gin and vodka, was invented at Cafe Madrid and is considerably stronger than it tastes.
When to go to Valencia
| Best months for cheap-cars | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| February | 18°C / 64°F | 2 days |
| December | 18°C / 64°F | 4 days |
| May | 24°C / 75°F | 5 days |
The month to avoid is August — around 31°C (88°F) with roughly 3 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: February is the sweet spot, August the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Layers — t-shirts under a light jacket or sweater, Evenings turn genuinely cool — pack a warm layer for after dark, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Valencia
- El Carmen — Old quarter — narrow lanes, street art, the cathedral, the food market.
- Ruzafa — Hipster bar district — natural wine spots, brunch, the city’s most stylish nights.
- Malvarrosa — Beach district — paella-strip restaurants, hostels, the boardwalk runs along the sand.