Is the Valencia Tourist Card worth it?
Valencia: 24, 48 or 72-hour Valencia tourist card
Is the Valencia Tourist Card worth buying?
The Valencia Tourist Card pays off if you plan to use public transport daily and visit 2-3 paid attractions per day. For a 48-hour stay with unlimited metro and bus plus several museum visits, the card can beat buying separately, but only if you actually use the covered sights. Skip it if you're mainly doing free sights or staying in the old town on foot.
Valencia sells its tourist card as a one-stop pass, but whether it actually saves you money depends entirely on how you plan to move around and which attractions you intend to visit. This guide runs the real numbers so you can decide before buying, not after.
| Where to buy | visitvalencia.com official shop or GetYourGuide |
| Cost | €17 (24h), €24 (48h), €30 (72h); 7-day version without transport from €15 |
| Covers | unlimited EMT bus/metro/tram, entry to 14 museums and monuments, discounts elsewhere |
| Doesn’t cover | Cathedral, hop-on hop-off bus, Albufera trips |
| Best for | transport-heavy visitors combining 2–3 paid attractions per day |
What you actually get for your money
The Valencia Tourist Card is a combined transport pass and attraction discount card. It comes in 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour, and 7-day versions. The idea is simple: pay one flat fee, ride all the buses and metros you want, and get free or discounted entry to a list of museums and attractions. Note that the 7-day version does not include transport.
The card covers unlimited travel on EMT buses and the Valencia Metro, including the two airport lines (L3 and L5). This is genuinely useful — a single metro journey is €1.50 within zone A (€2.80 with the airport), and if you’re moving around the city several times a day, the transport value alone can justify the card’s cost.
On the attractions side, the headline freebies are:
- 14 museums and monuments — see the official list on visitvalencia.com for exactly which ones
- Hemisfèric, Science Museum, Oceanogràfic, Bioparc — sold as bundles with the card, not simply included
- A tapa and a drink, plus discounts of up to 50% on selected activities
- Museo de Bellas Artes is free to enter regardless, so it is not a real saving
- IVAM is free on Sundays anyway
The saving depends entirely on your itinerary. Let’s do the maths honestly.
The honest maths: does it add up?
Start with transport alone. For 48 hours, an unlimited SUMA T2 transport ticket costs €7.50, while the 48-hour tourist card costs €24. So the card only wins if the covered museums and discounts are worth more than the roughly €16.50 difference.
| Item | Without card | With 48h card (€24) |
|---|---|---|
| 48h unlimited transport (SUMA T2) | €7.50 | included |
| Covered museums and monuments | their separate entry fees | included |
| Tapa and drink | paid separately | included |
Add up the entry fees of the covered sights on your own list: if they clearly exceed the difference, the card pays off. Add more museum visits and the card becomes clearly worthwhile.
However, if your itinerary looks like this:
- Walking El Carmen, Russafa, Turia Gardens (all free)
- Cathedral visit (€12, NOT covered by card)
- Llotja de la Seda (€2, check whether it is on the covered list)
- Two metro trips total
In that case, you’d spend €24 on the card but only avoid €3 in transport costs. The card would actually cost you more.
Bottom line: run your own numbers. The card rewards people who move around by public transport and visit the paid science/arts complex. It penalises people who stick to the old town and rely mainly on free or separately priced monuments.
What the card does NOT include (common misconceptions)
This is where tourists often feel misled. The following are not included in the tourist card:
- Valencia Cathedral — entry is €12, payable separately at the door
- Llotja de la Seda (Silk Exchange) — €2 entry; check the official list to see whether it is covered
- Bioparc and Oceanogràfic — sold as bundles with the card, not included
- Hop-on hop-off bus — separate ticket required
- Albufera excursions — day trips are fully separate
The card’s own website lists covered attractions clearly, but many visitors assume any tourist site in Valencia is included. The Cathedral is one of the most popular sights in the city, yet it’s not covered — a fact that surprises many cardholders at the door.
Comparing the 24h, 48h and 72h options
Valencia Tourist Card — 24, 48 or 72 hours24-hour card (€17): Barely makes sense unless you arrive midday, plan to visit two free-with-card attractions, and use transport several times. The time pressure is real — the clock ticks from first use, so a late start wastes potential. Worth it only for specific, densely packed single-day itineraries.
48-hour card (€24): The sweet spot. Two full days allow you to spread out visits to the City of Arts and Sciences complex and explore different neighbourhoods without feeling rushed.
72-hour card (€30): Adds only €6 over the 48-hour version. If you’re staying three days or more, this is almost always the right choice. The extra €6 buys an extra day of transport and attraction access.
7-day card: Does not include transport (from €15). Genuinely worthwhile only for extended stays with consistent attraction-visiting. Most visitors are better off with the 72-hour card plus individual tickets for any extra days.
Transport included: the real daily value
For a visitor basing themselves in El Carmen or Russafa who wants to reach:
- City of Arts and Sciences: metro (Alameda → Ciutat de les Arts) or bus 95
- Malvarrosa beach: tram from Torres Serranos, or bus 31/32
- Alboraia (horchata country): metro L3 to Alboraia-Pedralbeta
- VLC Airport: metro L3 or L5 from Xàtiva (€2.80 normally)
With the card, each of these rides is included. On a typical tourist day using transport 4-6 times, the card’s transport value alone is €6-9. Over 48 hours, that’s €12-18 in transport savings.
Valenbisi (city bike share) is not confirmed as part of the tourist card, so check valenbisi.es for current prices. The first 30 minutes of each hire are free.
Is the card available digitally?
Yes. You can purchase the tourist card online and receive a QR code valid for transport taps and attraction entry. The physical card is optional but works the same way. Digital purchase online means you can sort this before arrival.
Alternatives to the tourist card
If the tourist card doesn’t fit your itinerary, consider:
SUMA 10 or SUMA T tickets: On a rechargeable card, SUMA 10 costs €5.40 (zone A) or €7.50 (zones AB) in 2026, thanks to a 40% reduction running until 31 December 2026; see metrovalencia.es for 2027. SUMA T1/T2/T3 give unlimited travel for 24/48/72 hours at €4.50, €7.50 and €11. Better value for short stays focused on transport only.
Individual attraction tickets: If you’re only visiting Oceanogràfic, buying directly via the Oceanogràfic entry ticket avoids the card’s fixed cost entirely.
City of Arts full-day combo: The City of Arts full-day combined ticket bundles Oceanogràfic, Hemisfèric, and Science Museum into a single ticket. If that complex is your main goal, this combo is often cheaper than the tourist card unless you also need heavy transport use.
Other passes worth weighing before you commit
The tourist card is not the only way to bundle sights. If a sightseeing bus is on your list, read the hop-on hop-off verdict first, because that ticket is separate from the card and only makes sense for some travellers. For the big attractions, the Oceanogràfic guide and the honest take on whether it is worth it help you decide whether you want to spend a full half-day there at all. If you are watching your spending more broadly, the Valencia on a budget guide shows where a card fits among the other savings, and the honest tourist card review gives a second, sceptical angle on the same question.
For anyone staying longer than a long weekend, the seven-day version of the card is worth a look only if your plan is packed with covered visits, and even then it pays to price your own list first.
Planning your days around the card
The best way to judge the card is to build the itinerary first and buy second. Write down each paid sight, each day you expect to ride transport, and the neighbourhoods you will sleep and eat in. Then compare that list with the covered attractions. If most of your days are spent wandering free streets, the card has little to work on. If your days are built around museums, the science complex and several metro rides, it starts to earn its price.
A few practical ideas help it go further:
- Group the covered sights. The City of Arts and Sciences cluster sits together, so one long day there makes the most of the card’s clock, and the Hemisfèric guide and Science Museum guide show what to expect inside each.
- Pair paid and free days. A morning at a covered museum followed by an afternoon in the Turia Gardens keeps the card’s validity window working without forcing you to rush.
- Think about the evenings. Transport rides to dinner count too, so a base outside the walkable centre makes the card more useful. The where to stay guide explains the trade-offs between areas.
- Mix in a day trip carefully. Excursions such as the Albufera day trip are not covered, so do not plan them on the assumption that the card makes them cheaper.
If you are building a short stay from scratch, the three days in Valencia itinerary and the first weekend itinerary show how paid and free stops can be balanced, which makes it much easier to see whether a card is worth the outlay. Many readers also find that the blog write-up of the tourist card for 2027 is a useful companion when comparing notes.
Verdict by visitor type
Backpacker moving around for 2-3 days: Card usually pays off. You’ll use transport constantly and want to see the science complex.
Weekend city break (Fri evening → Sun): The 48-hour card works well. Buy it Friday night and run it through Sunday.
Couple on a cultural 3-day trip: 72-hour card is the right call. The €30 fee is easiest to justify if you pack in the covered museums.
Day-tripper from Alicante or Madrid: Skip the card. A day return fare and single attraction entry is simpler and often cheaper.
Family with young children: Depends heavily on whether kids pay full entry at each attraction. The card has a reduced child price for ages 6-12 (€14.45, €20.40 or €25.50). Check specific attraction child rates before deciding.
A simple way to decide on the spot
If you are still undecided on the day you arrive, ask yourself three questions. First, how many of the covered attractions do you genuinely want to see, rather than feel obliged to see? Second, will you be moving across the city several times a day, or mostly staying within one or two neighbourhoods? Third, are you the kind of traveller who enjoys a fast, full schedule, or do you prefer long lunches and slow afternoons? The card rewards the first kind of traveller and quietly punishes the second. A slow trip with a couple of paid highlights is usually better served by single tickets and a plain transport pass, while a busy trip with a clear list of covered sights is where the card shines.
It also helps to remember that the card is a convenience as much as a saving. Not having to queue at a ticket machine or count change for each ride has real value for some visitors, especially families and groups moving in a hurry. For others, that convenience is not worth a fixed fee, and that is a perfectly sensible conclusion to reach.
How to use the card efficiently
- Activate strategically: Don’t activate the card until you’re about to take your first transport journey. If you buy it on arrival but plan to walk to your hotel, wait until you board the metro.
- Front-load paid attractions: Do the Hemisfèric and Science Museum on day one. Free activities (Turia Gardens, Malvarrosa beach, El Carmen streets) can fill day two.
- Check opening hours: IVAM is closed on Mondays. The Science Museum has seasonal hours. Hemisfèric shows run at specific times — book in advance to avoid arriving at the door to find the next show is in three hours.
- Download the companion app or PDF: Discounts change periodically. Check what’s currently valid on the official site.
Card versus a plain transport pass
If your itinerary is light on the covered attractions, it’s worth comparing the tourist card against the Mobilis card guide — a rechargeable metro/bus pass with no attraction discounts attached. For a two-day stay with only a handful of rides and no plan to visit Hemisfèric or the Science Museum, Mobilis is typically the cheaper choice. The tourist card earns its keep once you’re combining daily transport with the discounted attraction list, which is why the attractions breakdown matters as much as the price tag.
How it fits different bases in the city
Where you stay changes the transport maths. A base in El Carmen or the old town puts most sights within walking distance, which weakens the transport case for the card. A base further out, near Russafa or closer to the beach, means more metro and bus rides to reach the City of Arts and Sciences, which strengthens it. See the getting around Valencia guide for the full transport network and how the card slots into it, and how many days in Valencia for matching the card duration to your stay.
Frequently asked questions about Is the Valencia Tourist Card worth it?
How much does the Valencia Tourist Card cost?
As of October 2026, the Valencia Tourist Card with transport costs €17 for 24 hours, €24 for 48 hours, and €30 for 72 hours (adult). Child prices (ages 6-12) are lower. Always verify on the official shop at visitvalencia.com before purchase.What transport is included with the Valencia Tourist Card?
The card covers unlimited rides on the EMT city buses, the Metro, the tram and Cercanías trains within the card's validity period. Airport metro lines L3 and L5 are also included.Which attractions are free with the Valencia Tourist Card?
The card includes entry to 14 museums and monuments, plus discounts of up to 50% on selected activities; check the current list on visitvalencia.com. The Oceanogràfic, Science Museum, Hemisfèric and Bioparc are sold as bundles with the card rather than simply included. The Cathedral is NOT covered — it charges a separate entry fee.Is the Valencia Tourist Card valid from purchase or first use?
The clock starts on first use (first tap on transport or first attraction entry), not from the purchase moment. This gives you some flexibility if you buy it in advance.Can I buy the Valencia Tourist Card at the airport?
The official shop at visitvalencia.com sells the card online, including e-tickets on your phone, so you can sort it before landing. For buying in person, check the official site for current sales points.Does the Valencia Tourist Card include discounts at restaurants?
The card includes a tapa and a drink, plus discounts of up to 50% on selected activities. See the official site for current partners, and treat these as a bonus, not a reason to buy the card.Is the tourist card worth it for 1 day only?
Rarely. With a single day, a 24-hour SUMA T1 transport ticket (€4.50) is usually cheaper unless you squeeze in several covered museums. Calculate your actual itinerary before buying.Where can I buy the Valencia Tourist Card?
Purchase online at the official shop, visitvalencia.com/en/shop/valencia-tourist-card, or via GetYourGuide. For in-person sales points, check the official site.Is the Valencia Tourist Card better than a Mobilis transport pass?
For transport-only needs the Mobilis card is usually cheaper, since it skips the attraction discounts you may not use. The tourist card only wins once you combine several transport rides per day with visits to the discounted attractions, such as the City of Arts and Sciences complex.Does the tourist card make sense for a family visiting the City of Arts and Sciences?
It helps with transport but rarely with the big-ticket entries, since Oceanogràfic and the Science Museum are sold as bundles with the card rather than included. Families focused on that complex are usually better off with a dedicated combo ticket for the City of Arts and Sciences, then adding the card only if they will also use public transport heavily.Is the Valencia Tourist Card better value than individual tickets?
It depends on your itinerary. For visitors planning to use public transport multiple times daily and visit 2-3 covered museums or monuments per day, the 48-hour card can save money vs buying separately. For visitors sticking to free sights and walkable distances, individual tickets are cheaper.Does the Valencia Tourist Card work on the airport train?
Yes. Metro lines L3 and L5 both serve VLC Airport, and both are covered by the tourist card. This is worth noting: the single metro fare from the airport to the city centre is €2.80 (zone-priced), so if you're using the card on arrival, you save that fee immediately.Can I share a Valencia Tourist Card between two people?
No. Each card is valid for one person only. For groups, each person needs their own card.Is the 7-day Valencia Tourist Card worth it?
The 7-day version does not include transport (from €15), so it is a museum-and-discount card only. For most tourists (2-4 days), the 72-hour card with transport is the better fit.Are there any hidden fees with the Valencia Tourist Card?
Not hidden, but easy to miss: the card does not include the hop-on hop-off tourist bus, boat tours, Cathedral entry, or restaurant meals beyond the included tapa and drink. The Bioparc and Oceanogràfic are sold as bundles with the card, not included.Where is the best place to buy the Valencia Tourist Card?
Online is generally easiest — either via the official shop at visitvalencia.com or via GetYourGuide, which allows advance booking and digital delivery.What happens if I lose my Valencia Tourist Card?
Digital cards (QR code on your phone) are harder to lose. For a lost physical card, contact the official point of sale; replacement conditions are not guaranteed.
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