Uncrowded Beaches near Valencia

I always have a rental car, so any beach town is within easy reach. The area between Valencia south to Benidorm is popular with tourists. If you’re not restricting yourself to the beach town, and you have a vehicle, consider visiting the Castle of Biar, El Palmerar in Elche, or the town of Alcalá de Júcar and its Roman bridge. North of Valencia on the coast is Pensacola. Its castle was in the movie El Cid. It really depends on how much time you have, what you like to do, and how you plan on getting around.

Thanks, that is good to know and to check out.

We don't fly to Europe to go to the beach.

If you want to spend time on the beach Valencia itself has some very good ones that are easily accessible from the city center by bus or tram (about 20 minutes). If you are interested in other sights Valencia's city center is a wanderer's dream. Lots of visually interesting neighborhoods. From Valencia you can take a local train to Cullera and Gandia. Cullera is pretty nice and it on the coast. If you have a car check out Denia and Javea. We try to get down to Denia every summer. However, you can't take the train from Valencia to Denia. You have to take the train to Alicante and then take the new tram line (not quite finished yet). Alsa bus would be another option.

Thanks for the info on Valencia, details like that give me a lot of insight on what to do and how to pull it off, thanks sanc!

I mean, thanks samc!
from Valencia

samc,
where would you recommend to stay in and around Valencia, or is it better to spend time somewhere else?

I recommend staying in Valencia. It is a real Spanish city with locals running around town rather than a bunch of tourists like in the beach towns. As Spain's 3rd largest city it has all the cultural amenities without the big city problems. And really nice beaches. So you can do something in town one day and head to the beach the next. It is also very cheap here. We get a "menu del dia" for weekday lunch for EUR 10 with a starter, main, and dessert plus bread. Nice food like fish of the day. Includes the VAT. You can get an Amstel beer (made locally) for 1.80 and wine for 1.50 in many restaurants. Museums are free on Sundays and 2 or 3 euros the rest of the time. Buses cost 85 cents a ride with the Bonobus 10 ride card. Unlimited transfers between buses for one hour. Subway ride is 72 cents.

I just checked the forum, and I saw the great response I got from samc, I really appreciate the information, and it is something I will do for sure. Valencia is now on my list of places to stay when I go back to Spain. I keep in touch regularly with my friend in Granada, and I will mention your advice you gave me.
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to answer my questions and giving me so much practical information which is so important to know and consider when making travel plans. It means a lot.

Since you have such a great recommendation as to staying in Valencia, do you have any recommendations for a particular hotel and a certain part of town you would stay in/near?
Thanks

The beaches are about 2 miles east of the center, but I would still stay in the city center. Anywhere south of the Rambla del Turia and north / east of the Gran Vias (or in Ruzafa, just to the south). It is rather walkable.

That is great to know