Port Saplaya was the first place in Spain we called home. At the end of May 2023, after four days of driving down from the Netherlands, we came along the coast from Amposta on a Monday morning and pulled into this little canal village just north of Valencia.
We had rented a temporary apartment by the beach for a month while we sorted out paperwork and looked for something permanent. That first evening was a walk along the beach and a trip to the supermarket.
If you’re considering Port Saplaya with kids, here’s the short version: it’s a relaxed, compact place with a beach and a set of canals, parking has usually been easy for us, and prices are normal for Spain rather than for a tourist hotspot. It doesn’t really do surprises, and with a small child that’s a compliment.
Our first month in Spain, in Port Saplaya
The apartment was more than we’d hoped for: rooms full of light and a breeze coming in off the sea. We spent those first hours working out where the desk would go and where our son would sleep, then hauled our things up from the cars until we were worn out.
Most of that month wasn’t really about Port Saplaya at all. It was about getting our NIE (the foreigner identification number you need for almost everything in Spain), with appointments in Denia and Benidorm, and then about house hunting. We’ve written about how those appointments went in our first month in Spain - in short, one went badly and one went very well.
What Port Saplaya gave us was a calm place to come back to while all that was going on. After about a month we found an apartment in Paiporta and moved on, but this is where our life in Spain actually started.
Things to do in Port Saplaya: the canals and marina
The “Venice” part comes from the canals. The houses are built around an inland marina, and according to Turisme Comunitat Valenciana (opens in new tab), the moorings sit practically at the doors of the homes. There’s a fleet of catamarans in the basin and a sailing school next to the marina that runs courses all year.
For us, Port Saplaya is simply a lovely place to go for a walk: along the canals, past the boats moored outside the houses, and out to the beach. It’s usually what I’d call cozy busy - enough people around to feel lively, never so many that the walk becomes a chore.
Our apartment was by the beach, so the sea was never more than a short walk away - which is how our very first evening in Spain ended up being a stroll on the sand.
Where to eat in Port Saplaya: menu del día and Horchatería Toni
For lunch, the move is a menu del día - a fixed-price set lunch. When we lived there in 2023 it was around 15 euros a person, and it kept us going until dinner without any trouble. Prices in general are what you’d pay anywhere in Spain, not a beachfront premium.
And then there’s Horchatería Toni. Port Saplaya belongs to Alboraya, which is horchata country: the tiger nuts that go into it are grown in the fields around the town, and Valencian horchata has its own Designation of Origin (opens in new tab). We went to Toni’s for the ice cream, and it’s the one stop we’d tell anyone not to skip.
Is Port Saplaya worth it with kids?
Yes, as long as you know what kind of day it is. Our son was little when we lived there, and what worked was how little effort anything took: the beach, a walk along the canals, lunch, an ice cream, home.
There are no big attractions here, nothing laid on to keep a child entertained. If your kids need a full program, this will feel quiet. But if you want a break from the usual tourist spots in Valencia - a few unhurried hours by the sea where nobody has to rush - it’s hard to beat this close to the city.
Getting to Port Saplaya from Valencia and parking
We’ve always come by car, and parking has usually been easy. It can get busy, especially on a sunny beach day, but in our experience there’s usually been enough room for everybody. If you’re new to driving here, we wrote down what we’ve learned in driving in Spain.
Without a car, Valencia’s yellow Metrobus network runs out to Port Saplaya - Visit València lists it (opens in new tab) among the nearby towns the Metrobus reaches, and points to the official Metrobus app for current lines and timetables. We haven’t taken it ourselves, so check the app before you go.
Going back in 2025
In February 2025, when my sister came over for our double birthday weekend, we took her to Port Saplaya after some time on the beach. It was a properly nostalgic visit - showing her the place where we’d first landed, almost two years earlier. You can read about the rest of that weekend in our double birthday post.
It was still as relaxed as we remembered.
Hasta luego, mis amigos!
