A boat trip from El Palmar, with the village boatmen, through canals and lake.

A flat-bottomed boat, like the fishing boats

The barca albuferenca is the lake's traditional boat, the one used by the fishermen of El Palmar, which in spring and summer still goes out under lateen sail in the village's displays. You set off from a canal in El Palmar, pass between reeds and rice fields and enter the open lake. The boatman talks as you go: what is grown in each season, how eels used to be caught, who still lives in the barracas.

There are several families in El Palmar who do this. We have checked two, with their own websites and published prices.

Rosa y Tonet: since 1978

Rosa y Tonet have been taking people out on the Albufera since 1978 and the third generation is now involved. The trip lasts about 40 to 45 minutes on the water and ends with a quarter-hour visit to a fishermen's barraca next to the jetty. It costs €5 per adult, €3 for ages 3 to 10 and nothing up to 2 years. They say they do not raise prices in high season.

They sail every day from 10:30 until sunset, with a morning shift until 14:00 and an afternoon one from 15:30. The boats are shared, with 15, 20 or 30 seats. They take people without a reservation, but if you want a specific time, book. If it rains, they sail anyway and hand out ponchos; if it is windy, they switch to a more sheltered route. For a small group, a private boat costs from €50 for one to five people and €10 per extra person.

Ernesto Soler: by reservation, with parking

Ernesto Soler sails from the car park of the El Palmar restaurant, at calle del Santíssim Crist de la Salut, 36, where you park for free if you have booked a boat. His trip lasts about 50 minutes and costs €5 per adult and €3 per child. He publishes indicative departures at 12:00, 13:00, 16:00 and 17:00, always by reservation by phone or WhatsApp. He has three boats, with 16, 20 and 32 seats. You pay in cash; on his sunset page he adds Bizum. The commentary is in Spanish, with a little English.

How to get there and when to go

By bus, EMT line 24 runs from Valencia to El Palmar in under an hour; see the listing for EMT buses 24 and 25. By car, take the CV-500 and the El Palmar turn-off; if you are not going with Ernesto, park in the village car park.

The trip works all year, but the landscape changes. From May to July the rice fields are flooded and green; from November to January they flood again and more birds arrive. In March and April the fields are dry. At midday in summer it is hot on the water: the first trip or the afternoon one is more pleasant. If you can choose, the sunset on the Lluent is the most beautiful, and costs €7.