From Albufera to Perellonet and the beaches of Sueca

Once again I'm going to talk about another new route in Valencia, I have already talked about some in my other articles but Valencia is lucky enough to have long paths with good bicycle tracks, perfect for cyclists but also great for walkers. So you should do the route one day soon!

I have already talked about the different beaches in the south of Valenica like Pinedo, l'Arbre del Gos, el Saler, la Garrofera y la Devesa but I haven't yet mentioned the Perellonet.

This route is a continuation from the previous one for people cycling to Albufera who want to go a little further afar. When doing this you can also visit the last 'Recatí' beach in Perellonet, and then, the different beaches of Sueca that are virtually all conjoining.

How to get there

The idea is to join this path from the previous one but if you don't want to do this, I recommend taking your bike on the train and getting off at either Catarroja or Sueca.

From there, you can head to Albufera, it is also possible to do this on foot and just as easy to get a bus in the direction of Palmar, and from there, follow more or less the same route although you also have to follow the line of the beach. It isn't compulsory to wear a helmet for the previous route because you are on a continuous bike path, but for this route it is necessary, because at the start and at the end of the track you will have to cycle on the road.

The route

Once you have everything prepared, you start once again at the artificial lake. For those of you who do not remember, at the end of the path there are three beautiful and unique places. The first is the Gola de Puchol Nuevo (or Gola de Pujol Nou in Valenciana), which was once an artificial canal that connected the lagoon with the sea. From there, there is a small path from which you can get to Albufera.

Albufera is the second of these special places and one of the main reasons you should do this route. The landscape is so beautiful there that it doesn't need a lake, but it is definitely worth visiting the surroundings of the beach.

And finally, there is an artificial fountain in the lake where you can drink from and a sign saying that you can bathe in the water. If you want to head back from here, you have to follow the road straight ahead until you reach a path that looks like the one in the first image.

The trail goes two ways, one is to the beach itself, which is nudist although the last time I went in the October there was nobody there. The other path leads to Albufera Natural Park which continues on until the CV-500, which is the main road that goes through all of these places.

Obviously, during the height of the season, the beach is very busy but in months such as October, you will not find hardly anyone but the locals.

Next we will head along the road where there are all the typical Valencian barracks. If you go there during the harvest, I will recommend taking some time to appreciate the landscape of the beautiful rice fields which are truly breathtaking. We then continue on this road until we get to Perellonet.

There alternative route is biking all the way to Albufera then turning right until you reach Palmar village, and then you will join the El Perelló route that I will explain. You get to see more of Albufera if you take this route.

El Perellonet started as a small neighbourhood annexed to El Perelló but int he 60s and 70s, it started to urbanise. I don't think the beach is that touristic because it doesn't have a promenade like other beaches.

In El Perellonet, we have to cross the CV-600 and then, we head for the beach off the beaten track, away from the CV-600.

You have to see both El Perellonet and El Perelló, which means 'pear tree' in English with the only difference being the end of the words. It has a population of around 1500 people (1438 according to the INE in 2014) but this amount doesn't include those who have second homes there, so therefore in the summer, the population reaches 20, 000 people.

There are two things to do in El Perellonet other than going to the beach. Firstly, there is the Gola del Perellonet, which is an artificial canal, created in 1873, unlike the Gola de Puchol Nuevo which was formed in 1951. It's really beautiful and interesting because it is now a fishing area so it is normal to see fishermen there.

On the downside, there is a hotel right next to the Gola so from there, we have to take a little detour. Interestingly, the name of the gola originated from the population, not the other way around. Also, despite it being called El Perellonet, the beach is called the Recatí and is 3600 metres long. Another place to visit is the small parish church Nuestra Señora del Carmen, built in the 50's.

I got here by taking a more rural route, passing many orchard fields, and then I turned right down the first country road I saw, but most people usually get there by going straight down the CV-600, at the end of Perellonet there is a small promenade but it barely reaches 1km.

Whether following the orchard route or the CV-600 towards Gola del Perelló, you will subsequently reach Perelló since Perellonet is between the two canals. El Perelló and the other beaches are totally different to Perellonet, the only similarity is the name.

El Perelló is a tiny community, it is more like a district really because it has political representation but it doesn't have a local government. It has an average population of 2500 inhabitants (2370 according to the INE 2015) but during the summer, the population can reach 40, 000. As I have previously mentioned, its name comes from 'pear tree', I guess because in the past, pear trees were grown a lot in the area.

And the difference with El Perellonet? Very simple and that is that Perello is an urbanised beach, obviously not like Benidorm or Gandia with lots of high-rise buildings, but there are small houses and a promenade that connects almost all of the beaches of Sueca. There isn't a cycling track and you are not allowed to ride your bike on the promenade.

I don't break the law but it does seem a bit silly to me that bikes are not allowed. I think it should be allowed in the quieter months when there aren't as many people.

The entrance to Perelló is via the Gola del Perelló, and it is much larger than the Puchol Nuevo and El Perellonet. You don't reach it by road but you cross a small bridge as seen in the photograph above.

The nicest of Perelló, besides the orchard fields, is definitely this view of all the boats, with the sea and the bridge in the background. Of course, in summer, the atmosphere is a lot livelier with all the tourists. Its historical heritage includes the ancient church San Pascual Bailon.

After crossing the bridge, you continue to the left until you reach the promenade. Along the way, you will pass almost all the beaches of Sueca, just by the Calle Mare Nostrum (a latin name for the Mediterranean). You can also find the old town in this part as well as the church.

Because many of the beaches are joined, there isn't much of a difference between the Perelló Beach, Playa de la Llastra, or the Playa de Sos. It is urbanised and quite busy in summer as I have already mentioned but also good for wind sports such as windsurfing. There is also the Perelló Yacht Club which is on the Gola.

Next is Playa del Calderer, Pouet o de Fernandet. Quite similar to the above, it is an urban beach, and quite busy because the 1km Perelló beach is not enough for all the tourists. It is followed by two other beaches called Peñal of Ifach and Playa del Maestrazgo.

Our next beaches are the Playa de les Palmeretes and Playa de la Loteria/Playa de Motilla although apparently the latter is in fact two beaches (hence the name). It is about 1300 metres long and is completely urbanised apart from some sand dunes. This part is already considered a hamlet of Sueca, with exactly 274 inhabitants. We will go through Calle Mare Nostrum, then Alghero and finally Antines.

Then we come off the promenade and head for Playa del Rey or Mareny de Vilches. Mareny de Vilches is a very small community with a population of 814 according to INE in 2014.

The promenade ends here so we have to go on the road or on the sea front but it is a pain that there isn't a direct path that starts in Perelló. The beach in total is 1200 metres long, but not all of it is urbanised. For this part, I recommend to continue to enjoy the farming landscape near Albufera.

The following beach is the Vega de Mar or the Mareny de Vilches, which you reach by passing through the Mar and Naranjo urbanisation, and then you get to Vega de Mar. It is 1000 metres long, but there isn't a promenade as I mentioned above. It's population is 119 people.

Next is the Playa del Mareny Blau which has 148 inhabitants. A bit bigger than the previous community and easier to cycle through because you can stick to the Calle Mar Blau N-11. Next, we turn off to get to another beach.

We will then go through Cullera which has the Playa de Marenys de San Lorenzo (or Sant Llorenç in Valencian). This road goes on forever in my opinion so it is better to take the CV-502 for the whole way, where you will go through Aquópolis and reaching the nearby Cullera station. Reaching the end of a long ride.

In conclusion, I think that it is a great bike ride, and obviously tiring. If you go any further, you will get to Valencia which is worth doing just one time. Totally recommendable.