Guided excursions from five Valencian ports which will also educate you in the way the fish markets work.
Fishing is an ancient and traditional trade of the coastal Valencian towns. It is a historical cultural heritage, so much so that, currently, five ports in the Valencian Community offer fishing tourist activities that allow you to get to know it closely.
Valencian artisanal fishing opens its doors to anyone who wants to witness how a fisherman works in his day-to-day life and the procedures that are followed from the catching of the fish until point of sale.
For this, the ports of Valencia, Castellón, Vinaròs, Xàbia and Torrevieja offer excursions in which visitors enter the sea, either on the same fishing boats or on boats that accompany them, and can see a few meters how to Do this activity . In addition, the tour guides (only present in some offers) accompany the experience of navigating the Mediterranean coast with explanations that help to understand traditional fishing and that serve to highlight the value of this activity.
In all of them you can discover how the different types of fishing are carried out: with net, with hook or ‘to the deciduous’, among others, to capture a great diversity of species present in the Mediterranean.
PHOTO: TRIP & FEEL
In the city of Valencia , the offer consists of traveling aboard a sailboat that leaves the floating dock at the port and accompanies the fishing boat ‘Carolina’ .
This excursion, which can be done from Monday to Friday for groups of 8 to 10 people, starts at 9.00 and lasts about five hours. During this time, visitors enjoy the views until they reach where the fishermen are working. Once there, a guide instructs visitors about the art of “small fishing”, the traditions of the Maritime Villages and explains all the procedures that are then followed.
Once finished, both boats return to the port, where the selection of the fish is seen and it is explained how the auction is carried out in the market, also explaing the different tools used. This experience, which includes breakfast and snack, is priced between 90 and 95 euros and is done on demand throughout the year .
Apart from the capital, the community has many diverse offers in this type of tourism, either with small artisanal fishing vessels to larger vessels sailing offshore . In some cases, as is the case of the ‘El Gary’ – a boat available in Javea port, visitors do actually board the fishing boat with the fishermen .
On this boat you can also learn traditional fishing for a price of 60 euros per person, with a maximum of five passengers per excursion. In this four-hour visit, visitors are part of the crew of fishermen , who try to involve people of all ages to the fullest.
These are just two of the more than ten different fishing experiences that can be lived in the Valencian Community, and that are included in the TOURISMED project, co-financed by the European Union (according to the Interreg MED 2014-2020 plan) with the aim of promoting Fishing tourism in various European regions of the Mediterranean coast. A wide catalog of activities that allow you to enjoy fishing and realize the great value it has and has always had.
