The answer
Take Metrovalencia line 3 or 5 from the Aeroport station — €4.80 on a single ticket, about 20–25 minutes to Xàtiva or Colón. Budget €5.90 for the first journey: the €4.80 does not include the reusable card you have to buy with it.
The airport sits in the '+' fare supplement zone, so a zone A, B or AB ticket will not get you out of the station. AB+ is the only combination that includes Aeroport, and it is the same price as a taxi split three ways.
Staying a few days? A SUMA 10 AB+ is €12.60 for ten journeys, temporarily reduced until 31 December 2026, and covers the airport plus the metro and tram.
Landing late? A metered taxi is €18–30: €2.00 flag fall plus €1.36/km by day, a €5.40 airport supplement, and a €12.50 minimum for any journey starting at the airport.
⚠️ The traps (walk past these)
The zone A ticket that stops at the barrier
Metrovalencia has zones A, B and B+, plus a '+' supplement area that exists for exactly one reason: the Aeroport stop. A zone A, zone B or even an AB single does not cover it — you need the AB+ combination at €4.80. Buy the wrong one and the barrier simply will not open.
Do this: choose the AB+ combination at the machine, or buy a SUMA 10 AB+ or SUMA Mensual, which include the airport with no supplement
The €1.10 card bolted onto every single ticket
Valencia singles are not paper. The €4.80 is loaded onto a reusable card that costs €1.10 (cardboard) or €2.20 (plastic), so your first airport journey really costs €5.90–7.00. Visitors who budget €4.80 and then find the machine asking for more assume they have been overcharged.
Do this: keep the card and reload it for later journeys, or skip singles entirely and buy a SUMA 10 AB+
The 'flat airport price' that does not exist
Valencia taxis are metered. There is no negotiated airport rate — the meter runs, and a fixed €5.40 airport supplement is added on top, with a €12.50 minimum for journeys starting at the airport. A driver offering a round 'fixed price' off the rank is quoting a number the tariff does not contain.
Do this: take the official rank outside arrivals, check the meter starts when you get in, and ask for the receipt
The cheap TuiN fare you cannot buy at the airport
The €2.00 TuiN journey is real, but the card has to be pre-registered on Metrovalencia's website and collected in person at Xàtiva, Colón, Benimaclet or Alacant — four stations, none of them at the airport. Arriving with plans to load one at the terminal does not work.
Do this: buy a SUMA 10 AB+ at the airport machine instead; if you are staying, get a TuiN in the city and use it for the trip back
The metro does not run all night
Metrovalencia shuts down overnight, and there is no night bus substitute from the airport. A pre-dawn departure or a landing after the last train leaves you with the taxi rank only — and the meter plus the €5.40 supplement is a very different number from €4.80.
Do this: check the last departure for your date before you book an early flight, and budget €18–30 for a taxi if you land late