Go Cars – See Valencia Like None Other

Hey tourist! Yeah, you!

You got your shorts on, your map out, video camera in hand and money bag strapped snugly around your waist. Not bad… but why the long face? Why, what’s that you say? You really want to stick out? You want to be stared and laughed at by everyone you see? Well, we’ve got just the thing for you!

Leave your sense of shame at the door, and hop into a Go Car: smart, GPS-equipped little vehicles that will direct you around the city’s best sites. These yellow buggies are new in Valencia, after successful debuts in a number of cities including San Francisco, Miami, Barcelona and Lisbon.

Earlier this week, we did a trial run of the Go Cars, small two-seater scooters, and had a great time. You can take a number of various tours, including to the harbor, the city center, the BioParc & Nou Mestalla, and even El Saler. But be ready for attention.

My parents are visiting, and we took them along for a tour of the harbor & city center. Shameless Americans, they had no problem absorbing the looks of incredulity dished out by the Valencians going about their regular work day. Go Cars are attention magnets, and while Juergen and I tried our best to look as “cool” as possible while driving (we live here!), my mom and dad exhibited no restraint, yelling, waving and laughing at whoever we passed.

The Go Cars speak to you via speakers and a program hooked up to the GPS device. They tell you where to turn, which lane to get into, and a little about whatever sight you’re currently looking at. The narration manages to be both interesting and humorous, at one point even threatening to loudly issue a wolf whistle in an area it knew would be crowded (Plaza de la Reina). And when the bastard actually followed through on its threat, my face grew bright red as my father laughed and screamed “HAHA, USTEDES ARE GUAPAS!” at the group of girls who’d turned around.

Go Cars is currently offering an introductory deal on its tours of Valencia. For €30, you can get a car for an hour, paying €20 for the second hour. For a 2 hour tour, we’d recommend starting with the City Center and going from there. We’d have loved to go down to El Saler, but would’ve been cutting it short on time.

We all greatly enjoyed the tour. Juergen and I learned a lot of things we hadn’t known about the city. And on my parents’ first morning in Valencia, the Go Cars provided an extremely unique way to introduce it to them. Nothing like zipping along at 40 km/h along the Turia riverbed in a funny little car.