Discover The Ria Formosa!

Sailing and Boat tours

An easy and relaxing way to enjoy the beauties of the park with a friendly, knowledgable guide to tell you about the Ria Formosa. We offer boat tours of 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours and 7 hours with the longer tours including several stops at deserted beaches and the little fishing villages of the barrier islands. These tours are in simple motor boats or catamarans and start at €12.50/person. There are several departure points. Please ask us for full details of all the Ria Formosa boat tours.

We also have available a beautiful, modern sailing yacht that can take a maximum of 5 people plus skipper. It is available for private charters during which you can just relax and enjoy the views or learn the basics from the skipper and have a go at sailing the yacht! If you would like to learn to sail or improve we can arrange sailing lessons. For the romantics among you we offer a private dinner for two on an anchored sail boat in a Ria Formosa lagoon. We will transport you to the yacht, where you can enjoy oysters and other seafood, delicious wine and a light dessert for two. We will pick you up 2 hours later.

Dolphin watching

The aim of this cruise is to search for and observe wild dolphins in their natural environment! Hundreds of individual dolphins swim along the Algarvean coast daily. The species we see most frequently are the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin, but you might also get to see flying fish, sunfish and sea turtles! Seeing wild dolphins and sea creatures is a thrilling experience and our guide will help you spot and identify them. Binoculars are provided. This tour is €30 per person and lasts two and a half hours.

Snorkelling with Seahorses!

The Ria Formosa is home to the largest seahorse community in the world! There are two species in the park; the long-snouted seahorse,hippocampus guttulatus, and the short-snouted seahorse, hippocampus hippocampus. Snorkelling with seahorses allows to to observe these amazing little creatures in their natural habit. The guide will help you spot and identify the seahorses and will brief you so you can snorkel without disturbing the seahorses or their habitat. If you don't have your own snorkel and mask we can lend you one. The trip lasts 2 hours and is €40 per person.

Kayaking in the Ria Formosa

Explore the Ria Formosa by pedal or traditional paddle kayak. Guided tours and kayak hire are available. A lovely, gentle way to tour in harmony with your surroundings. Full details of our kayak tours can be found here.

Birdwatching

The Ria Formosa is a haven for birdlife with many fascinating resident and migratory bird populations to be seen in the park and along the coast. Your guide is a biologist and will help you spot and identify the species present. Some interesting species that are frequently seen include the black-necked grebe (podiceps nigricollis), the spoonbill (platalea leucorodia), oystercatcher (haematopus ostralegus), flamingo (phoenicopterus roseus), bar-tailed godwit (limosa lapponica), mediterranean gull (larus melanocephalus), cormorant (phalacrocorax carbo), little egret (egretta garzetta), grey heron (ardea cinerea) and the white stork (ciconia ciconia) among others.

Or join us for a birdwatching boat trip, the species we often see are Cory's Shearwater (calonectris diomedea borealis), Manx Shearwater (puffinus puffinus), Balearic Shearwater (puffinus mauretanicus), Sooty Shearwater (puffinus griseus), European Storm Petrel (hydrobates pelagicus), Wilson's Storm Petrel (oceanites oceanicus), leach's storm petrel (oceanodroma leucorhoa), nothern gannet (morus bassanus), great skua (stercorarius skua), pomarine skua (stercorarius pomarinus), Arctic Skua (stercorarius parasiticus)and the long-tailed skua (stercorarius longicaudus). We have also seen Razorbill (alca torda) and Puffin (fratercula arctica) on occasion.

Fishing

Come reef fishing with expert local guides. The most commonly caught fish include: seabream, pandora, wrasse, red gunnard, chub mackerel, horse mackerel, pagrus, garfish, triggerfish, scorpion fish, red mullet and picarel. We provide all the fishing equipment and bait and will fish approximately 2 or 3 miles off shore. This trip is suitable for all levels and you can take the fish home for dinner! This two and a half hour trip costs €33/person.

Ringo

If you prefer your fun fast and furious come and have a go on the ringo! Pulled along by a fast boat it's an exciting and bouncy ride- expect to get wet! €100 per person per hour.

Please use the form below to contact us with any questions or to book your tour of the Ria Formosa