Where can you canoe in Portugal?

Taking to the rivers in Portugal lets you appreciate its natural beauty and traditional way of life. You’ll soon feel miles from anywhere! Floating past ancient orchards and white-washed cottages! Get to know storks and perhaps basking turtles! If you come in the spring bring your camera to capture almond trees swathed in beautiful sweet-smelling pink blossoms! But don’t forget to bring some warm clothes too just in case the weather turns cool. The Ria Formosa offers a superb location for kayaking with a 60km long nature reserve and ever changing lagoon system consisting of sandy islands separated by natural inlets and channels and a haven for marine life.

We offer guided tours of this area as well as kayak hire if you prefer to go alone. Canoeing also gives you the option of exploring Portugal’s remoter regions. In the Peneda-Gerês National Park in the North of Portugal and the surrounding areas you will find rugged mountains, hidden waterfalls, wild moorland ponies and ancient granite villages where jangling cow bells announce the return of the herd for milking. For goups, we offer 4 and 5 day kayaking holidays on the rivers Minho, Douro and Tejo (see below for more details) as well as day trips.Further south in the Alentejo rivers wind through white washed villages nestling among perfectly rounded hills and gnarled olive and cork trees- perfect for nature spotting and a leisurely lunch or take to the lake at Alqueva, also in the Alentejo, – Europe’s largest man made dam and an up and coming water sports destination.

Portugal’s mild climate makes it ideal for sea kayaking which can be enjoyed many months of the year even by beginners. We currently offer sea kayaking tours in the Arrabida natural park, in the Algarve and Madeira.