PORTUGAL · DOLPHIN WATCHING
Common dolphins along the Algarve cliffs, deep Atlantic off Madeira, resident pods in the Sado estuary an hour from Lisbon. These 15 trips are compared on boat, sailing time and what a seat costs.
Review of Albufeira’s Benagil Caves and dolphin cruise, with coastal views, marine science, swim stop, practical tips, and honest drawbacks.
“We loved this! Maria, Johnny and Tiago were brilliant hosts and were lovely and knowledgeable. The dolphins were so sweet and the Bengali caves were gorgeous. Highly recommend. Very good value for money!”
Review of Madeira’s $41 eco catamaran cruise, with whale and dolphin watching, coastal views, practical tips, and honest advice.
“Absolutely brilliant. We were lucky to spot three species. Common dolphins, bottle nose dolphins and pilot whales. We were a group of 7, a few of which had never done this tri before so they were delighted to spot so many creatures. Good value for money. Crew were fantastic.”
Review of Albufeira’s Benagil Caves and dolphin speedboat tour, with swimming, prices, guides, sea conditions, and booking advice.
“It was amazing experience to see this natural caves but because of the wawes we couldn’t go very near to the caves overall experience was good”
Review of Madeira’s 3-hour Seaborn catamaran cruise, with dolphins, whales, Cabo Girão views, swimming, prices, tips, and practical advice.
“Had the opportunity to see beautiful views of Madeira island 🏝 Dolphins 🐬 and flying fish 🐟. The beer 🍺 Coral wasn't very cold,but did enjoyed everything... A big thank you for the crew, getting us all safe, opportunity to see different things/views and on get us satisfied”
Cruise from Albufeira to Benagil Cave, search for dolphins, enjoy coastal views, and swim from the boat for $34.
“Wow we had an amazing time.. doing the usual swim and coastal tour and the Benagil cave. All awesome with fantastic boat trip, commentary and photo opportunities. If that was not enough we then dashed to a spot of reported orca sightings. We saw 2. Such a wonderful experience. Thank you so much Dominic, Raoul & the rest of the crew. Amazing”
Review of Albufeira’s 2.5-hour dolphin and Benagil Caves boat tour, with practical advice on value, sea conditions, guides, and booking.
“Really enjoyed the tour. We got very lucky and saw a large pod of dolphins what jumped and swam next to our boat as we cruised long for 10-15 minutes. It was awesome. The caves were cool too but the dolphins were the highlight. Only issue is that the seat cushions must had a lot of water in them from the night before. The seat surface looked dry but after sitting on them for 20 minutes, our family’s pant seats were quite wet and it definitely did not splash from the ocean while touring.”
Review of Albufeira’s dolphin and Benagil Cave cruise, with practical advice on waves, wildlife, guides, value, and what to bring.
“our guide was excellent, as was our driver , great activity all round”
Review of Ponta Delgada whale watching with Futurismo, including boat choices, wildlife, seasonal tips, comfort, value, and practical advice.
“Great tour! Saw a few different types of whales and dolphins. Weather was great and cleared up for the tour. Guide provided a lot of information and they provided protective clothing from the water.”
Cruise from Portimão to Benagil Caves with a marine biologist, swim in clear water, and search for dolphins along the Algarve coast.
“It was a very interesting and beautiful tour. The caves and coastline are extraordinary. We were also very lucky to see a lot of dolphins playing. But that's not every day the guide told us. The guide was informative and also very sympathetic. She did a great job.”
Cruise from Lisbon to the Atlantic, spot wild dolphins, enjoy open-bar drinks, and see Belem Tower and Tagus landmarks from the water.
“Nice cruise with a very friendly guide. Boat was a bit small due to the lack of participants and not very comfortable. It was a nice overall experience to discover the surroundings of Lisbon on the water.”
Cruise Funchal Bay aboard a small luxury catamaran, spot whales and dolphins, swim beneath Cabo Girão, and enjoy Madeira from the sea.
“Great trip on a beautiful catamaran, really jolly and fun hosts, made a good effort to show us the whales in a quiet and respectful way, we saw 2 which was amazing. Fantastic it's only a small group of people onboard too.”
Madeira whale and dolphin tour review covering the luxury catamaran, wildlife, Cabo Girão swim, open bar, price, and practical tips.
“Peter & his crew were excellent, very welcoming & knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble. We saw quite a few Sperm Whales which was incredible. Would definitely recommend, but take your sea sickness tablets, it gets choppy out there!”
Review of Lagos’ dolphin and Benagil Cave speedboat tour, with marine biologists, wild dolphins, coastal caves, value, comfort, and practical tips.
“The boat trip itself was the money worth. Riding over the waves was a little bit like riding on a roller coaster. We saw a crowd of more than 30 dolphins. A very nice experience especially for my grand child. The coast line with caves makes the tour perfect.”
Review of Madeira’s eco catamaran cruise from Funchal, with dolphins, whales, coastal views, practical tips, value, and honest drawbacks.
“Got to see dolphins, sperm and pilot whales. Also opportunity to learn more about them and the area. Plenty of room on board with helpful staff making sure you got to see the wildlife.”
Review of Lisbon dolphin watching with marine biologists, including wildlife, boat ride, price, safety, itinerary, and practical tips.
“It was an amazing experience, we didn't see any dolphins unfortunately but being on a speedboat through the choppy waves was fun as hell. They also offered us to come back for free for another ride but we couldn't take it because of another tour. Couldn't recommend it enough, it was a lot of fun, even if you don't see any dolphins it's a great experience.”
Pick a coast, or pick the kind of morning you want.
