Dolphins & Cave Boat Cruise with Marine Biologist from Albufeira
Description
Departing from Albufeira Marina, this is a two hour and thirty minutes activity that will take you in a journey to see these wonderful creatures in their natural environment, a few miles from the coastline. After a period time with the dolphins, you'll be taken for a tour along the coastline, visiting some caves. The order of the activity may vary, according to the captain assessment of the dolphins location.
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Check-in up to 30 minutes from departure time
- Pregnant women may be subject to an evaluation of the crew, depending on the ocean conditions
- Children under 3 years of age may be subject to an evaluation of the crew, depending on the ocean conditions
- Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible (except if the passenger is able to change from wheelchair to the boat seat)
- Subject to favorable weather conditions. If cancelled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
- Dress code: subject to weather conditions. Recommend light jacket.
- The experience and/or the itinerary might change according with the weather and/or sea conditions.
- Dolphins are wild creatures, It's not guaranteed they will be encountered. The tour duration can change subject to that.
Reviews(274)
We were sold a tour with dolphin watching and a visit to the caves: it’s done! The staff is very pleasant and professional, the commentary is provided in both Portuguese and English, and the boat was comfortable and equipped with restrooms, which is a very big advantage when you spend 2:30 at sea. However, you shouldn't be afraid of getting splashed, because even at low speed we were entitled to an express refreshment straight from the ocean 😅. The landscapes we were able to observe were magnificent, and even if landing in the Benagil cave is no longer allowed, the boat still goes into it enough to be able to observe its beauty. As for dolphin watching, we were lucky after a long search to follow a few of them for about fifteen minutes. Despite the difficulty in finding them and the possibility of not seeing any, we were still able to observe some, notably thanks to our captain and his crew who didn't give up. Small note: watch out for the price difference between what is displayed on TripAdvisor and on-site, because there is a big gap between the €27 displayed and the €35 requested on-site! My advice: call before booking to find out about availability and the times of the next tours, but make the reservation and payment via TripAdvisor or GetYourGuide. As for the location of the ticket office, it can change depending on the sites you consult. Their counter is located in a blue hut behind the marina, at the level of the access path to Praia da Rocha. Otherwise, everything was perfect, and I obviously recommend this tour to you!
What you order is not always what you are given. We ordered tickets for the marine biologist tour seeing the dolphins and the cave for 2 and a half hours with these being the only stop and informative information given about the marine life. What we got was around 2 hours on a much bigger busier boat with no marine biologist in sight being told this is a beach and dolphins have appeared in flipper. We even had an unscheduled swimming stop which was not on our orders itinerary and so upset kids when they couldnt join in. Keeping to what you offer is strangely something which happens to be important in a customer driven business and sadly this one went home unhappy with what was offered. A shorter ride on a busier boat with no biologist and an unhappy family due to changes to the trip. Sad it should have been so much better.
Kudos to Rita's team and their professionalism
The boat trip was very cool, but we didn't get to see any dolphins. They could have offered an option for a partial refund if they aren't seen, since you pay for both activities and it's a shame not to get to see them; other companies have that option.
Great excursions Too bad, we did not see any dolphins
The staff at the ticket office and crew on board the boat were very friendly. They took the time to explain things. I would highly recommend this trip.
Good trip but would have been better if people from back could get a look from the front of boat. ….
"We booked the 'Dolphins and Benagil Trip' but were highly disappointed. We didn't see a single dolphin, and the rest of the experience was just a basic boat tour. We only spent about 2 minutes inside the Benagil Cave. The tour commentary was brief, unprofessional, and very difficult to understand. After visiting the cave, the boat simply drove straight out into the open sea and back while playing highly inappropriate music. With this careless approach, it is no wonder we didn't spot any dolphins. Overall, a very disappointing experience and a total rip-off."
We booked the tour for 3 PM and found it fantastic :) unfortunately, we did not see any dolphins, but that was not a big deal. The feeling of crossing the Atlantic with a view of the beaches was great.
The outing lasted less time than expected; our departure time was moved up on the same day without the option to refuse. And we were unable to see any dolphins. Fortunately, the staff was friendly.
