A boat trip to the Benagil Sea Cave
Algarve, the southern region of Portugal, is the most popular region of this country. Azure waters, pristine beaches, scrumptious cuisine and year-round clement weather make Algarve a tourist favourite. Time and again, Algarve tops the list of ‘the best places to retire to’. In addition to the azure waters and the pristine beaches, the limestone cliffs and caves that dot the coastline make this region a visual treat. Almost all rock formations and nested caves are beautiful; the Benagil Sea Cave with its unique structure makes it a must-visit for anyone who visits this region.
Boat tours along the Algarve region
Although a lot of these beautiful rock formations can be seen when one walks along the coastline, the best possible way to explore these rock formations is by kayaking your way through the waters or taking a boat tour. Besides being an adventure in itself, you can also discover hidden beaches and caves which is not possible otherwise. The boat tours are a huge hit and many local operators offer them.
I decided to book my boat tour through Aurora Boat Trips – Algarve Caves which is run by Captain Pedro Lamy. Captain Pedro Lamy’s passion for the Algarve region is infectious! A brief interaction with him and I knew I had made the right decision to pick Aurora boat trips for my boat tour.
It is a 1.5 hour long tour that starts from Armação de Pêra and takes you through multiple beaches, caves and rock formations and ends up at the Benagil Sea Cave and back to the starting point of the tour. The journey was replete with stunning views but the stories by Captain Pedro about the region made the boat tour extremely memorable.
We went into a cave called the Captain’s Cave which felt straight out of a chapter from Treasure Island! We also witnessed the famous elephant rock and the sphinx rock.
Benagil Sea Cave
What makes Benagil so spectacular is the circular opening at the top which allows the sunlight to fall on the water and the sand within the cave. The sunlit sparkling waters look extremely inviting; I was just short of getting down into the waters. That’s when Captain Pedro told me that the boat tours do not allow passengers on-board to get down into the waters for safety reason. The sea cave boat tour was one of the highlights of my trip to Portugal and would definitely recommend to anyone visiting this beautiful country.
How to reach Armação de Pêra
Armação de Pêra is well connected to the major towns in the Algarve region by bus.
- Lagos to Armação de Pêra is a 1 hour bus journey
- Faro to Armação de Pêra is a 1.5 hour bus journey
You can check the bus timetable here
Sincera Tip
- The boat tour operates only during the low tides hence do inquire about the timings beforehand
- In case you kayak your way to explore this region don’t forget to carry your swimming trunks and costumes. The waters are extremely tempting for a short swim
- There are some amazing walking trails along the coastline. Check them here