By Lianne, responsible for the Spanish market and content/translations at SeaBookings.
During our stay in Lagos in the Algarve, we wanted to do something fun. That’s why we decided to visit another place and go on a dolphin watching tour in Portimão.
At the marina of Portimão, you see many different boats departing and arriving (sailing boats, motor boats, catamarans, etc.).
The dolphin watching in Portimão is done on a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and this was my first experience on a boat like this.
Because we were going to search for dolphins in the wild, we needed to go far into the sea. With a boat like this, you can go very fast and reach these beautiful animals in a short time.
My boyfriend and I were sitting in the front and the crew told us that it was important that everyone helped to look out for the dolphins.
Sit back and relax…. Oh no! Hold on tight! Because the boat reaches speeds of 40km/h and on the open sea it feels like you go really fast! This is really amazing because it gives you an adrenaline-kick and you have the feeling that you fly over water.
Before getting on board we were all provided with wind and life-jackets. I thought it would be too hot, but in the middle of the sea, it can be pretty cold.
We were told that during this dolphin watching tour in Portimão deals with wild animals. The dolphins live in the wild and they are not fed, which is a good thing I think, because we could really encounter these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.
I think after 20 minutes we found another boat and the people on board were already waving to us that we could see dolphins close to their boat.
We slowed down and carefully we came closer to the other boat. There we saw already a couple of dolphins swimming. It didn’t take long before we saw dolphins everywhere around our boat.
It was really amazing because we could come very close to the animals because we were sitting in a small boat. Even when they were swimming underwater and close to the boat we could see them.
After admiring the dolphins for a while, it was time to go back. Different from the ride to the dolphins we were now heading back to the coast of course, which is also a nice experience. You see the nice colorful cliffs and different boats sailing along the coast.
The sea was getting rougher and although I really like this adrenaline-kick, I can understand that other people would like the sea to be calmer.
Usually, it is better to go early in the morning because the sea is calmer at that time of the day (especially if you usually get seasick it is recommendable to go in the morning).
After this amazing experience, we got back to the marina. It was very nice to see some dolphins in the wild.
We highly recommend this dolphin watching tour in Portimão if you like nature and adventure!
