Ria Formosa Boat Tours & Island Trips

The Ria Formosa Natural Park is the reason Faro feels different from the rest of the Algarve. Instead of a hard coastline it has a vast lagoon of channels, salt marshes and sandbar islands, protected as a nature reserve, and the only way to properly see it is from the water. A Ria Formosa boat tour is the headline thing to do out of Faro.

The lagoon is alive in a way the open coast is not. It holds one of the largest seahorse populations in the world, and the salt pans turn pink with flamingos in spring and autumn, so a Ria Formosa boat tour doubles as some of the best birdwatching in southern Portugal. When you compare tours, decide what you want from the day. Wildlife trips run slow and quiet, often on solar-powered boats, and stop where the herons and flamingos feed. Island-hopping trips drop you on the Ria Formosa islands, Deserta, Farol or Culatra, for a few hours of wild beach before bringing you back. Some combine both.

Boats leave from the harbour right beside Faro's old town, so a trip slots easily into a day in the city. Go early for calm water and the best light, and bring binoculars if the birds are why you came.

9 Ria Formosa tours from EUR 25. Wildlife cruises and island-beach trips from Faro, with free cancellation on most - easy to book online.