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Lisbon Catamaran Tour: Encounter Bottlenose Dolphins in World's Top 10 Most Beautiful Bays
4.9
29 Ratings
Lisboa
Embark on a full-day catamaran tour from Lisbon and witness the beauty of one of the world's top 10 most beautiful bays. Encounter wild bottlenose dolphins and explore the stunning Arrábida natural reserve.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
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Estatua do Marques de Pombal - You start by being picked-up for your tour at the designated meeting point in Lisbon.
This tour begins as you head south from Lisbon to Setúbal, a region best known for its fish culture and the natural reserve. - Setubal - In Setúbal you will board a modern catamaran, for a relaxing and enjoyable cruise on the Sado Estuary, where you’ll learn about the resident bottlenose dolphins and hopefully be able to observe some wild dolphins in their natural environment.
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Reserva Natural do Estuario do Sado - Here you will board a modern catamaran, for a relaxing and enjoyable cruise on the Sado Estuary, where you’ll learn about the resident bottlenose dolphins and hopefully be able to observe some wild dolphins in their natural environment. The cruise takes between 2 1/2 to 3 hours, but may take longer.
The duration may change due to weather conditions or the dolphins being more “shy”…
Note: for wildlife preservation and respecting the dolphins habitat, we will be a maximum of 30 minutes near the dolphins with the ship.
See the natural reserve of Arrábida, take in the stunning views, and learn about the area’s history.
- Forte de Sao Filipe - From the ocean, and before returning to the old city centre of Setúbal you’ll see a few of the region’s historic monuments and sites like the Arrábida Convent and the Saint Filipe Fort.
Before returning to Lisbon, you’ll stop at a few sights in the Arrabida Mountain range, from where you can marvel at the natural reserve and get a “land view” of this region.
- Praca Marques do Pombal - Lastly we will head back to Lisbon for you to be dropped -off at the same location as your pick-up.
What's Included
- Catamaran cruise with dolphin watching
- Skip-the-line ticket access
- Professional group guide
- Air-conditioned transportation
- Pick-up and drop-off in Lisbon
What's Not Included
- Lunch and any other items not mentioned in the program
Additional Information
Witness wild and free bottle-nose dolphins glide through the sea on this full-day guided sea life sightseeing tour from Lisbon. South of Lisbon, discover one of the 10 most beautiful bays in the world. Cruise atop one of the globe’s most scintillating bays in a modern catamaran and see wild marine life.
Enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Sado Estuary, where you’ll learn about the resident bottlenose dolphins and hopefully observe some wild dolphins in their natural environment. The cruise takes between 2 1/2 to 3 hours. See the natural reserve of Arrábida, and take in the stunning views, learning about the area’s history and culture.
From the ocean, and before returning to the old city centre of Setúbal you’ll see a few of the region’s historic monuments, like the Arrábida Convent and the Saint Filipe Fort.
Before returning to Lisbon, you’ll stop at a few sights in the Arrabida Mountain range, from where you can marvel at the natural reserve and get a “land view” of this region.
- The tour might be cancelled if unsafe/severe weather conditions occur
- The sequence of the mentioned places can be changed according to weather conditions
- Dolphin watching has a very high probability (95%), however it is not guaranteed they will be seen, as they are wild animals, not trained
- You must bring: comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and warm clothing. Even in summer bring a pullover or jacket
- Note: we will be a maximum of 30 minutes close to the dolphins, as they are protected by law.
Location
HF Fénix Lisboa
Praça Marquês de Pombal
We will pick-up all travelers in Lisbon at the "Marques de Pombal" Square, at the Metro Station exit, in front of the HF Fenix Hotel.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(29 Ratings)
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Ff_c
Aug 26, 2022
Dolphin watching and boat trip nice and refreshing - Our tour guide Joao was very knowledgeable and experienced. He can speak quite a few languages.We learned a lot of things from him . We went on a nice boat , sailing around spotting adorable dolphins swimming in the nature and then sailing further in the ocean enjoying charming sceneries. Joao took us to Sao Filipe castle which had a breathtaking views over the ocean and the city . It was a very memorable and lovely day trip.
Review provided by Viator
Lea_f
Aug 24, 2021
Our guide, Rodrigo, was... - Our guide, Rodrigo, was amazing, really nice, gentle and he can talk many languages. The experience was awesome! I recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Victor_b
Jul 10, 2021
Make time to do this tour!! - This was an awesome tour, the weather was beautiful and we got see the dolphins for more than an hour, after that we took a detour and went to the Felipe palace. The view of Sétubal was jaw dropping from up there, our tour guide was full of knowledge and had answers and facts about everywhere we visited. 10/10. I would recommend this tour to any first time visitor.
Review provided by Viator
Leyorcoe
Jul 1, 2021
Unforgettable trip - We had an amazing trip with John (Joao) watching Dolphins. Picking us up on time from our hotel in Lisbon, John proved an insightful and witty guide for the entire trip. His ride was comfortable and roomy, and so was the large catamaran boat which took us the rest of the way.
The boat had plenty of space, and even with the wind a bit brisk, it was relaxing to lay and sunbathe in the nets at the front of the boat, while enjoying the most amazing view.
We had never seen wild dolphins before, and we were delighted to be able to watch them up and relatively close. One even swam right next to the boat, while the engine was cut off. One aspect that was interesting was that John actually had pictures and names of the individual dolphins, which he showed us beforehand, and we then could start recognizing some of them when we spotted them.
Afterwards, John also took us for a small detour to the nearby fortress and told us the story of the place. What really struck us was how flexible and accomodating John was, at no point did we feel rushed. It made it into a truly unforgettable day. Next time we come to Lisbon, we will make sure to look up John again.
In terms of Covid, John and the boat captain wore masks the entire trip. Everything was disinfected. In the car it was only us, and on the boat there space to keep many meters distance from the few other guests.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alina
Jun 27, 2021
Great experience - We spent an amazing day on this tour. We saw many dolphins, some even really close. The guide was great and adjusted to all our needs. He‘s knowledge of the city and also of the dolphins (and of a lot more;)) was huge and it was great to have a conversation with him and learn a lot out of that. We would book this trip defenitely again.
Review provided by Viator
Giusinorcia
Jul 27, 2019
Extraordinary experience - It has been a great experience. We had the chance to watch the dolphins in their "natural space". Nice crew and a special guide as Rodrigo.
Review provided by Viator
Laura
Jun 21, 2019
Amazing tour - My sister and I did the dolphin watching tour on Saturday 15th June, and we had the most amazing day. Huge thank you to Joao who was our guide for the afternoon. He was a fantastic guide, so friendly and knowledgeable. We learnt so much from him about the history and culture of portugal, and of course the beautiful dolphins. Thank you so much. I highly recommend this tour to everyone
Review provided by Viator
Happiness12436844215
May 20, 2019
A amazing day at sea - João picked us up at the pick-up point in Lisbon, and we had a nice drive to Setúbal, first stopping at Fortress São Filipe for a guided tour and then to the harbour to catch the Catamaran. We we so lucky to have a beautiful day to go out onto the water and were lucky to see 2-3 dolphins. The boat was allowed to be around them for 30mins after that we cruised the coast line for the rest of the duration before heading back to the harbour and being driven back to Lisbon. João was kind to dropped us off at a convenient place for us to grab a cab to LXFactory. As a guide he was really charismatic and insightful, giving us plenty of suggestions of things to do in Lisbon and also had great knowledge of the dolphins. We would love to do it again and would recommend this experience to everyone!
Review provided by Viator
Missmichele26
May 17, 2019
A wonderful day on the water - The luck of the draw, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. they tour folks couldn't help the weather. the days before beautiful and clear waters. We were able to see dolphins and it was exciting! as well as to learn about the environment while aboard a beautiful boat sailing around for about 3 hours. It was an enjoyable day visiting a fortification castle. Would do it again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heinehustedh
Jul 20, 2022
Wavey - Now this ia the name of the game on the Ocean I guess, but if you are prone to motion sickness, dont go! we saw dolphins, but for the duration of this trip it was a short sighting. the staff were very friendly nothing to complain about there and the trip back along the coast was breathtaking. would I go again? No I would not.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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