4 Stops | 3 Islands & Ria Formosa Natural Park - From Faro
Recommended by 98% of travelers
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Faro, Portugal
- 4 to 5 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore the Algarve's Ria Formosa Natural Park during your time in Faro on this half-day excursion. Join a small group and visit four of the islands in the park—Deserta, Farol, Culatra, and Hangares—via a catamaran. Spend your day swimming in the warm waters, observing local marine life with your snorkel, and learning about local village life.
- Learn about oyster cultivation in the region
- Upgrade to include a typical Algarve lunch in Culatra
- Observe wildlife like herons, storks, and spoonbills
- A small group means more attention from your guide
What's Included
- 10h00 - Morning Tour : 5 hours ( Time to lunch )
- 14h00 - Afternoon Tour : 4 hours ( Time to snacks )
- Professional SKIPPER / Local Guide
- Masks to snorkeling
- Life Jackets
- Lunch ( Morning Tour)
- Food & Drinks & Snacks
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Cais das Portas do MarR. da Porta Nova, 8000-250 Faro, Portugal
The Boarding Place is located at Rua da Porta Nova, 8000-250 Faro The company's representative will be dressed in a Green T-Shirt. Stand Name : Estrela da Ria Formosa
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Parque Natural da Ria Formosa (Pass By)
1
Barreta Island
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Ilha do Farol
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Ilha da Culatra
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
4
Ria Formosa
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Parque Natural da Ria Formosa (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Tours can be changed depending on sea conditions.
- A maximum of 11 people per booking.
- A minimum of 2 people is required per booking.
- Not recommended for people with motor difficulties.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 3,401 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Great experience. Would definitely recommend if you’re considering a boat trip. Pedro, our skipper, was fantastic, very knowledgeable
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
the stops at all the islands was great! we even collected some shells
Pedro was amazing and gave us so much info on the areas that we visited.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
We had such a wonderful time on this tour!! Pedro was such an amazing tour guide; he was a great captain, super knowledgeable, engaging and had a well rounded sense of humour.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Had a great time with our guide Marcello. Very friendly, down to earth and funny. He explained the stop over sites very well and had great conversation with all of us. Definitely the tour guide you want with a group of friends
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Wonderful trip! Pedro was a fabulous guide!!!!! You won't be disappointed! Easy check-in at the harbour.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Not good for solo travellers. The "guide" is an over-glorified taxi driver who drops you off and leaves you to your own devices on each island.
My guide Pedro in particular was rather apathetic and had an attitude of "I don't want to be here" which made the experience less than enjoyable.
It was 40 mins of walking along the sand and really nothing else to do on each island.
The tour itself isn't bad; however, if you are alone and don't get a good group/guide, the day is a slog.
It's a way to pass the day. I personally would not do this activity again.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We’re sorry to hear it didn’t fully meet your expectations. While we always do our best to ensure our guests enjoy their trip. Kind regards. Estrela da Ria Formosa team
A great day visiting parts of the huge Rio de Formosa. Comfortable boat - most seats shaded. Be prepared to cop a bit of spray at times. Our guide, Joao, was a great skipper and had a good sense of humour. He provided a lot of information, made a point of interacting with all passengers early in the trip, and was happy to answer questions. Sunhat a must have for shore walking - lots of glare and heat and no trees. Plenty of options for lunch. Thank you, Joao.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Great trip. Knowledgeable guide and plenty free time to explore the islands. We chose to go on the 4pm trip enabling us to take in the sunset.
Response from Host, May 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Visiting these islands was a wonderful experience. My family and i enjoyed the diversity of the landscape. We had a lovely lunch arranged by our guide.
And our guide was fabulous!! His knowledge of the islands and the area made for a memorable experience.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Great day Pablo did a great job. I liked the small villages with no cars. Cash is needed as credit cards are not standard for restaurants.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
Very nice day from start to finish ! Weather was perfect and our captain was very friendly as well. The 3 stops left us just enough time to look at the beaches on all the islands !
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Your satisfaction is our reward.
It was a pleasure having you on our boat...
Come back and bring a friend!
Thanks
Cristela Martins
( The Green Team)
This was a wonderful tour that showed us different ways of life on the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa.. Barreta Island (formerly a leprosy colony) has only one restaurant and one fisherman's shack. It is beautiful and feels very remote. It is where the Ria Formosa and the ocean meet, with lots of turbulence and large waves. Ilha de Farol (Lighthouse Island) has a very chill, laid back beach vibe, pretty little cottages. Culatra Island, which is actually the same island, but a small fishing village on the other side of the island, shows you the real workings of the fishing industry and lifestyle.
Our guide, Joac, was very informative, friendly, humorous and made you feel safe with his navigation. The boat was very comfortable. The only unfortunate part was unfortunate that we were not able to meet the oyster farmers or watch the process, but Joac did his best to explain the process to us.
I would highly recommend this tour.
What a lovely day out to see the water eco park surrounding Faro- a step back in time to a basic way of living
The beach on the ocean side of Culatra was spectacular
Wonderful experience, beautiful day at sea visited three islands had a great lunch. I highly recommend it.
Was a good way to see some of the Ria Formosa Park and learn some of the history of Faro. Our guide Joao was very friendly and took time to get to know all of the people on the tour. He told us a lot about the islands and answered all our questions. It can get a bit cold if the wind picks up so bring an extra layer.
Pretty neat but not super exciting. It was a chill day and we had a nice guide. A bit chilly in the morning when we left so bring a jacket!
It’s was a long day, be prepared take warm clothing, the guide Philip was awesome, and on arrival the ladies who greeted us was lovely. Overall brilliant day out in the nature reserve.
Nice trip, the time run very quickly and would have been nice to spend more time in each stop. The tour guide/ driver was very polite and acknowledged. Unfortunately we missed the last stop for tide reasons
It was a fantastic day. The crew were so friendly and helpful. Saw lots of dolphins and whales on the way to the island stops. The puffins were beautiful and fun to watch and seeing the Guillemots was amazing. Highly recommend this tour.
We had a fantastic time, Oscar was an absolute superstar and made sure everybody enjoyed themself. The islands themselves are well worth seeing, the boat ride was equally relaxing and entertaining, and the lunch we had on Culatra was fantastic. All in all a highly recommended way to spend the day!
I had a terrible experience, as I couldn't enjoy the tour because the operator refused to understand the circumstances that prevented me from attending. I asked them to reschedule it, and they told me I had to pay again, which I found very unfortunate.
Response from Host, May 2025
You did not show up at the scheduled time and at 9:48 you sent a message saying that the tour was cancelled.
You were informed by phone and received a written response that the tour was not cancelled and that it would start at 10:00.
After checking, you contacted the company and stated that the cancellation was not our fault but that of another company.
The fault was yours, not ours!
The flexibility must be the other company's, not ours!
It was a great way to check out the islands off Faro. Our captain, João, was a lot of fun and informative. He watched the wave and wind closely and recommended to change the order of the tour to avoid being splashed by the waves. He apologized in advanced on the way back to Faro that we would get wet by the crashing waves. He even turned the boat around when one of the tour member’s hat was blown off by the wind to retrieve it. There was enough time in each island to explore around. I’d recommend this tour.
It was an amazing experience. Our tour guide Filipe is very knowledgeable and was very helpful. I recommend this tour to anyone visiting Ria Formosa from Faro. It is a "must visit" and the islands are really beautiful.
Thanks to Filipe for the splendid experience.
You are on a boat, dress accordingly. Great visiting the islands to see how peaceful and beautiful they are. Saw many birds, the oyster farms and people digging for clams. Quaint fishing villages.
Philip was a great, kind, and knowledgeable Skipper. Had fun learning about all the islands, the history of each stop, and the war knowledge. The restaurant on Culatra island was also great. The salmon was absolutely delicious!
Extremely informative. Guide was very passionate about the areas. We had a good time. Not sure how to fill in this void.
Had a fantastic time. Organisation was great from directions to meeting point to restaurant booking for lunch. All stops were beautiful in their own right with different things to see and experience. Our boat captain, JC was the best kind of mad! Very fun but also very passionate and enthusiastic about the national park and all it has to offer. Would highly recommend!
I had a great time on this boat trip. Great weather and lots of time to explore the islands and grab a snack. I had captain JC and he was fantastic, funny and charismatic guy and made the trip even better! Definitely recommend!
We had a wonderful tour through the Ria Formosa. Our guide was João and he has a great energy and empathy with his guests.
We got many interesting facts regarding the Ria and the views were amazing.
Our driver Oscar was very entertaining, explaining along the way all the wide birds, sea horses, oyster plantation …
From $53.06
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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