Ria Formosa - Boat trip to the 3 Islands: Armona | Culatra Island | Lighthouse
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Faro, Portugal
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
This boat tour will show you the magnificent natural park of Ria Formosa. Travel safely in a small group, with experienced crew members to steer the boat and keep you entertained with commentary along the way. During the tour, learn about local landscapes and wildlife, discover picturesque islands such as Armona and Culatra.
- See the beauty of the Ria Formosa aboard a boat
- Learn about the local islands with guide commentary
- Stay out of the sun, the boat has shaded areas
- A small-group experience means the boat won't be crowded
What's Included
- Local guide with experience and knowledge of the locality;
- boat with shade
- Map of the Islands
- Guide of Birds
- Fish Guide
- Molluscs and Seafood Guide
- ⚡️ The 15h45 option lasts until sunset - 4h00 ⚡️
- Lunch
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- ODYSSEY Boat Tours - Passeios de barco na Ria FormosaCais T, Av. 5 de Outubro s/n, 8700-302 Olhão, Portugal
We're near the Ferry Tickets. Just look for the stand that says Odyssey Boat Tours. You can search on google maps also for Odyssey Boat Tours and you will find photos and location.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Ria Formosa Natural Park (Pass By)
1
Ilha Do Farol
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
Ilha da Culatra
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
3
Armona Island
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Pauline_M
From booking to the end of the trip this was 5 star. Communication prior was friendly and informative. On the day the guide Jose was knowledgeable on all areas of the national park and gave us a lot of information on the biodiversity. Also in many languages. The islands were beautiful and unspoilt. Definitely recommend and would have liked to stay longer! Even though I am not great on boats because you don't go out into the ocean that was great for me! If you are like me just give it a try you won't regret it!! Fabulous day out and would definitely recommend the 3 island trip to anyone
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,901 reviews
Yvonne_A, Feb 2026
Great boat, interesting captain, beautiful islands, what more could you ask for. We felt safe, entertained and the day (5 hours) actually flew.
Balakrishnan_S, Dec 2025
William was a fantastic captain and guide as well.Will certainly recommend.
We had a very good experience as a family.
Eddy_K, Oct 2025
The tour and locations were good and the staff were great and friendly. However one of their boats broke down i guess there was scheduling issues, so the tour guide could only take us to 2 islands.
So in effect it became a 2 island tour instead of 3 island tour. No refund or complimentary offer was made for the inconvenience or service that was not in line with the advertised tour.
Hannah_K, Oct 2025
I thought we would see lots of birds. We saw lots of seagulls. I thought we would be on the water a lot. We had long stops on quiet islands. The beaches were beautiful. In “town” the only activities were eating and drinking. It was not exciting after 3 islands.
colettebezaire, Sep 2025
A must do. Left on time! Lots of experience. Saw oyster farms at low tide- they were gone with high tide. Beautiful small islands. No roads. Water from a well in the ocean! Huge fresh oysters!!! Nice experience!
Doide_M, Sep 2025
You don’t get a fish guide or a bird guide not much information was given, but it was fun to be out on the boat and have a nice lunch but if you think you’re going to learn about wildlife in the area, we did not. also, the first island we got off at we were there for an hour and there was not much to see you could’ve been there for a half hour and left.
Lisa_H, Sep 2025
The tour allows for leisurely stroll in local fishing village and beach time on an uninhibited large sand bar as well information about coastline. The Captain was very knowledgeable and spoke multiple languages fluently. We enjoyed the tour.
Anzelika_L, Jul 2025
Great experience with an amazing captain. We were lucky to see dolphins and really enjoyed every moment!
Andrew_J, May 2025
This tour was well organized, well paced and with a very knowledgeable guide who took us in a clean boat to three islands. Lunch options were amazing if you appreciate fresh oysters.
joannalbarker, Mar 2025
Our wonderful captain was great and told us lots of information about the islands and Portugal which was very informative, but he also made it funny and enjoyable as well. He spoke in many languages to accommodate everyone there. A very relaxing day trip and a must do!
John_A, Oct 2024
Learning about the unique fishing villages in an environment that has so much history. Great to see that there is active eco protection.
Mei_C, Sep 2024
Boat captain was friendly and helpful. He also explained things in multiple languages for the group. Unfortunately there is not much to do at the islands partly given the time (for the first island) and the 2nd and 3rd islands are really seeing there locals live. If you’re after a beach, probably better to take a ferry to spend as much time as you like.
Tracey_M, Jul 2024
Honest Review: Personally, for
me this was a pretty mediocre experience. I went on the later tour ( the sunset tour) so can't speak for the morning one. However, it's my understanding that the only difference is, you see the sunset from the boat on the way back. Unfortunately Armona wasn't included as part of the tour which was very disappointing. When I later enquired as to why Armona was missed out despite it being part of the trip Itinary, I was informed that it's " too crowded" during the summer. I've heard from many that Armona is beautiful so I was very disheartened that we weren't going. If I had known this information before I got in the boat. I would have cancelled the tour as this was the main highlight for me. Also, keep in mind that the guide ( although a lovely guy) doesn't guide you around. He basically drops you off at each of the stops and picks you back up within a scheduled time. So not much tour guiding involved, it's more of a water taxi service. If that is what you want then go for it but in my opinion, it wasn't worth the money.
Cliff_S, Jun 2024
Guide, Claudio was excellent and brought us to a great place to have lunch. Now for the negatives. They changed time from 11 to 10 to avoid crowds on islands. We were there on time but waited around for almost 1/2 an hour before starting. Very annoying. Lighthouse portion was missable. I think there are better things to do in Algarve.
Joao_d, May 2024
Everything was memorable and our guide Claudio was amazing. We are so happy that we had the opportunity to visit the little islands.
Henning_A, May 2024
We were disappointed. We have expected to be guided in where on the Islands we could go to see the nature. But we Got only info, that we could have read ourselves. So we could walk about in the cities. We were recommanded a place for lunch, and then Gabriel disappeared. We expected he had been there and told us about the Islands. Gabriel was busy takling with another guy, who were learning about the trip.
Linda_P, May 2024
The islands were pretty. The Captain was knowledgeable and nice.
The boat pictured in the advertisement looked like a pontoon double hull. We had a crappy small boat. I mean crappy. It was also difficult to get in and out of. Captain helped.
The ad said there was water on the boat. I asked the Captain and he said there wasn’t.
Elizabeth_J, Mar 2024
Our guide spoke 3 languages for each explanation. Our weather was not the best (cloudy) but the day was glorious anyway. We had some trouble locating the kiosk so leave plenty of time before departure. There was paid 4 hr parking along the street and free all day parking at the end of the beachfront street after the traffic circle. Lunch on the islands was very good! Not many people in the islands in March but fun to explore without crowds!
Huub_v, Mar 2024
It was a very nice day. Good explanation. We saw what we expected. Claudio was very helpful. It was a good trip to do.
David_W, Feb 2024
We booked the tour and the evening before received a call that the tour would start 30 minutes late, which didn't bother us, but I thought that it was great customer service that we were notified. That isn't very common these days. The tour was great. Relaxing, and peaceful. The fellow that was the boat captain and guide was very good, and professional. He had a commanding knowledge of the Islands and area as a whole. He grew up on Culatra, and for lunch directed us to a nice place, where the prices were modest, and the food excellent. Overall it was a lovely day out.
ChristineH, Jan 2024
Awesome day! Tour guide, Claudio, was great. He had great knowledge, was easy to talk to and didn’t give too much information. The Islands beautiful and quiet with lovely beaches.
Small group there were 9 of us and we quickly became friends, sharing lunch together and creating memories.
Lunch had choice of several local fish grilled to perfection. Other choices were also available.
Highly recommend Odyssey tours. They were great at communication.
Lia_R, Nov 2023
Excellent small group tour with experienced/skilled boat captain who provided genuine perspective of local history/culture. We were able to taste fresh local food/drink on small island.
Tour was relaxed pace. A memorable and interesting tour. It was wonderful to be on the water and enjoy the warmth of thr sun.
William_O, Oct 2023
Most memorable part was, stranded by mechanical breakdown! It was hilarious. Our guide was so upset about it and it was not that bad. We all knew it was temporary and not his fault. He had a great tour and attentive to his group. I wouldn't trade this experience for a perfect trip! Thank you to a minor problem to provide a great memory!
Bradley_J, Oct 2023
Great weather, a lovely warm day. Beautiful scenery. Interesting place. However we received no information about the natural ecology, history, changes across time, fishing practises, detailed stories. Captain was very safe & skilled but not very chatty. I threw in a few questions which got an interesting response, but if i hadn’t asked, we would have heard little.
Renata_R, Aug 2023
It was a magnificent day and the OSSSEY team was great from start to end. Great for kids, very food structure in Farol. Deserta was just perfect and the sunset there was something spectacular.
Shanna_L, Jul 2023
We had a lovely time and our captain, Gabriel was amazing. We were able to see a beautiful sunset on the water with his impeccable timing. Definitely recommend using Odyssey tours!
stanleyhui, May 2023
The Captain showed initiative to give us a good time touring the islands of Ria Formosa. We had ample time to enjoy what these islands.
Leslie_N, May 2023
Just doing some site seeing while in vacation. Took this tour and was very impressed with our guide. Well informed and very accommodating when it came to ordering lunch on the fishermen island. He made everything effortless and enjoyable. Would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting.
Beka_M, Apr 2023
Tour guide was really awesome, but felt like this tour is little bit repetitive. Wish we spend more time at last island. Tour guide squeezed maximum out of this tour.
Jacqueline_P, Jul 2022
Best tour ever. Everyone had a great time. Will be one of our favorite memories. The small island was the best and then topped off with a beach bar. We had so much fun we asked to skip the third stop and just enjoy where we were. And a GREAT captain 😊
Response from Host, Dec 2022
Hello ! 🙂
Thank you very much for choosing us for your boat tour in the Ria Formosa and for taking your time to write a review about us !
Our passengers feedback is really important for us and we are extremely happy to read that you had a great day !
We hope see you again one day ! 😁
Best wishes ,
ODYSSEY Traditional Boat Tours
From $46.93
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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