Magic Dolphin Sea Safaris
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Madeira, Portugal
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The waters off the island of Madeira are full of dolphins, whales, and other sea life to see—if you’re able to reach them. Increase your chances of spotting the animals on this zippy speedboat tour that travels up to 10 faster than catamarans. Depart from the Funchal Marina with a crew of two on boats with 500HP engines—if you don’t spot sea life on your first try a second trip is offered free of charge.
- A speedboat sealife “safari” from the Funchal Marina
- Travel on speedboats: Increase your chances of spotting sea life
- If you don’t spot sealife on the first try, a second trip is offered for free
- Spot dolphins, pilot whales, sperm whales, and other sea life
What's Included
- Landing and facility fees
- Local taxes
- Local guide
- Tour escort/host
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Drinks
- Hotel pickup
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transportation to/from attractions
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Magic Dolphin Praca do Povo, Av. Do Mar, São Martinho, 9000-900 Funchal, Portugal
Please arrive at the Funchal marina 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time. All guests must check in with our friendly staff at our kiosk for a boarding pass. In respect to all of our guests the boat leaves on time. If you miss the boat, you will be not be issued a refund.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Magic Dolphin
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of cruise ship
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Sabrina_S
This was a great excursion - the small size of the boat was ideal as you really had a great view no matter where you sat. I appreciated how punctual this tour was - we were instructed to meet at 0930 for the 10am tour, and we were off in the boat by 10 sharp! We saw two types of dolphins and whales. The guide and the boat driver were both great!
Reviews
4.8
based on 277 reviews
Sabrina_S, Apr 2026
This was a great excursion - the small size of the boat was ideal as you really had a great view no matter where you sat. I appreciated how punctual this tour was - we were instructed to meet at 0930 for the 10am tour, and we were off in the boat by 10 sharp! We saw two types of dolphins and whales. The guide and the boat driver were both great!
Fe_D, Aug 2025
Excellent boat trip. Our tour guide Clara was very knowledgeable and clearly passionate about marine species. Saw lots of dolphins, probably around 40, including babies trying to learn how to swim! Great trip, highly recommend it.
Jennifer_D, Aug 2025
It’s called Magic Dolphin for a reason! The whole experience was so magical! We saw two pods of dolphins and two Sperm Whales! The captain and tour guide really try their best to give you a great experience while respecting the marine life. It really exceeded our expectations even and was such a great time!!
Andrius_K, Jun 2025
Great stuff and guides. We have seen dome dolphins there. Would recommend to try if you like ocean. Thanks.
Naila_C, Jun 2025
I booked a Whale & Dolphin Watching trip with Magic Dolphins and was blown away! Everything was perfectly organized from start to finish: smooth check-in, clear safety briefings, and a professional yet relaxed atmosphere.
Both the skipper and our (female) guide ran the tour with genuine passion. The onboard commentary was fascinating, full of insight and delivered in an engaging way. You could feel how much they care about the animals and protecting the ocean.
We were incredibly lucky and spotted so many whales and dolphins—truly a once-in-a-lifetime sighting spree! Our whole group felt elated by the sheer number of encounters, and I had an amazing time.
Huge thanks to the Magic Dolphins team; I can’t recommend this tour highly enough. I’ll be bacK
Benjamin_B, May 2025
Our excitable host really got us into the mood and we saw loads of dolphins over a 2 hour trip. Highly recommended
Michael_M, Feb 2025
Great team, looked after us, explained everything and built up a good feeling with the passengers. 2 hours a good len6.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the trip and felt well taken care of by our team. It's great to know that the explanations and the friendly atmosphere added to your experience. We're glad that the two-hour duration was just right for you. We hope to welcome you aboard again soon for more memorable adventures!
Best regards,
Umut
Jack_B, Aug 2024
We saw 3 different types of dolphins and a turtle. The guides were very passionate and could clearly see how much they cared about the animals and the cleanliness of the sea. Brilliant trip, would recommend
Anupama_N, Jul 2024
Amazing experience with Natasha and captain. The quiz and information about dolphins was interesting to hear. Thrilling speed boat ride. My daughter got offered to see the dolphins closely from the front of the boat. Thank you for the lovely experience.
Justyna_B, Jul 2024
The boat was very fast. My kids loved it.
Unfortunately we haven’t seen any whales.. Just two groups of dolphins.
Trish_P, Jun 2024
Natasha was really knowledgeable and lovely to talk to. I was also impressed with her passion for the dolphins and their quality of life.
Laurence_M, Jun 2024
Unfortunately we only got to see 1 dolphin briefly and from far away. I don’t think this was worth the amount of money we paid as a family of 4. The weather was nice and we did enjoy some good views of the sea.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Dear Guest,
Many thanks for your feed back.
I am sorry the sighting did not work out like how you wanted.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right sociable group of animals. I must say most of the time we are lucky.
We really hope you try again. You can contact us and take advantage of our reduced ticket price next time.
Regards
Umut
David_W, Mar 2024
Excellent bouncing over the waves looking for dolphins. The staff were helpful and informative and best of all
we saw dolphins
Linsey_D, Sep 2023
Our guide was really lovely and full of knowledge about the aquatic life in the area! We would 100% recommend the speedboat experience, a smaller group, faster boat made the trip very enjoyable 😄 Unfortunately not all of the animals wanted to be seen, but thats wildlife! We saw some spotted dolphins who were more than happy to put on a show 😄
Max_M, Aug 2023
It was a good tour, and we saw some interesting stuff. The nature of the speed boat meant it was slightly uncomfortable but the fun of being out at sea on a speed boat made up for it. Perhaps it could be planned a bit better, be prepared for a long ride back to the harbour without anything to see.
Zuzana_V, Jun 2023
The trip was cancelled and I have not received refund. It has been already 1 month. I tried to write emails, chat.... nothing worked with VIATOR.
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Dear Zuzana,
I totally understand your frustration. Looks like you did not take part on the experience there fore, your review is in the wrong place. Your issue is with Viator not with us. I kindly ask you please remove your review from the site as it effect our rating.
In the mean time if you can please send us an email with your booking reference we can try and chaise it up with Viator. Viator can take some time before they refund. You can send your email to info@magic-dolphin.com
Regards
Umut
Karin_I, Sep 2024
Esperienza meravigliosa, gli scatti fatti non renderanno mai l'idea dell'emozione provata. La ricorderemo per sempre. Molto bello il giro in barca, guide competenti, esaustive, disponibili e simpatiche. Siamo riusciti a vedere delfini, una tartaruga e le balene. Noi siamo stati fortunatissimi ma in ogni caso vale la pena fare quest'esperienza indipendentemente da quanti animali si riesca a vedere.
Rainer_W, Mar 2024
40 min vor Abfahrt wurde uns bei strahlendem Sonnenschein und einem leisen Lüftchen mitgeteilt, das heute aufgrund schlechter Wetterlage keine Fahrt stattfinden kann.
Wir wollen keinem etwas unterstellen aber das Kreuzfahrtschiff ist auch gerade eingelaufen 🤔🧐🧐🥸
Die haben dann wohl andere Konditionen🤔
Andere Anbieter waren zur gleichen Zeit auch unterwegs
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Lieber Gast,
Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback.
Wir können Kreuzfahrtschiffe nicht mit unserem viel kleineren Katamaran vergleichen. Wenn die Wetterbedingungen es uns nicht erlauben, rauszufahren, können wir nicht viel dagegen tun. Wenn es sonnig ist und ein leichter Wind weht, bedeutet das nicht, dass die Seebedingungen gut sind.
Ich hoffe, Sie versuchen es an einem schönen Tag noch einmal.
Grüße
Umut
Annette_L, Jan 2024
En helt fantastisk tur med en super god guide. Vi så en stor flok kaskelothvaler og lå og betragtede dem en halv time. Hele “ forestillingen” endte med det smukkeste syn af en mindre hval, som lavede et kæmpe spring og hang i luften. Helt vildt smukt. Desværre lige et sekund efter, at jeg havde stoppet videoen, og det var rigtig ærgerligt.
Kan varmt anbefale dette firma til en tur med speedbåd.
Haizea_G, Aug 2023
La guia que nos tocó ,Clara, una persona encantadora. Vimos dos tipos de delfines. Muy recomendable!
From $59.75
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Magic Dolphin Sea Safaris
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