The Carvoeiro caves were one of the first things which caught my eye when I stopped to visit Carvoeiro, the little Portuguese town situated along the Algarve.
When I first walked around Carvoeiro, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just another “sea-side town” with inflatables and flip-flops lining almost every shop front. But the longer I spent in the town, the more people I spoke to, and with every conversation I had I realised that my previous assumptions about Carvoeiro were wrong. Because it wasn’t just your typical seaside town. It was a town loved by locals and expats alike. And in between the inflatable convenience stores were independent bars, restaurants, incredible gelato shops and a cowboy-themed karaoke bar you HAVE to go to if you ever visit Carvoeiro.
But back to Carvoeiro’s caves!
I was strolling through the town one evening when I realised I should probably see more of what Carvoeiro has to offer. You know, instead of laying by the pool and only leaving the villa for gelato as I had been… When along the edge of the beach I noticed a stall advertising boat trips to the Carvoeiro caves, which were located just a short distance away along the coastline.
The next day, after stocking up on breakfast, I strolled leisurely to the shore to do just that. I didn’t need to book in advance as the boat trips run every hour, so if you’re planning to do a trip to Carvoeiro’s caves you’ll be absolutely fine to rock up on the day—unless there’s a large group of you.
There are a variety of different boat tours available for you to choose from depending on what you fancy. There’s the option of a ‘stop-and-swim’ style tour which lasts either a full or half day, or there are options designed for those who don’t fancy getting out of the boat.
I chose the latter.
There were three options available:
1 hour: €15
1 hour and 20-minutes: €20
1 hour and 40 minutes: €25.
The caves you see on your trip will depend upon the length of the trip that you take. The shortest trip dips in and out of the coves close by, whereas the longest trips visit Carvoeiro’s caves, such as Benagil Cave and Praia De Marinha. I wanted to book onto the longest trip and see everything, but unfortunately, the tide was out, which meant that seeing Praia De Marinha wasn’t an option. But the 1 hour and 20-minute trip visited the Benagil Cave was still running, so I was still pretty darn happy!
I pulled on my life jacket and climbed onto the boat, watching as the shoreline got further away as we pulled away from Carvoeiro beach.
We cruised along Carvoeiro’s coastline
Past Vale De Covo
Carvalho and Centeanes beach
Popping past Algar Seco
And Benagil cave along the way.
Which is hands down the coolest rock formation I have ever seen.
My pictures really don’t do Benagil Cave justice because the lens I was using wasn’t wide enough to fit the entire thing in, but it is honestly beyond beautiful.
A dome-shaped cave with a beach hidden inside where light streams through the hole in the top. Even though each of the Carvoeiro caves were interesting to look at, I’d say that seeing Benagil was worth the boat trip alone.
I doubt nature, and the evolution of this world will ever cease to amaze me.
Once we reached Benagil it was time to turn back, passing each of Carvoeiro’s caves as we went—and by the time we returned to the shore, it was midday. Which could only mean one thing… A trip to my favourite gelato shop in Carvoeiro!
