Located in The Algarve region of Portugal, Benagil Caves is a very large natural sea cave with a hole at the top and at the sides which open up into the sea. Benagil Cave is absolutely stunning, and even more impressive in person than in photos.
Benagil Caves are very easy to get to and there are many other beautiful and well known beaches nearby so you can visit them all within one day if you are in the Algarve with limited time.
Even if you are short for time in The Algarve, you really shouldn’t miss Benagil Cave off your itinerary – it’s one of the most famous places in Portugal and should be on everyone’s Portugal bucket list because it is just so incredible!
Read on for all you need to know about visiting Benagil Caves such as the best time to visit, how to get there with a tour and my top tips for how to visit independently!
When Is The Best Time To Visit Benagil Caves?
As Benagil Cave is one of the Algarve’s most visited natural attractions it’s important to get there early if you wish to visit when there aren’t many people! The best way is to visit on a sunrise kayak tour.
Why Should You Visit Benagil Caves?
Benagil Cave is listed as one of the world’s coolest caves and is an absolute must visit when you are in The Algarve.
How To Access Benagil Caves
Benagil Cave can be accessed only by swimming, kayaking or with a boat tour. There is no way to walk here.
However the boat tours just stop at the entrance of the cave for less than 2 minutes and you are not allowed to get off the boat so personally I don’t recommend to go by boat as you won’t be able to take good photos inside the caves or explore it!
If you want to properly go inside the cave you will need to swim or kayak here – then you can spend as long here as you wish.
Should You Go Independently Or Do A Tour To Get To Benagil Cave?
Being a (kind of) experienced kayaker I decided to hire a kayak as I thought it would be easier than swimming. Although the cave is only 200 metres from the beach, the waves get very rough around the cave.
I managed to capsize my kayak twice and saw several other people do the same as the boats were creating such big waves.
My advice after kayaking there is to take an inflatable and swim with that to the cave. It is an amazing experience however I definitely only recommend it for strong swimmers!
How To Get To Benagil Caves
To get to Benagil Cave from Lagoa:
Take a 20 minute bus (number 107) from Lagoa to Praia do Carvalho (direction Portimao). From Praia do Carvalho it is a 25 minute walk to Benagil Beach.
Benagil Caves is located between Benagil Beach and Marinha Beach.
If you’ll be planning to visit more places in Portugal, definitely head up to the beautiful city of Lisbon (a 3 hours bus from Albufeira) and check out the best photo spots in Lisbon – it is full of beautiful places such as the bica funicular, Bairro Alto, Alfama, Arco da Rue Augusta, the Santa Justa lift and the number 28 tram!