Hello guys!
Last summer I went to Portugal for the first time to do a roadtrip through the Algarve. In my last blog you can read where I went and how I got around. One thing I didn't mention in my last blog was the beautiful Benagil cave. One of the most famous caves in Portugal. Let me tell you how to get there, how to beat the crowd and what to look out for.
So, to get to the Benagil cave you can book a tour or go there by car on your own. From all over the Algarve tours are being offered, but because I like to do things myself and because we had a rental car we drove to Benagil. In Benagil you can find Praia de Benagil, where the cave is located. We parked our car about 10 minutes walking from the beach. Because we saw a lot of people walking around near the parking area we decided to look what was there. If you follow the people, or just walk more to the east, you will find the opening of the cave. There's a fence around the opening so you can't fall in.
Because the inside of the cave was way prettier I'll tell you more about how to get there! When you follow the road down to the beach you'll probably end up on a very crowded beach. If you want to have a relaxed day on the beach then defenitely don't pick this beach. From the beach you can go by boat and visit more caves in one boattrip or you can rent a kayak when the weather allows it.
Because I didn't think it was really far to swim to the opening of the cave we decided to go for a swim and check it out. When we where in Benagil the sea wasn't that wild, but be careful when the water is wild because you are swimming right past the high rocks.
After a three minute swim you'll already see the entrance of the cave. The boats filled with people that go in and out of the cave are used to people swimming to the caves so they will have an eye out for you. Still of course watch out! When entering the cave keep in mind that the waves can be pretty big, but once you're inside it's all worth it.
The boat tours don't actually go inside. They just go in a little and then they sail off to the next cave. When you swim inside the cave you can decide how long you want to stay. Even though the boats don't stop, there were still quite some people inside when we where there. We stayed for around 20 minutes and then we swam back to the beach. If you're ever near Benagil and you have a chance to pay a visit to the cave I'd really recommend it!
Have you ever visited the Benagil cave or do you know any other great caves?
Marleen
non of the pictures are taken by me, I did bring my underwater camera but unfortunately it didn't survive