Benagil Cave

On the Algarve coast between Portimão and Albufeira, the sea has carved the golden sandstone cliffs into arches, stacks and caves. The most famous is Benagil Cave, a domed chamber with a round opening in its roof that lets a shaft of sunlight fall onto a small beach.

Boat trips from Portimão, Armação de Pêra and Benagil beach sail along the coast and into the cave, stopping at other grottoes on the way. The clifftop Seven Hanging Valleys trail gives views of the same coast from above.

The sea must be calm for boats to enter, so we keep the date flexible. Rules about going ashore inside the cave have tightened in recent years, and we book a licensed boat trip that follows them.