When you’re visiting the Algarve in Portugal, you absolutely cannot miss out on the Benagil Caves. But the big question is, how do you get inside the Benagil Caves? Well, we found out for you π
PS: Are you planning a romantic getaway to the Algarve with your loved one? Check out these unforgettable things to do in Algarve, especially for couples.
How to get to the Benagil Caves by car
Drive to Benagil Beach from Albufeira or Lagos
The Benagil Caves are located somewhere between Lagos and Albufeira. But to get to the Benagil Caves, you will need to drive to Benagil Beach (Praia de Benagil) first.
We drove from Albufeira and it took us about half an hour to reach the car park at Benagil Beach. From Lagos it will take about 40 minutes to reach the Benagil Beach by car, so just a little bit longer.
Parking at Benagil Beach (Praia de Benagil)
The closest car park to the Benagil Beach is on top of the cliffs, in front of the O Literal restaurant. Parking is free of charge here, but the amount of parking spots is limited. The Benagil Beach is just a 7 minute walk downhill from this car park.
The first time we drove to Praia de Benagil, it was on a Monday in August and we arrived around 2pm. We were extremely lucky to even find a parking spot at that time of the day. The beach was overcrowded, and most food places were closed on Mondays. So yeah, the afternoons are definitely not the best time to visit the Benagil Beach, and especially not when you’re hungry on a Monday at lunchtime…
When we came back on Tuesday, we arrived just before 9am and there were plenty of parking spots available. The beach was quiet, and we were the first ones to rent a SUP board from Stance that day.Β So I recommend to arrive early in the morning if you want to fully enjoy the Benagil Caves without the crowds.
Three ways to get to the Benagil caves from Benagil Beach
Now that you’ve parked your car in front of O Literal restaurant, you’ll find out on your way down to Benagil Beach that there are three ways to getΒ toΒ the Benagil Caves (not counting swimming of course – although it is an option if you’re a confident swimmer):
1. Boat trips
The first option is to take a boat trip to the Benagil caves, and you will see loads of businesses advertising this option. At first we thought that this would be the most convenient (read: laziest) option to get to the Benagil Caves, but soon enough we were completely put off by this option.
It turned out that boats are not allowed to let passengers disembark at the Benagil Caves, so you’ll only be able to see the caves from the boat for a minute or two.
Being the keen photographers we are, of course we needed to disembark at the caves to take loads of pictures together. So soon enough the boat was no longer an option for us.
2. Rent a Kayak
When the boat tours were no longer an option for us, we considered to rent two 1-person kayaks. Renting a kayak allows you to park the kayak on the sand inside the Benagil Cave, and actually get inside to take pictures at your own pace.
Growing up in The Netherlands surrounded by canals, I’ve been rowing inflatable boats since I was a child. So I felt fairly confident about renting a kayak, even if we would have to row it in a bit of a rough sea instead of a calm canal.
The only issue was, all the 1-person kayaks were completed rented out for the day. We were told to make an online booking and come back the next day. Feeling a bit defeated, we walked back towards the car park (up the hill) to find another stall that rented kayaks. But this stall up the hill only had 3-person kayaks available at a much higher price than the two 1-person kayaks.
So if you’re planning to rent a kayak (or two), make sure you book them online in advance!
3. Rent a SUP board
With the kayaks also not being an option for us, our only chance to get inside the Benagil Caves would be to rent a Stand Up Paddling (SUP) board.Β
I was a bit nervous about this option, because I had only stood on a SUP board once before in my life, and that was in a calm sea in Thailand. The sea at Benagil Beach looked so much wilder!
So Jordi and I walked back down the hill towards the beach to see how other couples were doing on the SUP board. They made it look fairly easy, and after eating an overpriced Tuna sandwich (remember I said most food places were closed on a Monday? The only open place was the food stall at the beach, and we got charged β¬9 each for a Tuna sandwich!) we found the courage to walk up the hill again and rent a SUP board.
Like with the Kayak option, you can park your SUP board on the sand inside the Benagil Caves and take pictures at the caves at your own pace. We rented one SUP board for the two of us – I was sitting in front while Jordi paddled the SUP board sitting behind me. It turned out Jordi was a pretty good paddler, and we reached the caves within 5 minutes.
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So although there are three ways to get to the Benagil Caves from Benagil Beach, only the Kayak andΒ SUP Board options actually get you INSIDE the Benagil Caves to take pictures.
What's included in a SUP board rental with Stance?
After considering all of our options, we ended up renting a SUP board from a place called Stance SUP & Kayak Benagil. They are located in front of the O Pescador and O Algar restaurants, close to where we parked our car.
In August 2019, we paid β¬30 to rent a SUP board for 45 minutes. But in reality we were told to bring back the SUP board in 1 hour and 10 minutes, to allow some time for us to carry the kayak to the beach (downhill) and back to the stall (uphill).
Also included in this price was the renting of:
- Two life vests
- Waterproof bag (for our backpack with photography equipment and clothes)
- Two waterproof cases for our phones
So imagine us being all ready to take the SUP board down to the beach (life vests on and all), only to find out that we didn’t have our clicker with us. Jordi found out as he was preparing to put his backpack in the waterproof bag. We only had the SUP board for a limited time, so we organised the backpack by putting our clothes on the bottom with the photography equipment on top – ready to be grabbed.Β
Pure panic set in because we had already paid for the SUP board rental! But thankfully the staff at Stance was super relaxed about it. They gave us our money back and told us to come back the next day at 9am if we wanted to have good pictures with the Benagil Caves. Obviously we followed their advice, and it did not disappoint:
On Tuesday, we were the very first customers to rent a SUP board from Stance that day, and we brought our clicker!
How to take the best pictures at the Benagil Caves
Which actually brings me to the next topic: How to take the best pictures at the Benagil Caves? As already mentioned above:
- Arrive early in the morning to avoid the crowds – be the first customer of the day to rent a Kayak or SUP Board!
- Rent a Kayak or SUP board to actually get inside the Benagil caves – a boat tour will not allow you to disembark inside the caves.Β Β
What photography equipment did we use:
- Tripod with clicker
- Phone with wide angle lens
Once inside the caves, we just tried to pose at different places, always pointing our camera towards the sea. Make sure you capture the hole on top on the caves (also known as the eye) and at least one of the two openings towards the sea.
Travel Photography for Couples
Learn more about taking your own travel pictures as a couple in my book:
As a travel couple, do you ever wish to travel back to a place, just to take better pictures together? I sure know I do! Thatβs why in this book, I am sharing everything we wish we knew about taking pictures together when we first started travelling as a couple. Read more…
We made a detour here while we were doing a road trip in southern Spain and loved it! We took a paddleboard but saw a lot of people heading there in pool inflatables which was hilarious. Great tips for people who haven’t been before!