Searching for the wild dolphins in Setúbal
Lianne, responsible for the Spanish market and content/translations at SeaBookings, was so enthusiastic about her experience on the boat trip to the wild dolphins in Setúbal that she wrote a nice piece about it:
There are many places to sit on the boat: in the sun, the shade or on the nets!
If you are on holiday in Portugal, you want to do fun things. I’ve always wanted to see dolphins in the wild, and with SeaBookings, it became clear to me where I should be to spot dolphins, Setúbal!
The same afternoon I could join the tour (and that in the high season!). I took a bus from Lisbon to Setúbal. From Praça de Espanha I could easily take the bus and I was told that the cheapest would be buying a ticket for the bus. I believe that a single ticket cost me about € 4.- and within 45 minutes I arrived in Setúbal. Here you can find some more ideas on how to get from Lisbon to Setúbal.
SeaBookings arranged everything for me and I only had to take the bus and walk 10 minutes to the place where the catamaran would depart to see the dolphins. I made sure that I was there a little earlier, but I didn’t have to wait long before we could walk with the guide. We walked to the boat (which was really big and looked very safe and stable) and everyone was looking for a good place to sit.
Enjoy the stunning surroundings of Setúbal
Even though it was the high season (and I was afraid you had to fight for a place to sit), the boat was fully booked, but not fully loaded with people. Everyone had a good place to sit. You could sit on soft cushions at the edge of the boat, on benches in the middle of the boat (if you prefer to be in the shade) or on the big floor nets. The big floor nets looked a bit like trampolines and you could sit or / lie there and see the water under you. You can imagine that this is really fantastic for kids!
Green and blue…
The boat started sailing and after a short stop in Troia (which is a beautiful beach) we sailed to the spot where we could see the wild dolphins in Setúbal. Along the way, we got a very detailed explanation from the guide that there live 27 dolphins in the Sado River. The wild dolphins in Setúbal are each recognizable by their fins. We were even told that a baby dolphin recently was born! This explanation was in English and Portuguese.
The dolphins are pretty curious about the boat
It did not take long before we saw the first dolphins swimming in front of our boat. First a bit further away but later they came closer and also swam around the boat. It does not matter where you are, you can see them everyone on the boat! The view and the jumping dolphins made this trip really cool. I have been able to take many pictures of the dolphins and it seemed like they were performing a show for us!
A true live show by wild dolphins!
The boat trip to see the dolphins in Setúbal takes 3 hours and for me, this was fine in terms of time. Because I was enjoying the view and the dolphins time seemed to fly but at the same time it was enough. On board it is possible to buy food and drinks. I did not do this myself because I knew you could take your own food and drinks.
Watching dolphins in Setúbal was a very nice experience and thanks to SeaBookings and the operator everything was well taken care of. I recommend everyone to visit the wild dolphins in Setúbal and don’t forget to enjoy the rest of the view as well!
This was Lianne’s experience searching for the wild dolphins in Setúbal! Want to do the same? Book your seats on time!
Do you also have a nice SeaBookings experience to share? Let us know and your experience maybe featured on out blog!
