Benagil Cave

This was a bucket list item for sure! When going to the Portugal coast I knew I wanted to see this beautiful cave that is all over Instagram and Pinterest. When I first saw a photo of it years ago I didn’t think it was real. The earth really is so amazing. I read online about it before we went and it said that you can take a boat tour to the cave and other caves but the boat doesn’t stop inside and let you off. So I knew this wasn’t the option for me. Many people said they swam no problem so I thought this is what we would do. I chose the most sunny day on our vacation to visit the beach with the caves but it ended up being kind of windy.

Luckily there was a guy renting stand up paddle boards and we saw lots of people using those to get out to the cave. We didn’t see anyone swimming there because the water seems a little tougher than usual. Clark thought the paddle boards were the best idea and I’m glad we did them because I was a little nervous even then. We rented one double and it was 30 euro for one hour which is a little steep but hey do you want to see this wonder or not? The guy that rented the paddle board told us multiple times that the cave we wanted to see is right to the left less then 10 minutes away so that is definitely what people use them for. And he gave us lifejackets if we wanted, which we used, so another layer of protection. 

You have to be a little caution of the boats coming in and out of the caves but for the most part it was fine and the view from the water to the cave was cool as well. Once we got in the cave we had plenty of time to explore and take photos. I took my phone in a waterproof bag to take photos so these are all iPhone photos that is why they aren’t the best quality but oh well I love them just the same and the sight in real life is even more amazing then any photo iPhone or DLSR camera can capture. 

Clark had fun finding lots of shells. And we were about 2 of 15 other people in the cave so super secluded and cool. And since it was a nice sunny day there as the sun shiny brightly through the big hole in the roof. Oh also Clark said this is not were I would want to be during an earthquake haha.

Totally recommended, would definitely do it again. I would probably take the paddle board or kayak every time. Even though we are both decent swimmers it just seems like an unnecessary risk but people do it. Oh there was also a few people that had floats and were holding onto those and paddling out to the cave.
love, Carlee

Swimsuit: Old Navy