Wildlife Tours in Portugal

Head to Portugal's volcanic Azores on São Miguel Island for three whale watching tours from Ponta Delgada harbor, searching for sperm whales year-round and massive blue, fin, and sei whales during spring migration between March and June. Try Cozido cooked by volcanic steam at Furnas.

Stay seven nights on Pico Island where Portugal's tallest mountain rises to 2,351 meters, and head out on five wildlife trips to see up to 27 species of whales and dolphins including sperm whales and bottlenose dolphins. Take the 30-minute ferry to Horta on Faial Island to check out the painted quay.

Walk through Furnas Valley on São Miguel Island, where geothermal geysers and sulfurous vapor clouds create an otherworldly setting. Terra Nostra park sits at around 250 meters elevation and has thermal pools fed by hot springs, plus you can see native Azorean plants like magnolias and azaleas.

Set out on six whale watching trips from Madalena on Pico Island between February and June, where you'll see migrating blue whales, humpbacks, fin whales, and sei whales in Atlantic waters. Check out the whaling museum in Lajes do Pico and wander through the UNESCO-listed wine region with its volcanic stone walls.

Join a catamaran whale and dolphin watching tour off Funchal's coast, where you'll spot black whale backs surfacing and dolphins jumping alongside the boat. Cruise past the 580-meter Cabo Girão cliffs from the water, where turtles and seabirds live year-round in these Atlantic waters. Lie on the catamaran's net while marine life swims directly beneath you for a close-up view of the ocean wildlife.