How's the kayaking, rafting, and canoeing in and around Algarve?

Rafting is not great in the Algarve because there are not steep and fast flowing rivers here. Kayaking and canoeing, however, are good.

 

We have two, large navigable courses in Algarve, the Guadiana River on the border with Spain, which is the largest, and the Arade River, which comes down from the mountains and flows into the sea between Portimão and Ferragudo. Those are fantastic courses because they are quite flat and there are a number of courses along the...

Rafting is not great in the Algarve because there are not steep and fast flowing rivers here. Kayaking and canoeing, however, are good.

 

We have two, large navigable courses in Algarve, the Guadiana River on the border with Spain, which is the largest, and the Arade River, which comes down from the mountains and flows into the sea between Portimão and Ferragudo. Those are fantastic courses because they are quite flat and there are a number of courses along the shores where you can stop your car and load your canoe into the water and paddle from there and back. There are also a number of inlets, which allow you to do even more sheltered canoeing.

 

There is also a fantastic picnic spot, where there is a boat ramp called Sítio das Fontes, in municipality of Lagoa. This is a wonderful place to take your family out for a picnic and take your kayak or canoe and go out from there even with the youngsters so you could teach them to kayak or canoe for the first time. There is no difficulty or risk of being on a big river.

 

The Arade River, which is used for the canoeing and kayaking, is also used for jet skis. The daughter of an Italian family that settled in the Algarve was the world champion jet skier for I believe 3 years in a row and she trained on Arade River, so it is big enough for this kind of activity. In the estuary at Portimão, the World Series powerboat competition is held once a year. They come to Algarve every year and people come to the banks to see these very powerful boats on the edge as they drive around the estuary and the river.

 

In addition to the jet skiing, here is calm kayaking on these rivers. You will see the people paddling up and down from a number of the beaches such as the Batata Beach in Lagos, the Dona Ana Beach in Lagos as well, and others that often have kayaks for rent. On a calm day you can paddle along the coastline and go into the caves and onto the little inlets of the coast. 99% of all kayaking and paddling here in the Algarve is of the quiet type. 

 

There is also some kayaking on the southeast of the Algarve, but strangely enough, not as much as in other areas. The reason is that the whole estuary area called Ria de Tavira, which has low lying islands, sand banks, and the like, is very large and the distances are quite great. You would find that most of the people who explore the river in this area do so in small, motorized boats.

 

(Sítio das Fontes, Portugal,  pictured.)