City Trips, Europe, Nature & Outdoor, Portugal

Lisbon Boat Trip – Views from a different angle

For us, a picturesque city like Lisbon deserves to be explored from all angles. After an interesting walking tour, great restaurants and good cafés, we wanted to get to know the history-charged city in all dimensions, also looking from a different element – from the sea. Here’s a short guide on what you need to keep in mind when you would also love to explore Lisbon by boat. Lisbon Boat Trip – here we go.

The bridge, built by the same architect as the Golden Gate Bride, the location at the bay, hip cafes and technology startups make Lisbon a romantic version of San Fransisco.

We fell in love with every corner of the city and I could continue writing about the cobblestone streets the old trains going up steep hills and the flea markets for pages. But that’s not the purpose of this article.

Why should I go on boat trip in Lisbon?

Lisbon is a city with very different quarters. I have rarely seen that many restaurants and great bars in such a high density as in Bairro Alto, making it the go-to place in the evenings. Alfama, being the oldest part of the city, with its viewpoints, castles and flea-markets rather something you spend your time during the day.

Once you walked through the city for two days and read a little about its history, you grasp how the city works. Where did the seafarers leave? Where did the king live? Where have the prisoners been locked up?

Passing by these, and other districts on the boat gives it a totally new perspective. The whole construct of the city makes much more sense. For us, seeing Lisbon from this angle just made our trip complete.

Beyond that, being on the water is always great and spreads true holiday flair. Sailing into the sunset, enjoying a glass of whine and cheese from the Azores, was for us the perfect way to end beautiful three weeks in Portugal.

Who should go on a Lisbon boat trip?

Everyone who likes to be on the water! Don’t be afraid of getting seasick – you won’t.The bay of Lisbon is protected and feels more like being on a lake than on the Atlantic. Even Ani didn’t have any problems.

The boat we took was big enough for everybody to have plenty of space. Some elderly people also joined our trip as well as two children. A true happening for the whole family.

What to bring on a Lisbon boat trip

In the summer months it’s usually warm but it can be windy on the boat. A light jacket will be a safe bet. In our case, it was very windy and even a bit cold, whereas the temperatures also were a bit unusual for April. During the summer months, you won’t need a jacket but we would suggest bringing one. Better safe than cold!

Different Boat Tours in Lisbon

While researching the best option for a Lisbon boat trip, we stumbled upon many different options and picked for us the most appealing – the sunset sailing trip. For us this was a beautiful option before getting a beer at ‘The Park” and a great way to finish Julian’s birthday, who always loves to be on the ocean. There are also sailing trips during the day, there are honeymoon options, where you have the option to rent a boat for just yourself and also bachelor or hen-party opportunities.

The different boat tour providers

There are some options but two seem to be the top dogs when it comes to exploring Lisbon by boat.

Lisbon by Boat

Quite easy to guess – Lisbon by Boat!** These guys hosted us with a group of 8 other people on the boat. We can’t complain about anything as we had a great trip with awesome views, a glass whine and our daily dose of salty air! The sunset sailing trip lasted two hours and was 50€.

The prices, by the way, almost to vary between the providers.

$ Price: ca. 50€
☼ Duration: The sunset sailing trip takes round about 2 hours
✐ Good to know: The boat for the sunset tour leaves around 6 pm in the west of the city, close to ‘Torre de Belem’

Our rating: ★★★★☆

Sailing with Nigel

The second provider, with excellent reviews, is Nigel. He seems to be a super friendly guy who also offers similar sailing tours at almost the same rates. For sure, also a good option, but we went with Lisbon by boat in our case as Nigel wasn’t operating on this specific day.

Accommodation in Lisbon

Lisbon has countless beautiful options to stay. If you have already planned a trip to Lisbon, now is the best time to get a place to stay. Here* you will find some of our favorites. 🙂

Lisbon Boat Trip – in a nutshell

For us, exploring Lisbon by boat was a great experience and a beautiful way to end the last day of our trip. We were happy to get the chance and see Lisbon from a side we have never seen it before. Through the different angle we had the feeling to explore totally new elements of the history-charged city. This certainly got supported by the great and snappy explanation from our captain. Aye!

On the negative side of things, you could argue that the comparatively short Lisbon boat trip isn’t exactly cheap and doesn’t have the absolute ‘wow’ factor. All in all, I would argue that a boat trip in Lisbon is something you don’t do on a regular basis and consequently a thing you can spend a few bucks on!

So, in case you wonder what to do in Lisbon – go and explore the city by boat!

// *Affiliate-Link | When booking, we receive a small commission, without any extra costs for you.
// **paid partnership with Lisbon by Boat