Wildlife

Located a few kilometres outside of the popular resort town itself is Lagos Zoo. Whilst this is not quite on the scale of the big city zoos it manages to pack in plenty of animals among the beautiful landscaped subtropical gardens. 

Promoting conservation, environmental education and FUN! Zoomarine combines an important message with hands on shows and a huge water park.

Located just a few kilometers from Albufeira, here you can see presentations with the parks animals. The highlight of all these has to be the dolphin show which is along the lines of those at the famous Florida Seaworld. These feature displays of amazing acrobatics and the dolphins showing off their intelligence. Not only can you watch the performance, you can swim with the dolphins, although this does require booking in advance. 

Located around 10 km (6 miles) off the coast of Peniche is the rugged Berlengas Archipelago. This collection of 3 little islands, named Estelas, Farilhões and Berlenga, is virtually uninhabited, well, except for about a million seabirds! Now a nature reserve (Reserva Natural das Berlengas) these islands are home to puffins, seagulls and cormorants and they are very much in charge these days. Not only are the three square kilometres of island protected but so are the surrounding seas which make up a 985 hectare marine reserve.

The Ria Formosa estuary forms a complex of lagoons,marshes and salty areas. The park which extends 60Km along the coast provides habitats to a wide range of wildlife

Aquarium featuring a variety of underwater environments from freshwater streams to the rugged coastlines, long sandy beaches to deep ocean. Species include sharks, jellyfish and seahorses

Housed in a purpose built, ultra-modern building in the Parque das Nações, the Oceanarium is the largest in Europe. There are around 450 different species including sharks, rays, barracudas and sunfish

Founded in 1884 the zoo now contains around 2,000 animals with more than 300 species are represented. Includes the conservation and breeding of endangered species, as well as scientific research, and educational and recreational activities