Lisbon: Dolphin Watching With Marine Biologist – Small Group

We cannot say enough good things about the experience. The educational information Maria provided enhanced everything we were lucky to see! Having such a skilled team to cautiously navigate around the large dolphin pod while making sure all participants were able to get wonderful pictures leaves us with memories we will forever cherish! Would happily return to Lisbon specifically to book more tours with them!

Fun speed boat ride. Saw lots dolphins & helped environment as we removed some debris from sea. Guides were great

Laura and Ica were absolutelu great, we saw 4 purpoises and around 50 common dolphins, they even plyayed with the boat. On the way back we even picked up se trash. Wondwrfull tour.

Amazing experience! We really enjoyed being in a smaller group, which made the trip feel much more personal and relaxed. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and everything was well organized. We would definitely do it again and highly recommend it! 🐬

The boat ride was fun and we did indeed see dolphins. I like the way we sat on the boat in 2 lines behind each other, straddling cushioned poles and holding onto metal grab bars. It felt very safe (more safe than your regular dinghy) and we all had special inflatable lifejackets on. My 10 year old son had a huge amount of fun, as we rode up a wave then splashed down on the other side. It was like riding a giant Jet Ski. The dolphins were incredible, swimming right next to the boat. Before the whole adventure starts you get a proper video briefing in the waiting area. Suggestions: Put sunscreen on before. Wear a secure hat, otherwise it may fly off when going fast. Don't bring too much, you have to leave your backpack behind in the briefing area because there is simply no space on the boat because you are packed together, one behind the other, on the pole-seat. You can take your phone, and water, for instance. Very enjoyable outing.

The ride to and from the open waters was super fun, my son loved it. Above all seeing dolphins up close in their natural habitat was the best. The skipper and marine biologists were very kind to my son when sea sickness kicked in. He still loved the experience and it's been one of the highlights of our trip.

Amazing experience!!! The team was wonderful the entire time, including when I unfortunately had a bout of sickness, they were very considerate and looked after me for the remainder of the trip. We especially enjoyed the fun twists of the two boats playing at the end! Cant thank the team enough for such a magical experience! (:

It was great; saw lots of dolphins and were also told about the history of some parts.

Incredible experience and incredible people saw so many dolphins and the boat ride itself was just as fun

A brilliant experience, would 100% recommend.

Well organised and clear explanation. Lots of fun to do.

Laura and Francisco gave us a great tour and safe boat ride. They made my 5 and 9 year olds feel at home in a new country. The dolphins were incredible and the information Laura shared was fascinating. Highly recommend!

A very special experience. Our guides, Vanessa and Francisco were lovely and very knowledgeable, they helped us spot a mink whale and a pod of striped dolphins, giving us some unforgettable memories!

Excellent experience. The guide was interesting and informative. We saw a large group of dolphins, really lovely to watch them in their natural environment.

Amazing tour, full of information and beautiful experience riding the ocean waves (well done to Joao) and watching dolphins jumping. Marianne’s insight as a marine biologist was priceless, I wish more experiences applied this scientific lens for a better understanding of nature and improvement of our collective future. 10/10 would recommend

Very nice organiser, knowledgable guide and we had the pleasure of seeing many dolphins and even one choice. The boat trip was also a pleasure

favourite excursion of all time! got to see dolphins for the first time & the guide got us as close as possible to them! loved this & will do this again 🇵🇹🍊🐬

Our family had such a great experience on this tour. Our guide clearly loves her job, and it was so amazing to see the dolphins in their natural habitat. Our 7 year old had a blast!

No dolphins on a dolphins tour! The only dolphins we saw was on the presentation before the actual dolphin tour started. We rode on the boat for 2.5hrs trying to find birds that would lead us to the dolphins, but in the end we saw no dolphins! We did stop a few times to pick up plastic bottles left in the ocean which was probably the most eventful topic during the tour. After giving up and driving us back, they said that it's never guaranteed. They suggested they could book us in again but had no availability in the afternoon session and we were going home the next day. They refused a partial or complete refund, so in all, it was a very expensive boat ride collecting rubbish left in the sea! The marine biologist did seem disappointed for us and very passionate about her job and the ecology. Shame......

Terra Incognita took really good care of us. It was a fun trip just outside the crowded city with lots of dolphins around us. So cool!

This was a last minute added excursion for our group but ended up being one of our favorites. We saw dozens of dolphins and even a whale sighting. That doesn’t happen often from what our guide told us. Seemed the smaller boat makes it possible to get close and not interrupt dolphins in their natural habitat. It does get cold on the way out , a good coat, coat with a hood , and even light gloves are a good idea. It was late Sept so that may not be an issue during the summer. Wonderful experience, worth the time to do it.

We booked this trip through the Oceanarium and had an incredible experience with Vanessa and João! We learned a lot about the dolphins and the marine life in the Tejo. We got lucky and saw Orcas which made the whole experience unforgettable. We hope the Oceanarium keeps up the good work on educating the public about the importance of preserving life in the ocean.

What a great experience! The dolphin watching trip with terra incognita was excellent, the staff were knowledgeable as well as friendly and accommodating, we saw quite a few dolphins and the RIB ride was so fun. A Lisbon must with small people and big people alike!

Unbelievable experience! The boat held around 16 of us so was only small which meant we were really close to the dolphins! It was one of the most amazing experiences we saw 2 baby dolphins too. Don't sit at the back left side if you don't want to get wet! My daughter found it hilarious that I was absolutely soaking haha x Thank you for an unforgettable experience xx

The captain, marine biologist and host were all very lovely people. Excellent knowledge. And a brilliant morning. Incredible experience. Good fun as well as educational. Recommended.

It’s a magical moment, when you actually see the dolphins. Also sitting in a very nice speed boat is a lot of fun.

This was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! We learned a lot about the ocean, marine life, and had plenty of time to see the dolphins. We even got super close to the dolphins ! It was absolutely breathtaking. Highly recommend!!

Me and my friends had a blast during this trip. Our tour guide was amazing: she explained ecerything incredibly well amd was more that happy to answer our questions. I higly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Lisbon and that would like to learn more about dolphins, our oceans and how to protect them :)

We saw several groups of dolphins up close and hung out in a small boat observing them. A wonderful experience coupled with some great commentary from our host who answered questions and sites Ted the experience beautifully!

This is the review in 3 words of our 11-year-old son 😉 We had a thrilling family adventure on a speedboat searching for dolphins in the Tagus and in the ocean. We saw a group of around ten-15 common dolphins in the Tagus. There were two baby dolphins and we saw one jump above the water: very cute 🤗 We weren't as lucky when we went to the ocean: we saw only three isolated dolphins, very briefly and from quite far. The marine biologist who was with us on the boat reminded us that they are wild animals and she gave us a lot of explanations about dolphins. The children understood and really enjoyed the excursion anyway. We had a lot of fun riding the waves thanks to our skipper Juan. Everyone at Terra Incognita was very welcoming and helpful. The whole family highly recommends this experience !

Great tour. We had a first trip in which, in a very rare and unfortunate case, we didn't see any dolphins. Terra Incognita immediately offers us a new complimentary trip with no limitations on use. We used this again this June and the experience was fantastic. At the end of the tour, they offer a nice buffet with food and drinks! Excellent!

We had booked an afternoon tour on my daughter’s birthday which was unfortunately cancelled due to gusty winds, but we were offered the next day instead, or a sunset trip. We opted for the next day. (I’d recommend booking this early in your Lisbon stay in case of cancellations, so you can move it to a later day if possible. I’m not sure how often this happens). The next day the wind was also not great, and we were warned that the waves would be quite rough and they would be more limited in where they could search- they did say they’d happily refund anyone who would prefer not to go. They did a very good job of managing expectations, saying that due to the conditions it would be more challenging to find the dolphins, so I was fully expecting not to see any. We had been out for quite some time when suddenly we spotted some- they were swimming by and under the boat. It was really lovely to see. It only lasted 5 mins or so but was worth it! I felt the guides really were putting all their efforts into finding the dolphins and they were genuinely delighted when we saw them. The boat ride is really exhilarating and fun, and you pass by much of the coastline up to Cascais (although we were closer to the shore due to the winds). It would have been disappointing of course if we had not seen dolphins, but we would have still had a really fun time. The dolphins were the icing on the cake. A very professional company- would recommend.

The dolphin trip was an amazing experience! Boat felt very safe and includes life jackets. The team Vanessa & Francisco were very friendly and knowledgable about dolphins and local sights. We saw multiple common dolphins it was incredible. After seeing a pod, the team continue to look for more, which we did see lots more and porpoises! Definitely recommend! It made our trip thank you!

What I hoped was that we would see dolphins, and our boat was surrounded by them, on all sides! The rest was a bonus. The trip was very professionally organised, the boat was modern and safe. We really enjoyed the very fast speedboat ride, but more warning could have been given about how hard the impact can be over waves on the way out. Nonetheless I would definitely recommend and probably do it again! A lovely extra was the drink and snack awaiting our return to the comfortable lounge.

I had a great time on the boat ride to see the dolphins! It was fun to watch them work together to round up the fish to eat. And, it was fascinating to watch the birds follow the dolphins, so they could dive in and join in on the fish feast. On the way back to the city, the guide gave us a tour of the city. It was wonderful to see the sites from the viewpoint of the water. It was an exciting and peaceful morning!

It was clear sky and little wind. But unfortunately we didnt see anything after 2.5 hours of boat ride. We understand its wild life so nothing is guaranteed. But with the advertised success rate, our expectations were really high. If you have young children, we advise to think about this possibility. Our children were bitterly disappointed, there were lots of tears and this became the absolute low light of our Lisbon trip. The crews were friendly. But as we didn't see anything, we didn't get any explanations, not about animals, not about monuments. Sitting thru the 2.5 hours was tough and we were really glad it was finally over. Maybe we were extremely unlucky. All the wholesome reviews you could find in different platforms did give us (maybe unrealisticly) high expectation. We were offered another trip 3 days later or another trip in the future. But as tourists, it's highly unlikely for us to do it again. A partial refund would have been nice.

This was the best trip I've ever been on. The skipper and marine biologist were friendly, informative and nice. Skipping across the waves on the boat was brilliant fun. And we got to see two kinds of dolphin and some porpoises. The common dolphins skimmed right under the boat. Magical.

Absolutely amazing experience on the boat! Our guide, Ines was very knowledgeable and respectful of the dolphins. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the different species. We saw so many dolphins and even got to see some up close. The experience was capped off by treats provided in the lounge. All the staff were super nice!

The whole experience was wonderful. Lots of information about different species, lots if dolphins and after the tour we got some hot tea and pastel de nata which was just perfect! We had great time!

excellent trip with 2 amazing marine biologists. spent ages surrounded by dolphins. definitely well worth it. very professional and fully safe.

We did a morning tour and saw dolphins feeding, close enough they came to the side of the boat. Then we found a massive gyre of trash and stopped to remove it. It took both guides and several people on the tour to remove a ball of plastic trash. We were rewarded with a second sighting of dolphins after for cleaning up! Very nice boat, knowledgable guides!

Wonderful wildlife tour in the heart of Lisbon. Great guides, great trip, amazing dolphins. Highly recommended!

Such wonderful informative and friendly individuals running this trip. The rib boat ride alone was an exciting experience and being surrounded by a pod of dolphins made it perfect. The relatively small size of the party (16) was more personal and it was lovely to chat with the crew before and after the trip to learn of their experiences. The weather was grey and misty and we were kindly offered jackets for the trip which were much appreciated.

The tour guide is a competent marine biologist. She spoke slowly and clearly, and used humor well. She was very patient, informative and interesting. The driver was warm and friendly, and we felt safe while he drove the speedboat. We saw dolphins and a sunfish, which was amazing. A ten out of ten experience that I'd strongly recommend. Well worth the money.

An amazing tour. Saw three types of dolphins and got right up close. Tour guides were amazing. Would highly recommend. On the way back into the city they stop briefly on the water at some of the sites in Belem to allow you take photos. Note: independent of the weather it’s chilly out on the water so definitely bring a long sleeved top. Also, its a little bumpy of a ride but nothing too bad, just make sure that you’re fit and ready for the trip.

The crew was so lovely, funny and professional. So many dolphins were swimming around us and even a whale in the distance. We've had the best staff ever, big thanks to them for this experience. Everything was perfect and totally worth it. Dziękujemy!

We absolutely loved our trip out to see the dolphins! We were so lucky to see a super pod of dolphins, a mink whale, two porpoises and four sun fish. It was a magical outing and the team were so knowledgeable and friendly. Our kids (6 and 8) loved the whole thing - especially the speed boat ride!!

Incredible experience! The staff was very knowledgeable about the dolphins and their behaviors. We were fortunate enough to find a super-pod feeding. Would book again and highly recommend the Mercedes Benz Oceanic Team.

It was an amazing experience and guide was super kind. Absolutely to recommend. We now new more about dolphins