Each month we are picking an unusual and beautiful place in Portugal that you can go and visit, it could be a view, cave, beach or building, either way its sure to take your breath away!

Our first ‘Place of the month’ is the stunning Benagil caves, notably some of the most beautiful in Europe, the Benagil beach cave was listed as one of the ‘worlds top 10 coolest caves’ by The Huffington Post in 2014. Based in the Algarve in the south of Portugal these caves are a real must see. The cave network itself is huge and extends along the coastline by a long way, but the most famous of all is the Benagil beach cave, recognised by its two unusual natural arches and the amazing skylight central hole!

The cave network can only be accessed by sea, Benagil beach is easy to get too but you’ll need a car as public transport is almost impossible, you will find yourself on the winding back roads of Lagoa making even the car ride quite an adventure!! If you get your sat nav to take you to Praia de Benagil you will get there in the end!!!! You can park in the small beach car park or, if this is full usually you can leave your car safely on the main road to the beach.

Benagil beach cave is just around the corner from the beach itself, at low tide it is possible to swim to it as it’s only 200m or so from the cliff edge, however the sea here is very changeable tides can make conditions get tricky very fast, it’s much safer to get a boat tour or hire some kayaks from nearby and explore the area this way.

If you fancy avoiding the small winding roads leading to Benagil altogether you can always take a tour from the beautiful Lagos marina, these tours are run by larger companies and will include many of the other beautiful caves and secluded beaches nearby…you might even get to spot some dolphins too! Some of companies will even allow you to be dropped off inside the most famous of the caves (the one pictured below) where you can lounge on the beach and be collected a few hours later! Utter bliss!