Olhao Beaches and Islands in Ria Formosa

A lot of people ask “Does olhao has a beach?”, yes it does, but if we take into consideration the beaches in Olhão that do not require any boat, Olhão does not offer any good quality beaches. However, with a short ferry trip, you can reach some of the most beautiful beaches in Algarve, all of them in islands of Ria Formosa.

Within these beaches, you can differentiate the ones which are within Olhão municipality and the ones which are not per se in Olhão but are easily reachable anyway, although they are Faro beaches, some have a huge connection with Olhao itself. 

Below you can find a table of time to get to those islands with the ferry, hopefully it helps choosing which one. There is quite a lot more content about the beaches in Olhao below.

Armona Island belongs to Olhao Municipality and can easily be reached by ferry within 15/20 minutes or even quicker by aqua-taxi. You can check both ferry and aqua-taxi here.

Take in consideration that it takes about 30 minutes to cross from the ferry stop to the coastal side, but totally worth it. We have more information about it in our Ria Formosa article.

Facilities

• Restaurants: yes
• Toilet: yes
• Shower: yes
• Water sports: Yes (Summer)
• Sunbeds: yes (Summer)
• Lifeguards: yes (Summer)
• Blue Flag beach: yes

In the municipality of Olhao you can find Fuseta Village which is about 7 kilometers and easily accessible by train or car. From there you have some of the most dreamy beaches, with: 

1. Fuseta Beach (No need to take the boat)
2. Fusta Island (Acessible by ferry which takes about 10/15 minutes)
3. Fuseta Bay Beach (Aqua-taxi and takes about 5/10 minutes)

All those beaches are quite good, but take in consideration that Fuseta Bay Beach does not have any facilities. 

Culatra island/beach is one of the beaches which is easily accessible from Olhao, within a 30 minutes ferry ride you can reach the island. From there you will have a small village with most of the services.

Take in consideration that it takes about 25 minutes to cross from the ferry stop to the coastal side, but totally worth it. We have more information about it in our Ria Formosa article.

Facilities

On this island, you can find every type of facility, ATM, restaurant, football field, school, church, and even some shops.

• Restaurants: yes
• Toilet: yes
• Shower: yes
• Water sports: Yes (Summer)
• Sunbeds: yes (Summer)
• Lifeguards: yes (Summer)
• Blue Flag beach: yes

Although Farol Island/Beach it takes a bit longer than Culatra island to get there, it has the advantage that you can cross from one side to the other in about 10/15 minutes, making up for the extra time inside the ferry.

Both beaches are connected and quite a lot of people stop in on and walk to the other to enjoy a nice walk on the coastal side of the island, once again more information in our Ria Formosa article.

Facilities

• Restaurants: yes
• Toilet: yes
• Shower: yes
• Water sports: Yes (Summer)
• Sunbeds: yes (Summer)
• Lifeguards: yes (Summer)
• Blue Flag beach: yes

Unfortunately the regular ferry does not operate to Deserta Island(also Known as Barreta Island) from Olhao (only from Faro), therefore you can only take the aqua-taxi which will take about 20 minutes.

Nonetheless, as the name suggests it’s a deserted island/beach with only one restaurant, here you can walk and enjoy the calmess. Needless to say it’s beautifull. Check our  Ria Formosa article for more. 

Facilities

• Restaurants: yes
• Toilet: yes
• Sunbeds: yes (Summer)
• Lifeguards: yes (Summer)
• Blue Flag beach: yes

Although connected to Culatra Island, this beach is too far for most of people to walk here from the Ferry Stop, therefore, only the ones with boats or in aqua-taxi end-up visiting. Enjoy the paradise by yourself. 

Facilities

On this beach, there are no facilities.