Get aboard our catamaran sailboat - O Esperança - to discover the community of Sado dolphins along the magnificent landscapes of Arrabida, Troia coast and the sado estuary.
The tours are available all year long with departures from Setúbal or Troia and lasts for about 2h30 to 3 hours.
Discovering the dolphins community
Trips schedule
From May to October > 9.30AM – 2.30PM (departures from Setúbal) * 10.00AM -3.00PM (departures from Troia).
From November to April > 10.00AM – 2.30PM (departures from Setúbal) * 10.30AM – 3.00PM (departures from Troia)
40€ / adult * 20€ / children from 3 to 12 years old [VAT included]
Schools programs
View programWe invite students and teachers, to travel to the estuary of Sado and participate in the program specially designed for them. This Environmental Education program is intended for primary, basic and secondary education and has as main objective to let them know the resident community of dolphins, the way they live and the problems that affect them. The program lasts for half a day, or full-day when supplemented by an optional activity. [rates on request]
The resident population of roazes on the Sado and the adjacent marine coast of Tróia and Arrábida, is a singular case in Portugal and a rare one in the world. It is not yet clear for how long the roazes have been living in Sado. It tis likely that they have been living here for a long time. The oldest record of the sight of two dolphins in the Sado, dates from 1863 by the naturalist José Vicente Barboza du Bocage.
The first studies of the Sado roazes population date back to the early 1980s. At that time there were about 40 dolphins but in the last decades there has been a decline. In the 1990s the number of roazes kept an average of 30 individuals. In 2005 we only counted a population of 22 animals. Between 1998 and 2005, we recorded the birth of 14 offspring but only 3 survived. Between 2005 and 2011, 11 offspring were born and 9 survived. Since 2011 the population has remained on an average of 27 dolphins. However, in the last 3 years, we have failed to register the same breeding success: 7 offspring were born and only 3 survived. Currently, the Sado dolphin population remains a threatened and very vulnerable population.