Helicopter Tours in the Algarve, and the Quieter Alternative
Same coast, same hour, a different aircraft - and one of them counts towards a licence
If you have searched for a helicopter tour in the Algarve you will have found them, and they are good. They fly mostly out of Portimao and Albufeira, they last twenty minutes or so, and if what you want is to hover over the Benagil cave, a helicopter is the aircraft that does it. Nothing else will.
We sell helicopters, so we are happy to say that. We also fly something most visitors have never heard of, over the same coast, from an airfield near Lagos - and for looking at things it is the better aircraft.
Why a gyroplane suits sightseeing
Three reasons, and the first is the one nobody expects.
There is nothing in the way. An aeroplane puts a wing between you and the ground; a helicopter puts a doorframe and a mast in the picture. A gyroplane has a rotor above and a propeller behind, and between those two the view is 360 degrees and straight down.
It flies low and slowly. Which is exactly what you want when the entire point is to look at something, and is precisely what a faster aircraft cannot give you.
It is quiet enough to talk. You and the instructor on a headset, pointing things out, rather than shouting.
The two, side by side
| Helicopter tour | Gyroplane flight | |
|---|---|---|
| The view | Good, past a doorframe and a rotor mast | Nothing in the way - no wing, no strut |
| Can it stop over one spot? | Yes, and that is the reason to take one | No - it circles instead |
| Height it suits | Higher, and faster past things | Low and slow, which is what looking needs |
| Noise | Considerable | Quieter, and a headset conversation |
| Does it count towards a licence? | Only towards a helicopter licence | Logged, and counts towards the PPL(G) |
| Typical length | 20 to 30 minutes | Half an hour or a full hour |
Read the second row honestly: a gyroplane cannot hover. If holding still above the cave is the photograph you came for, book the helicopter and enjoy it.
What is under you
This coast is unusually good from the air because everything worth seeing sits on one line and none of it is far apart. Ponta da Piedade, where the Atlantic has cut the cliffs off Lagos into golden stacks and arches - from the ground you see the top of it, from the air you see the water through the arches. The cove beaches west of Lagos, whose pattern only makes sense from above. Cabo de Sao Vicente, the south-western corner of Europe, where for centuries the known map stopped.
Benagil - the sea cave with the hole in its roof, the one from every photograph of the Algarve, with boats queueing to get inside. From above you look straight down through the roof.
And inland, the part visitors rarely think to look at: Monchique and Foia, the mountain ridge behind the coast. Foia is the highest point in the Algarve, and the ridge is the reason the weather down on the beaches is what it is - it keeps the cold north-westerlies off. The coast takes 450 to 550 mm of rain a year against 900 to 1,200 in those hills. Flying the ridge line and then dropping back to the sea in the same half hour is the part people describe afterwards.
What it looks like
From the left seat at sunset - the panel live, water and farmland sliding past under the glazing.
The difference that outlasts the holiday
A helicopter tour is twenty minutes and a memory. A gyroplane flight with an instructor is logged, and counts towards the 40 hours for the UK Gyroplane Pilot Licence.
That is not a sales line, it is how the licence works. The half hour you took because it was a nice afternoon is the first entry in a logbook - and if you never fly again, you have still had the better view. A fair number of people do come back: the whole licence takes about four weeks here against six months or a year of British weekends, because the weather does not cancel.
Practical notes
Flights go from an airfield near Lagos as a half hour or a full hour. Praia da Luz, a few kilometres west, is the easiest base to stay in. No licence, no experience and nothing to bring - people fly in what they arrived in. Book ahead rather than on the day: there is one aircraft and one instructor, and August fills. Mornings are the better slot; late light is the better photograph.
If you are still planning the rest of the trip, what else is worth doing in Lagos is set out separately.
A sightseeing flight needs no medical. Training towards the licence does - a valid Class 2 medical certificate, arranged before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a helicopter tour in the Algarve?
Yes - helicopter tours and rides operate out of the Algarve, mostly from Portimao and Albufeira, and if you want to hover over the Benagil cave a helicopter is the aircraft that does it. There is also a quieter alternative most visitors never hear about: a coastal flight in a two-seat gyroplane with an instructor, from an airfield near Lagos.
What is the difference between a helicopter tour and a gyroplane flight?
A helicopter can stop and hold over one point, which nothing else here does. A gyroplane cannot hover, but it has no wing and no strut in the way, so the view is unobstructed in every direction including downward, and it flies lower and more slowly - which is what you actually want when the point of the flight is to look at something.
What will I see on a coastal flight in the Algarve?
Working west to east: the sea stacks and grottos of Ponta da Piedade off Lagos, the cove beaches around Praia da Luz, the cliffs and lighthouse at Cabo de Sao Vicente where the known map used to stop, and the Benagil sea cave from directly above its hole. Inland, the Monchique ridge and Foia - the mountains that shelter the whole coast and are the reason the weather here is what it is.
Do I need any experience or a licence?
None. You sit beside an instructor who flies the aircraft, and there is nothing to bring - people fly in what they arrived in. Whoever came with you can watch from the ground.
Does a gyroplane flight count towards anything?
It does, and this is the part people are surprised by. A flight with an instructor is logged and counts towards the 40 hours for the UK Gyroplane Pilot Licence. So the half hour you took as a holiday outing is the first entry in a logbook, whether or not you ever add a second. A helicopter tour is a lovely thing but it counts towards nothing.