A Sunday in Tavira, an hour from Huelva.

Tavira is an hour from Huelva and has no beach on the mainland: its beach is opposite, on a barrier island of the Ria Formosa, eleven kilometres of car-free sand with dunes behind. You get there on a scheduled boat, simple and cheap, which is part of the day. This plan crosses to the island in the morning, comes back to eat in the centre and leaves the afternoon for the city: the seven-arch bridge over the Gilão river, the church of Santa Maria do Castelo and the castle towers, from which you see the four-pitched roofs and the salt pans. From Seville it is two hours: the plan works just as well, leaving an hour earlier.

The day, hour by hour

Stop times are Portuguese time, one hour behind Spain.

9:00 (Spanish time) · Leave. From Huelva along the motorway to Ayamonte, the Guadiana bridge and the A22. When you cross, the clock goes back an hour: you reach Tavira at 9:05 Portuguese time.

10:00 · Boat to Ilha de Tavira from Quatro Águas. The quay is at the river mouth, next to the sailing club, with paid parking. The crossing is short and costs €1.20 one way and €2 return; children aged 4 to 11, €0.65 and €1.10, and under-4s do not pay. The ticket is bought at the quay. On the winter timetable, in force since 25 October 2026, there are outbound boats at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 13:30, and return boats at 10:15, 11:15, 12:15, 13:15, 13:45, 15:15 and 16:35. In summer there are many more departures.

13:15 · Return. Take the 13:15 boat and drive back to the centre, five minutes away. If you prefer to stay on the island, there are some bars next to the quay and the last boat leaves at 16:35 in winter.

14:00 · Lunch at Gilão. In a unit of the old Ribeira market, the iron building by the river, with a terrace looking at the water and the bridge. It is open every day from 12:00 to 22:00, Sunday too, when many places in the centre close. The house speciality is the cataplana, of sea bass with king prawn and clams or of Iberian pork cheek, best for two; mains run from about €16 to €33. Book the terrace on its website.

15:30 · The bridge, Santa Maria and the castle. Cross the seven-arch bridge, pedestrian and 17th-century, although everyone calls it Roman, to see the city over the water, and come back. Climb from Praça da República to Santa Maria do Castelo, of the 13th century, with the Manueline chapel of the Senhor dos Passos and the slab that, according to tradition, holds the remains of D. Paio Peres Correia. Next to it, the castle and its towers, with no handrails. In winter, at weekends the castle closes at 17:00; in summer, at 19:00.

17:30 · Return. You reach Huelva around half past seven in the evening, Spanish time, and Seville around half past eight.

With children

The boat is an excursion in itself. On the island, with small children, swim in summer in the lifeguarded area next to the quay: it is open sea. From the quay to the beach you go by boardwalk, so a pushchair gets through. On the castle towers, keep an eye on them. If they are very small, Barril, with its little train and its accessible beach, is the alternative.

If the weather is bad

With rain or strong wind, the island has nowhere to shelter beyond the bars at the quay. Stay in the centre and extend the walk with the churches and the market. Cacela Velha, a quarter of an hour away on the way to Spain, can also be seen under a grey sky.