We stayed here for three nights, September 2018. Luckily we have lots of tidal docking experience, so it all went well. But be forewarned – you need to preplan your entrance here, taking into consideration which way the current is flowing; it can be very strong.

We watched several boats try to dock which did not seem to have any clue regarding the current. Thankfully for them, lots of people were around to help them, and the boats they glanced off had fenders on their non-dock side.

It is best to just initially tie to the long reception pontoon, which runs the length of the marina. In all likelihood, you will not get a dock and therefore just stay on the reception pontoon.

This is fine, as getting in/out of the very tight docks in the ever-present current would be a challenge. Unfortunately, you are charged an extra ‘fee’ for staying on the reception pontoon, even if there is no room on the docks; we thought that a little underhanded.

The office staff is very nice and speak very good English; the Marinaros much less so. The showers are hot and quite clean, but rather small. The town is nice and not too overrun with tourists.

Very unfortunately, we will not return here as there is a ‘disco’ just outside the marina which starts blasting music at 1800 hours (and I stress the term “VERY LOUD”, and does not stop until 0600 hours the next days – this went on the three nights we were there!

We took the ferry to Ayamonte and that’s where will go next summer. There were plenty of open docks, no current to deal with once inside the mouth of the harbour, and the town has a much better vibe. There is a huge grocery store “El Jamon” just to the left as you get off the ferry.

Marina, not the best. Electricity costs an extra fee and there’s a 20% surcharge for docking on the long pontoon (the only one that had room for visitors). No Wifi on the pontoons, only in the restaurant.

Office and facilities are squeezed into the restaurant building and rather “compact” (have to open the toilet door to stand up). Office staff was polite but very inflexible and told us off for not radioing ahead even though we docked without trouble.

Perhaps this was due to a number of accidents due to the strong current running through the marina. Coming in on the long pontoon is no problem, but turning the boat in the marina is only recommended during slack tide or things can get exciting.

We paid €22.14 for a 12.4m monohull without electricity in early October (on the long pontoon). If you don’t care about the town, would advise going into Ayamonte on the other side of the river – cheaper, friendlier and much easier docking. There is a ferry connecting both sides of the river.

The town is very nice though and worth a visit. There is a fuel pontoon slightly upriver from the long pontoon.

We visited Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA) in January 2015. Care must be taken when approaching and navigating the river, as some buoys were unlit. Depths in the channel are still good around HW. We never had less than 3m below our keel upon crossing the bar.

Mooring on the outside of the large pontoon that separates the marina of VRSA from the river is not allowed – not even to await slack water. The waiting pontoon is on the inside. After checking-in small yachts will be required to move to a berth.

Manoeuvring in the marina is a challenge: spaces are claustrophobic. We had merely a boat length (we sail a Nicholson 32) to manoeuvre in and out of our berth. Currents can be strong. All of this would be perfectly manageable with proper planning, namely waiting for slack tide to eliminate the current.

However the staff run the marina more like a hotel than a port, e.g. you have to “check-out” before 12:00, even if that means manoeuvring out of a crammed marina with 4kn of current.

After having complied with the instructions of the staff when manoeuvring into our allocated berth, resulting in damage to our topsides, we insisted on following our own planning when leaving.

In spite of some muttering, no extra charges were required for leaving after 12:00(and none would have been paid). Showers are tiny and not very warm. Depths are good. Staff are friendly, but I disliked the unhelpful attitude when it came to basic seamanship and prudence in avoiding damage.

I recommend mooring at Ayamonte across the river. (That was our first choice from the start, but the marina turned out to be silted when we arrived.) We also saw several yachts anchored over the shallows behind the green channel marker opposite VRSA marina.

Stan Luyten
SV Noctiluca

Facebook Page: “Cruising Vagabonds”
Blog: stanluyten.wordpress.com