The island has 11 km of the best beaches in the Algarve, including areas where naturism can be legally practised.

It is also popular among tourists, people that like to swim and bird watchers.

The island was home to a thriving tuna industry using the old Phoenician technique called Almadrava, between 1841 and 1967, on Barril beach, where approximately 80 families lived.

Sometime after 1966 the anchors used in the Almadrava technique were lined up on the island as a monument to the old tuna fishing industry.

[1] Access to the island is by ferry or water taxi from Quatro Águas, southeast of Tavira, and also by a small floating bridge in the Santa Luzia / Pedras d'El Rei area, followed by a small train trip (operating during the summer months) or on foot, via a footpath parallel to the railway line (c. 2 km).