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Advice needed regarding Faro to Porto and regarding Porto lodging

Greetings
We have a two and half weeks trip to Algarve and Porto. Flight to Algarve, 9 days there then flight or train to Porto. We want to rent a car for three days to see Douro and the see Porto and attend a conference for a week without car. Questions:
1. Should we fly or take the train? Train is cheaper and has no luggage hassle or travel to the airport. But it's long and means we need to stay in Porto for a night before renting car in the morning for Douro. Also don't know if we can rent at the train station. Flight is more expensive and it's Ryanair which I hate. But will mean we can rent car directly and go to Douro that same day

  1. We think three or four nights in Douro and a week in Porto. Where should we stay in either place? Budget is important but don't want to share washroom. Any hotels or bnbs?
  2. Do we need AC? In Porto especially? And where to stay to have less hills?

Thanks in advance

Posted by
57 posts

We were in Porto in Sept. '24, and stayed in an RVA Clerigos apartment, right across the street from the church and tower (torre) dos Clerigos. Excellent location (though keep in mind Porto is very very hilly!), quiet at night in spite of being in the heart of town, very clean and well equipped. Easy walk to restaurants and various sites, no need for a car. I think I booked through Booking.com.
We did a day tour of the Douro Valley so i can't speak to the transportation questions. But we loved that day trip. Don't know when you're going, but we didn't need AC in Sept. It did get pretty warm during the day but not at night. Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
9 posts

Thank you so much! I'll check it out. We go in July. But I see they do have air conditioning there. It's the perfect location for the conference too. I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. Did you choose a studio or apartment?

Posted by
1493 posts

Porto is hilly but I managed to stay in a quite nice hotel very near the central core and not too far from the train station and it was in a mostly flat area. The room was lovely overlooking a garden with a sweet little balcony. I didn’t feel the price was exorbitant. As far as air conditioning, it was hot during my stay for a couple of days but later cooled off with rain. This was mid-October during my trip to the area. I don’t know what time of year your trip is and I also don’t know where you live and your tolerance for heat. Those two answers will factor in your decision whether to insist on AC.

For the Douro, I stayed at a lovely Quinta at about mid-way along the river. I didn’t rent a car and at times found it difficult to get a taxi from the towns (Regua and Pinhao) back to the Quinta. Since you are two people I would rent a car after your time in Porto for the Douro. I was a solo traveler and wanted to enjoy the views and not worry about safety on the road.

Here are links to In Porto Gallery Guesthouse and Quinta do Tedo

https://www.inporto.pt/
https://www.quintadotedo.com/about-2

Posted by
9 posts

Thanks Linda. I'll check them out. We booked flights from Faro to Porto. the train seemed too long and only would have saved us about 50 euros.
The problem with the location is that we are attending a conference in Porto which happens at Edificio Salazar and I'd like to be within the walking distance.
Thanks for all the links. Really appreciate it. Also it's nice people here are friendly, which is not always the case on Tripadvisor!

Posted by
17 posts

We stayed in Porto, not the Duoro and we were super happy with our accommodation also recommended by travelers on this forum. We stayed at Uba Heritage & Wine. ubaporto.com