Wow! I've just read the Trip Advisor reviews of the 2 cruise companies mentioned in Rick Steves' guide (Rota do Douro and Douro Azul) and they are awful! Can anyone recommend a nice way to see the Douro by boat (preferably a small boat) for about a day (or even half a day), starting in Porto? The food need not be gourmet, but it would be nice to have pleasant crew and some educational narration.
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USA
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Take train to Pinhao (unlike road, it actually goes along the river).
Faster than Boat.
Then take boat ride upstream of Pinhao towards Tua (both shorter 1 hour and 2 hour boat ride offer from there)
There is also option of talkig boat up from Porto and return by train during high season.
Another recommendation is to do what RS tours do
Rent a car, drive to Pinhao, spend a night and then drive onwards to Coimbra.