Douro Valley

I've stayed at a winery near Pinhão, in April/May.

I've enjoyed the stay, but given the fact you only have 5 nights, I don't know if it's worth it, because I like Porto so much, that I would easily stay in Porto all those nights doing only day trips elsewhere, like the Douro Valley.

I had been to Porto before, so I stayed only one overnight in April, but since you have such a short length of time, I would probably do a day trip from Porto, either on a river cruise or also with the train from the Porto Campanha station coming back on the same day.
I went by train. The journey is a bit over 2 hours each way. It's a beautiful ride. You can also go further up the river to Pocinho, which I think is the last station (about 3+ hours from Porto). Or you can do only to Pinhão, lunch there, then train back. I also did a short river cruise in Pinhão.
I think there are river cruises from Porto all the way up maybe to Pocinho, but I think they take longer, possibly all day one way. Also there are shorter cruises from Porto that can be done in a few hours back and forth.

The Douro Valley is amazing. What time of year are you going? I would stay away from lodging there during harvest season, but I would go again in a heartbeat. We stayed at a little Airbnb, but we had a car, so we were able to find someplace off the beaten path. It was quite windy and narrow in some portions of the road. We took a day trip and a boat ride from Pinhão, and it was a really fun experience.

You can easily find a boat trip from Porto and enjoy a stress-free day of river cruising and Port Wine tasting.

Having done both, would vote for a day cruise to the Douro Valley and spending more time in Porto.

SKfromthePNW we will be going in June. And I don't think my post was clear. We will be staying the 5 nights in Porto and it will be the 6th night if we do an overnight in the Douro Valley before heading south to Coimbra. Otherwise, a day trip to DW will be included in the 5 night stay.

Hi kidcupo-

I personally think that one night is stressful to try to do anywhere, but if you decide to do that, Pinhao is probably a good place to look for an overnight. You can then take a river boat cruise from there and not feel rushed to find your lodging and then find someplace else to find a boat tour.

June will most likely be a busy month.

It's a small, touristy little town, but it's got charm. I would definitely book early though, and have your lodging sorted out. We also found it difficult to find a restaurant in town that had an open table, many are booked up in advance.

We love Porto and the amazing Douro River Valley.

We did two nights in Porto, stayed at the InPatio Guesthouse, that was the BEST B&B ever, but book early.

Also, we did a week long river cruise on the Douro, which you don't have the time. Consider taking the train that runs along the north bank of the river up to Regua and/or Pinhao.

We did a 7 night river cruise up the Douro this summer and it was fabulous. Breathtaking scenery from the river. Pinhâo would be a good place to overnight. Wonder if maybe take the train up in the AM, explore town and the surrounding areas, and if there's a one-way boat trip that goes from there to Porto to take that downriver. That way you can see some of the sights from the river (or conversely, just do a boat tour to/from Pinhâo while there).

When we were on the river it was smoking hot all week. We saw the train a few times from the boat with windows wide open and often people hanging out of or right at the window. My guess is they aren't air conditioned?? Something to look into.