We are looking into a trip to Portugal late summer 2020 and would like to rent a flat in Lisbon and then take the train to Porto, each for 5-7 days. Has anyone booked a multi day river cruise on the Duoro River out of Porto for 2-3 nights with sleeping accommodations onboard?? We do not want to rent a car and would prefer to limit our "moving nights" time having to pack and unpack.
Posted by
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
320 posts
We did a Viking River cruise a couple of years back with some family members. We went early to Lisbon and ignored the Viking city tour. We traveled from Lisbon to Porto with Viking and then ignored the Viking city tour there in favor of our own touring. The cruise was very enjoyable. You could easily book an apartment to stay a few days in Porto afterwards.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
1075 posts
Most of the Douro cruises I have seen are 7 nights. For example these:
https://www.tauck.com/tours-and-cruises/river-cruising/douro-river
https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2019/enticing-douro
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4573 posts
short trips might be more likely driven by Portuguese agencies. You could google '3 night duoro cruise', or look at what Viator or TripAdvisor offers (as jumping off points).
Posted by
OP
381 posts
Follow up to my question.....After searching it looks like the Viking "River of Gold" cruise is our best option. We are not interested in renting a car but know that Liston and Porto via train is easy. However, we also wanted to get out of the cities and there does not seem to be just a river cruise out of Porto for 5-7 days. Thanks for your input!
Posted by
7662 posts
We did a wonderful Douro River cruise with Vantage (price was better than Viking).
The cruise was 7 days and one of our favorites.
Also, we stayed two more nights in Porto. Loved that city. Found a fantastic B&B, The In Patio Guesthouse. It is the very best B&B that we have ever stayed at. Only five rooms so book early.
Here is the detailed story of our tour and cruise.
Portugal, the Douro River and a bit of Spain
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535267