We are going to Portugal in May. We will spend a night in Porto then wanted to take a 1-day cruise up the river to Pinhao, spend the night at Quinta de la Rosa (which Rick recommends highly) then take the train back to Porto. I am having trouble getting information. The cruise companies don't show a one-way trip and the train schedule is unavailable until April. Apparently they are working on the rail line from December through March 31 and won't show any information until then. Rick indicates trains going from Porto to Pinhao every 2 hours, and it would seem logical the trains back to Porto would be on a similar schedule. But I don't want to wait until April to make reservations in either Porto or Pinhao. Does anyone know if this occurs every year and what the May schedule will be? I'm starting to consider using a car, which is really not our first choice. Thanks!
Posted by
8322 posts
We did a 7 day river cruise on the Douro and loved it. The train tracks are on the north shore of the river. We saw the train stations in some of the towns we visited. Pinhao is great.
I would hold out for taking the train, bookings should open up a couple of months prior to your trip. Not sure, but there may be busses that go up the river?
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thanks for the replies. We’ve decided to rent a car, giving us more time in Porto, then will take a short cruise from Pinhao. We’ll then drive directly from Pinhao to our next stop in Coimbra.