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Porto and surrounding area advice

Hi all,

Hubby and I are rescheduling a trip to Portugal that we had to cancel in September. We will be visiting our Grandson in Valencia, Spain who is there through a FSU international program.

We are only going to Valencia and Portugal this trip, from late February to 3rd week in March. We have visited much of Spain on a previous trip. We are flying in and out of Madrid because the airfare was the lowest of other options.

We will fly from Valencia to Lisbon. Spend six nights there, then take train to Porto. We have ten nights to play with in that area. We also want to visit the Douro Valley. We have learned over the years and from our aging bodies that we prefer to anchor in one place and do day trips from there.

Questions: should we stay somewhere in the Douro Valley for a few nights?

should we stay in Porto the entire time and add some day trips?

We will not have a rental car.

Thanks all for reading through this long post and for your recommendations.

Posted by
11611 posts

We have found that vineyards are not very attractive in the winter, a lot of sticks. . Check to see if that is true for those in the Douro River area.
We loved the Minho region north of Porto and based in Guimares, Portugal’s first capital. I encourage you to visit and/or stay there in addition to Porto. We had a car from when we left Lisbon until we arrived in Porto.

Posted by
550 posts

Thanks for the great suggestions.