Ok so we are going for 9 days in April and I received such great advice on my first question I had to start new questions with specific questions. We have decided to stay in Porto (with some days trips to Guimaraes, Braga and maybe Coimbra etc) and then take 2-3 days in Douro Valley.
Is a long river boat trip to Douro valley worth it and is there anything on the boat to do that's worth the long trip or is it seeing the views?
If we train there, how hard is it to go from winery to winery to try different wines, as we would like to hire a driver but not sure how spread out everything is.
And what are everyone's top three things to do in Douro Valley?
Also I am guessing we fly into Lisbon then connect to Porto... 6-7 days there then train to Porto... and I am guessing on the day of departure back to NY we take a train back to Porto then start our flights. My only thought is to train back the night before we leave and sleep in Porto the night before we leave. Thoughts? Please let me know any train insight or best area to stay in Porto or insider tips as we love the local stuff
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
511 posts
I have seen posts on this forum from people who loved the long boat ride; you can search "Duoro Valley" and find them. It didn't appeal to me; a one hour boat ride which is very easy to do from Pinhao and is part of many day tours, was enjoyable but sufficient for me.
When I was planning my trip in 2019, I found that as an independent traveler outside an organized tour, it wouldn't be that easy to arrange visits to many of the quintas (the vineyards); you would have to contact them and make individual arrangements. The ones with regularly scheduled tours and tastings were the bigger more commercialized ones. I ended up doing just a day tour from Porto with a small group (8 if I remember) that visited two different family run vineyards, included the boat ride, and a nice lunch. There are many such group but also private day tours and some multi-day ones where someone knowledgeable arranges the driver and the visits. However, perhaps folks who have done it all on their own will respond to you.
In Porto, I recommend the Vitoria neighborhood; it has lots of historic buildings, is part the world heritage area, an easy walk to the Sao Bento train station and down to the river, plenty of restaurants and cafes. I liked that it seemed less tourist oriented than Ribera (along the river) that is often recommended. However, Ribera is much flatter if hilly streets and steps are a problem. One of the fun things I did in Porto was to take a street art walking tour.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
I agree with the other poster about a long boat ride on the Douro. I’ve done an hour long trip twice and each time I was ready for it to end.
I’ve done a day tour from Porto to the Douro that was very nice. Then on another trip, stayed at Quinta de la Rosa in Pinhao- which was lovely. The Quinta recommended a driver for the area that worked out well. But, we didn’t go to a number of wineries using him. He did transport to and from the train station, took us to the boat trip then to lunch in the vineyards and dinner one night. We paid him €40 for all of that. There are a few wineries close to Pinhao. So, that might be an option.
For Porto, the area around Rua dos Flores is very nice. It’s close to the Ribeira but not right in it. It’s also relatively flat, close to São Bento with lots of restaurants.
Give yourself an extra 2-3 hours if you don’t spend the night in the city of your flight.
Posted by
8330 posts
We did a wonderful week long river cruise up the Douro Valley. It was fantastic. It included a day trip to Salamanca, Spain.
The valley is amazing. As far as river valleys go, it is at the top of my list for scenic.
If you don't want to do the entire week, take the train up the valley (tracks are on the north side of the river). Go to Regua and stay at least one night, visit some wineries. There are day cruises from Porto, but they only go up the lower part of the valley, which is not the most scenic.
Posted by
4 posts
A train ride from Porto Campagna station up the valley is scenic and inexpensive. The OMIO app is excellent for all bus and train reservations.