We will be in Porto from July 8th to 11th. For those who have been to Porto, would you take a cruise down the Douro and visit a winery, etc, or spend the day in Porto? Thanks for any answers.
Posted by
11196 posts
You have enough time to do both. But if you need to choose , see Porto.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5666 posts
Is that 4 full days? If so, yes. We spent 3 nights at a Quinta on the Douro, which was amazing. Then we had two full days in Porto. The Douro is the most beautiful wine region I have ever seen, and I've seen quite a few now.
Posted by
57 posts
I will be there around that time, and CANNOT wait to take a boat down the Douro! There are some interesting looking options thru airbnb experiences!
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5666 posts
Is Airbnb Experiences like a consolidator that sells other company's tours? I would look for recommendations of specific tour guides for a Douro Cruise and book directly.
When I was planning my April 2023 trip to Portugal, I got a lot of help from this forum. However, there were gaps. I found a Facebook group, Travel Portugal. I got so much help from them. There are a lot of guides that participate in the group, and there were a lot of recommendations and reviews of various experiences.
Posted by
57 posts
@ jules m, good to know! i’ll check that FN group out. Not sure about the airbnb experiences, but there’s lots of different ones to choose from
Posted by
7688 posts
We did a week long Douro River cruise and it was fantastic. The cruise included a day trip to Salamanca, Spain, which was great.
Not sure how far the day trip cruises from Porto go up river. We found the lower part of the river to be the least scenic of the valley.
Rather than take a day cruise from Porto, I suggest taking the train (tracks run on the north side of the river bank) to Regua or Pinhao and spend a night there. You will see more going deeper into the valley.
You should have enough time to visit Porto if you are there three days.