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To Do or Not to Do - 1 Day Douro River Cruise

I'm on the fence about doing a 1 day Douro River Cruise to Regua on July 3rd or 4th (height of summer season.) My husband and I are traveling with our 17 yo daughter & 21 yo son and we are wondering if they will be bored to death?

If we go solely by boat, it sounds like a lot of time on the boat. Is the scenery enough to keep you from getting bored? Or maybe taking the boat there and the train on the return would be better? Is that train ride scenic?

None of us are big wine drinkers, so visiting a winery is nice, but does not have huge appeal for us; the trip would be more for the scenery; but is it really worth a whole day?

I've seen good and bad reviews of cruise companies, mostly due to crowded boats and not enough space on the exposed upper deck. Has anyone had a good experience in early July and if so what company do you recommend.

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11 posts

We spent 2 hours on the Douro at Pinhao and it was just the right amount of time for us. The trains going by looked like a good way to see the river and the hillsides vineyards. You could do a train trip to Regua and get a shorter time on the river on a rabelo or river boat there. Another opion is take a boat trip for a few hours from Porto. There many possibilities of big crowded boats and smaller ones there.