What is the drive like from Porto to Pinhao?

The toll road will be a nice road in good repair and it will take about 2 hours to get to Pinhao. If you go the no toll route it will take about 3 hours and you would be driving about 50kph/30mph most of the way.

For planning purposes, E95 fuel was about 1.84€ per liter ($7.41 per gallon) last month.

Even though it would mean back tracking to Porto, I wouldn’t drive from Porto to Pinhao. The train is easy and very inexpensive. Plus the views are really lovely when you get up into the Douro. The small roads where you would get the views are winding and take a long time.

Evora for a base in the Alentejo is good. However, even with 30 days, you are planning a lot of stops. The driving in Portugal in general takes longer than google maps indicates. And, six nights in the Algarve seems like a lot to me. But, admittedly, that’s not my favorite part of the country.

Thanks for your advice, Kathryn! I am still in the planning stage obviously, and I am curious: what is your favorite parts of the country, and what places would you add instead of going south?

I think pretty much any area of the country is preferable to the Algarve - for me. That’s not a popular opinion though, as many, many people love the Algarve. If you don’t live or have access to a beach area, it would likely be interesting to you. Some of the rock formations are stunning. I just wouldn’t devote almost a week to that area.

I haven’t explored the Minho region other than a brief visit to Guimarães. It’s lovely and I want to spend more time in the northern areas. Your two nights in Braga could be extended to explore more of that region.

The Silver Coast area is lovely to me. I’ve spent more than a week in that area and enjoyed it. São Martinho do Porto, Caldas da Rainha, Ericeira, Peniche and, to a lesser extent to me, Nazaré.
Take a look at Julie Dawn Fox’s website. She does a really good job of describing some of the smaller areas of Portugal.

BTW - you may not be aware of how hot it gets in the Alentejo region. You might want to consider doing that area right after your time in Lisbon before heading north. That way, you would be there earlier and, hopefully, beat some of the heat.

100% agree with kathrynnj.

Okay! I will take a fresh look at my list! Thanks.

I've heard that the drive to Pinhão is "white knuckle", but if your husband is comfortable driving narrow winding mountain roads then let him do it. We took the train from Porto to Pinhão and back, and it is a long day. Depending on where you are coming from in Porto you might need to do some transfers. And check the train schedules to get an idea of how long it will take versus driving. You also need to take into consideration how you would get around in Pinhão without a car.

Spent three days in the Douro a couple of months ago. We drove up from Lisbon via Coimbra and the road was fine, no issues at all driving. Then we made the turn from A24 toward Pinhao. Road was a little narrow but manageable…and then we noticed ambulance after ambulance driving by. That was the theme for those three days, a lot of ambulances. Once you get off the road paralleling the river, the roads up and down the hills are very very narrow for the most part, and since we were there during harvest, the roads were heavy with tour buses and trucks carrying grapes. I was skeptical when I read posts in this forum and others warning about the roads. They really are no joke and the bridges in Pinhao and Regua (look at the map these are the only two crossing points) are equally narrow. I had visions of driving along the roads, taking in the scenery…instead it was driving and wondering what was around the next hairpin turn. Next time we are taking the train to Pinhao, staying at one of the Quintas relatively close and hiring a driver.

So, I revamped the trip and I think I am comfortable with it. We may do the Douro as a day-trip, but instead we will add 2 nights to Braga, with a car, to explore more of the very north, skip driving to the Douro, and instead of the Algarve, at the end of the Evora portion of the trip (adding a day there as well), we will drive to the Silver Coast, maybe Foz do Arelho as a base for 2 nights and see Obidos, Nazare, Peniche, Ericeira, lots of choices. Then we will finish up without the car, 2 nights in Sintra before going to the airport.

Algarve on another visit maybe.

Hi Carole,

We are in Porto now, just finishing an amazing day tour of the Douro Valley. We opted to take a tour rather than drive because we want to wine taste. We are glad we didn’t drive. It was rainy and foggy most of the way to Pinhao and the roads are curvy and steep. The weather improved significantly after we reached Pinhao, but going into the small towns to visit the Quintas was challenging driving.

Our tour was amazing. Send me a private message if you want details about the tour company or recommendations for places to visit in Porto.