Day trip from Porto to the Douro Valley is a must for everyone visiting the second biggest Portuguese city. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is the world’s oldest wine region dating back to 2 000 years ago.
I visited the Douro Valley on a tour with Living Tours. The Douro Valley tour comes with my highest recommendations. It is a gorgeous place that everyone visiting Porto should go on a day trip and see. The cruise was very nice and chill, the lunch was great, and the wine tasting was amazing. We also made a quick stop in a small town called Amarante.
Our guides were great too, Marina & Carlos!
Sadly, the weather on the day we did the tour was bad and it rained the whole day, but regardless of that we still managed to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Without any further ado, let me tell you more about the Douro Valley day trip from Porto.
Table of Contents
Amarante
Our Douro Valley tour started with a quick stop in the charming little town of Amarante. The town’s name comes from the Portuguese word ”amar” which means fall in love. I wonder why they didn’t name the country that way?!
Amarante is situated in the Minho region, which is the heart of the production of the Vinho Verde, the young green wine unique to Portugal. Apart from that, Amarante is also famous for its penis cakes. Yes, you read that right.
It’s an old tradition for the young and unmarried to exchange those cakes to show each other their feelings.
Okay, now let’s move on.
The river Tamega runs through the town giving it an extra touch of charm. Over the river, there is an old Roman bridge called São Gonçalo bridge. This bridge helped the town to survive the French attacks in the 19th century.
READ NEXT: Eating my way around Porto, Portugal
The Douro Valley
The Douro Valley is incredible. The terraced vineyards climbing up the hills on each side of the river are unique and the view of them is hard to forget. Portugal is a country rich in natural beauty and the Douro Valley is a great example.
Douro is the third-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source in Central Spain and finishing in Porto. The Douro river is 897 km long.
After a visit to the small town of Amarante and seeing a panoramic view over the valley, the Douro day trip continues with a lunch break.
It turned out that we booked the tour without included lunch so we paid 12 EUR on site for the full menu. Marina and I had a salad, an appetizer, main meal each, desserts, a bottle of water, and a bottle of wine.
Recharged with energy and a bit tipsy, we got on the bus to our next stop, Pinhão.
Wine tasting at Croft Winery
Before heading to the winery, we first had a boat trip on the Douro River. The boat trip was very pleasant and relaxing. Most of the time while we were on the boat it was sunny, so we managed to enjoy the ride properly.
Founded in 1588, the Croft winery is the oldest still active today Port wine producer house.
The winery house is astonishing and it has a stunning view of the Douro river.
We were shown the winery and told about its history, about wine production, different types, etc.
The wine tasting included three types of wine: ruby, tawny, and rose.
What to bring on your Douro Valley tour:
- Camera to capture the stunning scenery
- Comfortable shoes
- Hat & sunscreen in good weather
- Umbrella in bad weather
- Water
Living Tours
Founded in 2004, Living Tours offers varieties of tours across Portugal and Spain.
The guide and the driver on our Douro Valley tour, Marina & Carlos were sweethearts. They were both extremely friendly to everybody.
This was my first travel experience with Living Tours but it’s likely not to be last. Again, the Douro Valley tour from Porto comes with my highest recommendations.
Thanks for reading,
Bilyana
If you like this post, please share it with your friends and follow Owl Over The World on Facebook & Instagram for more travel tips & inspiration.
I want to thank Living Tours for having me as a guest on their Douro Valley Tour. As always, opinions are my own!
PLAN YOUR NEXT TRIP:
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission if you make a booking after clicking. It comes at no extra cost to you but it helps me with the running of this site! As always, opinions are my own. Thank you!
