Douro Valley Tour

The Douro Valley tour in a nutshell

When I designed this tour, there were some elements I found essential to balance:

• • Not spending too much time in the van but including critical enjoyable sites to visit.
  • Having some walks during the day but not to the extent of the mileage being the focus or the final purpose.
  • Tasting the local gastronomy but not spending too much time in lunches, while giving that possibility during dinners for those who want to do it.
  • Include a diversity of activities throughout the day while also allowing some free time for whatever one may feel for doing on its own.

This tour starts and ends in Lisbon to make your life easier and less expensive, considering the needed flight connections.

What will you see?

Besides its name, this tour is more extensive than it can make you believe.

When developing this tour’s itinerary, it was imperative to include some of the most important Portuguese historical backgrounds.

References related to the Knight’s Templars, the Jewish heritage, and its Roman and medieval history are only examples.

Some sites such as Óbidos, Sintra, Douro Valley, Coimbra, and Évora were found compulsory to include as well as the bigger Portuguese cities like Lisbon and Porto.

We will visit some places classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and other sites that do not have such a classification are not less worthy of your visit.

During the tour, you will find a wide variety of accommodations.

I believe the program is well balanced between more known locations and off-the-beaten-path places that are difficult to find.

To better know a country is indispensable to taste its gastronomy and, in the small Portuguese territory, one can find considerable diversity at the dinner table.

A wide variety of tastes, including wine and olive oil, will be available to taste in upscale restaurants and local small family cafes’ where you will mingle with the locals.

Highlights of the Douro Valley Tour

Although the tour’s name focus on the Douro Valley, you will also visit many other places.

To get closer to Lisbon’s culture, the city’s visit and its surroundings will have the company of a local guide.

The guide will facilitate things so you can taste the famous custard cakes and learn about the Portuguese hand-painted tiles.

Do you know that the village Óbidos was a wedding gift to queens and the Knights Templars found a safe haven in Portugal?

We will get you closer to the Portuguese Jewish heritage in a “Historical Village”.

How did an old granite village did became a luxury hotel in the middle of nowhere?

Pinhão is the heart of the Douro Valley and is where an immense quantity of Port wine is produced… let’s taste it.

Do you remember drinking Mateus Rosé wine? Maybe some years ago, perhaps, right?

Well, the palace on the bottle’s label exists, and you will have a guided visit there.

A 17th-century manor house will be one of your accommodations, a place also once used by kings and queens.

Let’s learn why the locals call Porto the “Invictus city.”

In Coimbra, you will visit one of the oldest universities in the world.

During the Évora visit, it will be time to visit a pre-historic monument, the Almendres Cromlech, also called the Portuguese Stonehenge.

Characteristics

Daily walks:

• This tour has a balanced mix of urban walks, guided tours, and some easy unpaved path walks in the countryside.
• On average, you can walk 3 to 5 miles daily – level 2 (1 min / 5 max).
• You will also have the option of shorter walks or relaxing at the hotel.
• Along the tour, some days are busier than others when you can rest and enjoy the accommodations.

Other activities: guided visits to monuments, wine tastings, a handicraft workshop, a short boat ride, and opportunities for leisure time.

Meals:

• All breakfasts are in the hotels.
• Lunches are a balanced mix of small local restaurants or picnics.
• Depending on the specific situation, diners are planned to be in the hotel or local restaurants.

Transportation: a fully dedicated van/car for the tour.

Small groups: from 2 up to 6 people.

In 15 days tour, you have included: 14 overnights, 14 breakfasts, 14 lunches, all transfers during the tour, all guided tours of the program, and so much more.

Itinerary of the Douro Valley Tour

To learn more about the Detailed Itinerary, please access here.

It is a day-by-day program to inform you about the tour, what you will see, and the hotels on the tour.

Weather

Please check the weather forecast for June on the several tour locations: Lisbon / Tomar / Marialva / Pinhão / Ponte de Lima / Porto / Évora