Douro Valley by bus and river boat: Day 10
About two weeks before our Porto trip, David booked a Douro Valley bus tour with Living Tours. 8am was the start time. The street outside their office in Porto was crazy-crowded as they got several morning tours off and running. Our bus tour had several stops:
- Amarante: The Igreja (church) was one of the most beautiful we’ve seen in Portugal, with an interesting organ. The village has an historic-looking cafe that seemed to overhang the river. There was a small craft fair on the other side of the river. I could imagine there’s nice hiking to do outside the village. We didn’t see much of the quaint village since it took me a long time to ask the guide a question about the organ. Our friends walked around the main street a bit. The 45-minute stop was much too short for such a lovely village.
- Sabrosa: We stopped at Casa dos Barros, a winery that has become a hotel, with beautiful rustic gardens in the midst of vineyards. We had a port tasting in an old building, entered from their shady garden – 10, 20, and 30-year ports. There we had a lovely lunch, with a choice of entrees (chosen when we reserved the tour). We also saw the birthplace of Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese).
- Pinhão: This small town seems to be the hub for boat tours. The drive was full of dramatic scenery, with the steep hillsides covered with terraced vineyards. In Pinhão, we had an hour boat ride on the river. We visited Croft-owned Quinta de Roêda for an intro to their vineyards and wine tasting. There was the potential to see new birds in the fields there, but not enough time to study.
The drive back continued to be scenic, of course! We had one roadside stop where we were high above the river with fabulous views. We drove down to the river level, continued along the river, crossed over a dam to the north side, then headed inland to go through Portugal’s longest tunnel, Tunel de Marão, between Vila Real and Amarante.
Back in Porto, we had dinner at Nola Kitchen, excellent and imaginative veggie cuisine. We had wanted to eat here last year, but the line for breakfast and lunch was always long.
Pictures of our Douro Valley tour
