Cruising the Douro River Valley
8 Day River Cruise
Our eight-day riverboat cruise on Portugal’s Douro River offers an authentic taste of life and world-class wines in a region steeped in winemaking for over 2,000 years. Explore the colorful city of Porto, an enticing labyrinth of winding streets, baroque churches and blue-tiled houses, where port wine is made and stored. Board ms Andorinha and trace the wine to its source, the quintas and picture-postcard villages of the Douro River Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site… discover terraced vineyards and enjoy tours, tastings, wine pairings, and a lesson in port cocktail-making… tour baroque Mateus Palace… and immerse yourself in local history and culture, the prehistoric art of Foz Côa, the views from hilltop Castelo Rodrigo and more.
Countries: Portugal
River(s): Douro
Pricing
River cruise starting at $7,320* CAD per person, based on double occupancy
8 Days – Porto to Porto
Exclusive experiences
- Private dinner with wine pairings at Quinta do Poral, a Douro Valley wine estate
- Port wine cocktail-making workshop
Inclusions
- Gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise Director
- All private Tauck shore excursions – CAD $1,660 Value!
- Seven nights on the Douro aboard ms Andorinha, a new riverboat designed for Tauck
- Guided walking tour of Porto’s colorful historic center
- Visits to wine caves and wine tastings in Vila Nova de Gaia
- Choice of a visit to Castelo Rodrigo, a hilltop medieval village with castle ruins, or Museu do Côa in the Vale do Côa Archaeological Park
- Guided tour of 18th-century Mateus Palace in Vila Real
- Bicycle tour through Vinho Verde country
- Visit to the Museo do Douro, a museum of local viticulture in Peso do Régua
- Visit to a museum of Paleolithic rock art in Foz Côa
- Guided visit to the opulent Dukes of Braganza Palace in Guimaraes
- Unlimited complimentary beverages aboard ship include regional wine, beer and premium spirits in addition to specialty coffee, water and soft drinks
- Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
- 20 meals; service charges, gratuities to local guides, mission fees, taxes and porterage
Day
Day 1
Location(s)
Porto, Portugal
Meals
Dinner
Description
A transfer is included from Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (Porto Airport) to your riverboat, ms Andorinha, on the Douro River. Settle in, then join us for a welcome reception followed by dinner and onboard entertainment.
Day 2
Porto
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Excursion: Walking tour of Porto
Rising on staggered hills along the river, colorful Porto beckons you to its labyrinthine streets and stairways, medieval alleys, Baroque churches, fountains, and bell towers, Beaux-Arts buildings, and bohemian neighborhoods. Choose a walking tour of the town’s historic center or a guided stroll through Ribeira, the riverfront district. It’s hard to take a bad picture in Porto, where houses are clad in painted tiles and beguiling, eclectic architecture is around every corner.
Return to your riverboat and sail to the Douro River Valley and its astonishing landscapes. All along the winding river, rugged conical mountains and shale hills carved by concentric vineyard terraces tell of a winemaking history thousands of years old. Inhospitable to most kinds of farming, the terroir is perfect for Portugal’s indigenous wine grapes, whose hardy roots can go down 30 feet or more in search of water. And since the 18th century, when Portuguese vintners created a sweet fortified wine – now famous as Port – that could make the long sea voyage to Britain without spoiling, the Douro Valley has been the only supplier of Port to the world, and the oldest demarcated wine region.
Day 3
Peso da Régua – Pinhão
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Excursion: Guided visit to the Douro Museum in Peso da Régua
Exclusive: Private dinner with wine pairings at Quinta do Poral, a Douro Valley wine estate
Dock in the historic town of Peso da Régua, once a busy hub where wooden boats called rabelos, laden with barrels of Port, sailed downriver to Vila Nova de Gaia. Visit the Douro Museum, set within the restored Casa da Companhia Velha building, once part of Real Companhia Velha (Royal Oporto Wine Company), chartered in 1756. On your guided visit to the museum, you’ll explore its exhibits chronicling the history, culture and traditions of the Douro River Valley region, from the cultivation of grapes on the vines to the processes involved in the production of Port wine and its distribution around the world.
This afternoon, sail through one of the largest locks on the Douro to the idyllic, tranquil village of Pinhão, nestled at a dramatic bend in the river; Pinhão is known as the gateway to the valley’s quintas (vineyards) and large wine estates. From here it’s a short drive to Quinta do Portal, a family-run estate in the Cima Corgo region where renowned Port and non-fortified wines are made. Your visit includes an introduction to the vineyards and a private dinner with wine pairings.
Day 4
Vega de Terron
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The Douro River Valley and its unique landscapes of terraced mountains, villages, and wine estates unfolds today on a full day’s sail to the small Spanish port town of Vega de Terron, where the Douro forms the border between Spain and Portugal. The landscape, at a confluence of rivers, is tranquil, beautiful and unspoiled, at the edge of Douro International Natural Park.
Day 5
Pocinho – Pinhão
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Excursions: Walking tour of Castelo Rodrigo OR Côa Museum tour & workshop
At the town of Pocinho you have a choice of shore excursions. Visit Castelo Rodrigo, a medieval hilltop village renowned for its turbulent history, where battles were once fought against Moors and Spanish rule; the empty ruins of its 13th-century palace still stand guard over the walled town with its churches, Manueline pillory, cistern, and panoramic vistas.
Alternatively, travel to the Museum of Art and Archaeology of the Côa Valley for stunning exhibits of rock art from the valley’s Paleolithic era, discovered in the 1990s when excavations began for a Côa River dam; unlike cave art found in other parts of Europe, the thousands of petroglyphs in the Côa region were created in the open air by the valley’s earliest inhabitants, and the museum explores their mystery through state-of-the-art multimedia exhibits.
Return to the riverboat for lunch and sail back to Pinhão, arriving this evening.
Day 6
Pinhão – Régua
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Excursions: Casa de Mateus guided tour OR;
Exclusive: Vineyard tour & port wine cocktail making workshop
Your choice of excursions this morning includes an opportunity to explore Pinhão and its early-20th century train station, adorned with blue-painted tiles (azulejos); or a vigorous hike in the hilltop vineyards with striking views of the town and river.
Sail to Régua, where you’ll have two choices; visit 18th-century Mateus Palace, a lavish Baroque residence designed by Nicolau Nasoni that is now a museum with period furnishings and artwork, a heraldic hall, formal gardens, a winery, and a chapel with tombs and reliquaries.
Alternatively, join a local guide for a visit to a local wine-making estate called a quinta, rewarding with a port cocktail making class.
Begin the return trip to Porto, and dock overnight in this verdant wine country, where some traditional farms grow vines on pergolas and fences so high the grapes must be harvested with ladders.
Day 7
Guimarães or Amarante – Vila Nova de Gaia
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Excursions: Walking Tour of Guimaraes OR Bike Ride in the Vinho Verde Region
Today, you have a choice of full day excursions; one option provided an opportunity to explore the medieval town of Guimarães, known as the “Cradle City; the kingdom of Portugal was born here after a famous battle in 1128. The city center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, offers a wealth of architectural treasures, including the ruined Castle of Guimãraes, with its tempestuous history and sweeping views, the opulent Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, lush with 17th-century furnishings and tapestries, and the 13th-century Church of São Miguel do Castelo.
Alternatively, take a bicycle ride (for experienced cyclists in good physical condition) through the Vinho Verde region before arriving in the pastoral town of Amarante, famed as being the hometown of São Gonçalo, Portugal’s St. Valentine.
Enjoy lunch before your late afternoon arrival into Porto where you’ll cross the river to Vila Nova de Gaia, the destination of wines shipped from the vineyards, and home to many Port wine warehouses and cellars; visit one of its “caves” for a tour and tasting, and toast the end of your Douro River journey. Join us this evening for a farewell reception and dinner aboard ship.
Day 8
Porto
Breakfast
Disembark and fly home anytime. A transfer is included from your riverboat to Porto Airport or Porto Campanhã station. Allow at least 3 hours for flight check-in.
Interested in the itinerary above? Click on the “START PLANNING” button below and reference “Cruising the Douro River Valley” in the form, or give us a call at 587.997.5969 to book.
An adventure designed specifically for you
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*Prices are per person, based on double occupancy and subject to change and availability.