Day 6 - Sunday, August 14 - Douro Valley, Porto
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Day 6 Stats
Lunch: Adega Cooperativa De Favaios, included with bus tour
Snacks:
Dinner: We waited over an hour to be served at the hotel's restaurant but walked out and just ate most of the hotel's mini bar.
Hotel: Porto River Apartment - $625 for 3 nights - huge 1 bedroom apartment overlooking the Cais da Ribera
Extras: Tour of the Duoro Valley - $200 for 2, including bus transportation, boat trip, 2 wine tastings, and lunch
Walk: 14,400 steps, 5.7 miles
Things that are overrated:
Wish we could have spent more time at:
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Day 6 Itinerary
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B.
Amarante
Since we already returned the rental car, we book a bus trip up the Douro Valley. It includes two wine tastings, lunch, and a short cruise on the river. The bus is 2/3's filled with French-speaking twenty-somethings who make fun of our bi-lingual tour guide's French pronunciation. But it's good practice for trying to understand spoken French as we prepare for our 2023 vacation. We make a short stop in a scenic town about an hour from Porto
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We stop for a tour, muscatel tasting, and lunch at a cooperative of wine-makers and get to know our bus-mates: a pair of nurses from Australia who get 10 weeks off from work, a college student solo traveling around Europe, and a mother-daughter from the Midwestern US.
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D.
Miradouro Vale de Mendiz
This viewpoint, at one of the highest points in the region, gives a breathtaking view over endless vineyards.
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E.
Pinhão
The bus takes us directly to our boat, a traditional Rabelo that used to carry casks of wine down the river to Vila Nova de Gaia. We cruse past not only vineyards, but also olive orchards and wineries. There isn't any time to wander around the small town.
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F.
Quinta St Luiz
Our last stop is for a tasting of different types of Port. The winery also has an amazing view over its vineyards and the Douro River.
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G.
Miradouro da Serra do Pilar
Back in Porto, we walk across the Ponte Dom Luis, once the longest metal bridge in the world (back in 1886). There are many places to watch the sunset. The Jardim do Morro has a very festive vibe with food trucks and music. But we head to the Miradouro da Serra do Pilar to be able to photograph the sunset with the bridge in the foreground. We get there 90 minutes early to get just the right spot, but the place wasn't as crowded as we expected so non-photography-crazy people can probably get there just before sunset.
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