5-Day Tour in Douro with a Sailing Cruise in the Douro River

Day 1: Discover the Douro Valley

Welcome to Portugal. Wine Tourism in Portugal will invite you to discover the amazing Douro Valley.

You will have a Private Transfer from Porto or Porto International Airport (OPO) to the Douro Valley.

Enjoy the scenic 2-hour road trip to the Douro Valley. 

You will be accommodated in a Wine Hotel - the choices go from Quinta de Ventozelo to Quinta do Vallado, Quinta da Pacheca, or Quinta de La Rosa (subject to availability). Check-in at the wine hotel. 

Wake up to the beautiful Douro landscape and recharge your batteries with a fantastic breakfast. The Private Driver is waiting for you in the Hotel Lobby.

Visit Quinta da Pacheca, one of the most emblematic and historical properties located in the Douro. This Quinta has references to it since the 1700s. Quinta da Pacheca stands out for being the first to bottle wine under its brand. Here you will get to know its history better as well as the olive oil production processes directly at the Lagares, and the winemaking processes of Quinta da Pacheca’s wines. Stroll the vineyards, breathe Douro Valley’s green nature, and join the wine tasting to end this tour in perfection.

At this point, you will be both curious and ready to taste the fresh ingredients of Portuguese cuisine at Quinta da Pacheca Restaurant. We invite you to join the cooking workshop, led by the Pacheca’s Wine House Hotel Chef. This is a great way to relax, learn, and taste the richness of Portuguese gastronomy. Interact with the Chef participating in the making of the meal, learning or developing your cooking knowledge and the love for the food. In the end, savor it and pair it with Pacheca's wines.

After lunch, discover Quinta do Vallado Winery. Quinta do Vallado belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira. This lady was an entrepreneur and a leader, a businesswoman in a world of men. Ferreirinha, an affectionate nickname given to her because of the caring way she treated the working people at her lands, brought to Portugal some of the most modern progress in winemaking during the 19^th century. For nearly 200 years the Quinta do Vallado was primarily engaged in the production of Port wine, this is one of the places you can’t miss in the Douro Valley. Here you will have a Tour to the Winery and Wine Cellar and end the afternoon with a Vallado’s wine tasting.

Return to the Hotel. 

Delicious breakfast will be served at the Hotel.

The Private Driver is waiting for you in the Hotel Lobby and will take you to 2 Quintas in Douro Valley during the day.

The first stop will be at Quinta do Crasto. Located on the right bank of the River Douro, between Régua and Pinhão. Quinta do Crasto has been owned by the family of Leonor and Jorge Roquette for more than a century. Its origin dates back to the 19th century. The first known references date back to 1615. One of the greatest acknowledgments came in 2008, when Wine Spectator, an international reference of the sector, considered Quinta do Crasto Reserva Vinhas Velhas 2005, coming from vineyards with 70 years, the third-best wine in the world that year, giving it a rating of 95 in one hundred points. Since then, this wine has always been in the Top 100 American publications. Then you will have a tasting of 5 wines, duly presented by a manager of Quinta do Crasto, who will guide you through the experience.

After the experience, enjoy Lunch and the view of the Terraçu's Restaurant. Here, the menu appeals to the senses and emotions, in a relaxed and curious way. The proposals are different every day and the menu is defined by two factors: The fresh ingredients available at the vegetable garden and the inspiration of the Chef. (Drinks included).  (Optional)

Then, you will discover Quinta Nova, Nossa Senhora do Carmo 250 years ago, the traditional Quinta Nova winery, owned by the Amorim Group, was harvesting its first grapes. This is undoubtedly one of the oldest wineries in the Douro region, producing port wine for the Quinta and many other plots of neighboring farms, given its large size. You will have a Guided Tour through the vines, the winery dated from 1764, and the underground cellar. The visit ends with a tasting of 3 wines at the Wine Shop.

For nature lovers and adventurers, there is a pedestrian circuit with 3 different routes, properly signed, in a certified total trail of 8 km. With a map in hand and the freedom to stroll and explore the estate, you will discover the details at your own pace. A tip: crossing the orchards, make sure you pick some fresh fruit!

Breakfast will be served at the Hotel.

The Private Driver is waiting for you in the Hotel Lobby.

In the morning we will take you to Real Companhia Velha's crown jewel and the largest wine-producing estate in the Douro region, Quinta das Carvalhas. A property of immense beauty and grandiosity whose oldest written reference dates back to 1759. This is one of the most emblematic Douro properties and it is considered by many the "Douro image" because it allows a view of the territory and the most beautiful Douro has to show. Nowhere else, you can see so much in so little time. The mountain of Carvalhas, at 550 meters of altitude and from where you can enjoy a landscape in 360 degrees, is the site of "excellence" for the observation of the property and the Douro. The Vineyard Guided Tour is a visit to the Vineyards accompanied by Quinta das Carvalhas guide.

Appreciate direct contact with nature in the vines, Mediterranean forests, and gardens, alongside the people who work them. We offer the chance to see the Douro through the eyes of a local and to relish the greatness of the region with a detailed explanation of everything happening at the Quinta. The tour finishes at our wine shop for a tasting of a white, a red, and a Port paired with local cheeses.

Throughout the EN222 Road, elected the best road to drive by AVIS rent a car, you will enjoy the best views by the riverside.

Lunch is waiting for you at DOC Restaurant. Situated in Folgosa, Armamar, on the road between Régua and Pinhão, in what is one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the country, the restaurant occupies a building of contemporary lines with a picket-based that extends along an elegant wooden deck overlooking the river. It is a place of enormous beauty, blending the magnificence of shale hills covered with vines with the stillness of the Douro River and the serenity of lakeside villages, only awakened by the regular passage of the train. The Michelin star chef Rui Paula organizes everything in detail, DOC operates as an open window on this breathtaking scenery, which makes every meal unique and unforgettable. (Optional)

Close to the restaurant, the private cruise is waiting for you. You will enjoy a magnificent exclusive Douro River Cruise. Onboard a sailboat lives moments of intimacy with nature as it travels emotionally through history to the times when the Rabelo boats were moved through the force of the sails.  Be amazed by the scenarios that the Douro has to offer.

Return to the Hotel. 

Breakfast at the Hotel followed by Check-out. 

The Private Driver is waiting for you in the Hotel Lobby.

You will enjoy a cultural break in Lamego. The culture, architecture, heritage, and historical center justify a visit.

The Lamego Castle, within the urban area, Ex-libris of the town, from the top of its walls can be sighted the waters of the rivers Coura, Balsemão, and Varosa. The construction of the castle began in the 13Th Century to protect the city inhabitants. In the 17th century, a niche in homage to Our Lady Nossa Senhora da Graça was erected. 

Then, you will visit the Lamego Museum. An astounding collection of ancient art and artifacts, including a fully reconstructed chapel dripping with gold, is displayed within the walls of an 18th-century bishop’s palace. Among the many highlights are the set of paintings by one of Portugal’s most renowned painters, Grão Vasco, 16th-century Flemish tapestries that depict the Greek legend of Oedipus, and colorful 17th-century panels Azulejos (painted tiles).

Nearby is the Lamego Cathedral, a succession of different styles from various periods can be seen on both the outside and inside of Lamego Cathedral, and yet, despite this, the building as a whole exudes a sense of beauty and monumentality. The tower windows are the oldest surviving feature, with their delicately carved capitals providing one of the finest examples of the twelfth-century Romanesque style of architecture. In 1738, Nicolau Nasoni was commissioned to paint the vaulted ceilings. The brightly colored and well-preserved frescoes taught those worshippers who could not read or write about various episodes in the Old Testament. And in the chancel of this ancient church, there is yet another delightful highlight: an eighteenth-century marble and gilded altarpiece and two beautiful organs dating from 1753.

Visit the Lady of Remedies Shrine in Lamego. From one of the central avenues in Lamego, climb to the top of the hill up an imposing baroque staircase with 686 steps ending in a shrine built in the rocaille style in the mid-eighteenth century for the worship of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, although it was not finished until 1905. The same Nicolau Nasoni who painted the cathedral ceilings designed some of the baroque works that decorate this monument, in particular, a very beautiful granite fountain next to the shrine itself. Various landings enrich the monumental staircase with interesting sculptures, making the long climb of the pilgrims less arduous.

The Private Driver will drop you off at Porto or Porto International Airport (OPO).

End of the Tour.