The Douroat an easier pace

Arrive in Porto and settle in. We recommend coming a couple of days early to enjoy the city at a relaxed pace — the historic center, the port wine cellars across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, and the Dom Luís I bridge are all worth a slow morning. Your first meet-up will be at 3 pm in the breakfast room at Hotel Moov Porto Centro. Rui will walk you through the days ahead, answer your questions, and get to know each of you. At 4 pm, a local guide will lead you on a 3-hour walking tour of the historic World Heritage part of Porto. After this tour, you will have your first group dinner.

Today the adventure begins. After breakfast, you will make your way to the São Bento Train Station. We take the Linha do Douro, one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world. After the first hour, the line hugs the river, winding past terraced vineyards and quintas that have shaped this landscape for centuries. It is an easy, spectacular day of looking out of the window. We arrive in Pocinho at the end of the line. This area is Vila Nova de Foz Côa, home to the prehistoric rock engravings that earned the valley its UNESCO listing. After lunch, we will visit the rock engravings by kayak or on foot, depending on conditions. We will spend the night and have dinner at a working wine and olive oil farm that was formerly owned by the Templar knights.

Today we will take our first Douro River paddle. We'll start at the mouth of the Sabor River and paddle around 12 km 7.5 miles of calm, wide river. This is one of the river's most beautiful stretches. We set off early to make the most of the flat morning water and are ashore before the afternoon breeze picks up, with lunch at Quinta das Mos, a winery visit, and a relaxing afternoon in the valley ahead of us.

A beautiful morning paddle brings us to the most famous quinta (wine farm) on the river. Quinta do Vesúvio: sometimes called the Queen of the Douro. Steeped in history and grand tradition, Quinta do Vesúvio stands as one of the most legendary estates in Portugal's Douro Valley. Founded in 1823 by António Bernardo Ferreira, the story of port wine and of the men and women who carved these hillsides by hand is very evident at this quinta. 100 men and women were employed in 1823 and 500 in 1825. The magnificent house, chapel, and iconic winery were completed in 1827. For nearly two centuries, Vesúvio has been celebrated as a cornerstone of Portuguese winemaking, blending architectural heritage with an extraordinary terroir. A few downstream curves, we paddle past the Quinta de Vargellas, another pre-eminent wine estate of the Douro. Located in the wild and hilly eastern reaches of the valley, it has been prized as a source of the finest ports since the 1820s. Today, it ranks among the world's great vineyards. By now the kayak will start to feel like yours rather than something you borrowed. We'll have lunch in Ferradosa, where we'll stop paddling for the day. Following lunch, we'll visit the Castelo de Numão, first mentioned in a document from 960 AD. After this full day, we'll return to our lodgings.

The Valeira gorge is the most dramatic stretch of the whole Douro. Until the great hydraulic works of the 1780s, this cataract stopped every boat that tried to pass; today the walls rise straight out of still, dark water and the only sound is your own paddle. Today's paddle will not be forgotten. The Valeieira lock will lower us 108 ft. to the lower water level. I'm sure you will enjoy this experience. It is an easy day physically — around 13 km 8 miles, no rapids, no crossings that ask anything of you — and the one most people remember years later. The support boat stays with the group throughout. Tonight you will have dinner in one of the most famous restaurants on the river.

Today we paddle to Pinhão, past some of the most intensive Port wine-producing quintas, past the tiled railway station, and the steepest vineyards in the valley. It is a paddle of about 12 km (7.5 miles) — by this point, you will be surprised by how easy it feels compared with day three. We finish kayaking just past Pinhao, have a picnic lunch, and portage to Peso da Régua, where we will visit the Douro River Museum. The Douro Museum (Museu do Douro) celebrates the history, culture, and winemaking traditions of the world's oldest regulated wine region and is housed in the historic Casa da Companhia.

Today we'll paddle from Peso da Regua to Cais do Bernardo, where we will have lunch. All your lodgings on this tour are very special, but tonight may be the first time you have spent the night in a place where you can walk from your room to the church without leaving the building! Also on the property is a water mine. Never heard of a water mine? Ask to see it!

Today, you will paddle your longest day on the river. We will pass another lock, the tallest on the river. The Carrapatelo Dam and lock are about 1 hour's paddling from Porto Antigo. This lock lowers us 114.8 ft. into another beautiful part of the river. Shortly after the lock, your guide will show you an ancient painting called Senhora da Cardia. Stay alert, or you will miss it. Our lunch stop on this paddle will be on a sandy beach at Espadánedo about 45 minutes after the lock. After lunch, we paddle to Praia do Castelo, just past Love Island on our right, where we will take out and portage to our lodgings at another wine estate. Since lunch yesterday, we have moved from the port and red wine area to the white wine area. This part of the Douro is more humid and also has more Quercus suber, commonly known as cork trees.

Today is our last day on the Douro, and we're off to an early start. Today we will put in at the beach of the most famous kayak racing club in Portugal. Today, for the first time, we are paddling on the river as it was before the dams. This is tidal water, and if we're lucky, we'll get a free ride into Porto with the outgoing tide. We'll paddle either helped or hindered by the river current as it flows out to the sea at Porto. After the first bridge in Porto, we'll have lunch at Praia do Areinho. After lunch, we'll go to our hotel and visit Port wine cellars in Gaia. At dinner in Afurada, we'll celebrate our nine days together.

Day 10 – Our services end after breakfast in our hotel in Gaia. Those who wish may spend time visiting the historic quarter of Porto, which is classified as a World Heritage Site. You will find the people genuinely welcoming, and Porto is home to imposing architectural styles, including Gothic and Baroque, as well as the very interesting Art Nouveau storefronts. An important note: Our itinerary is always subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.