Visiting Portugal for the first time in June 2018 we wanted to spend time in the main centres of Oporto and Lisbon, but also to see as much of the beautiful interior as time would afford.
From Oporto, the Douro River Valley beckoned and we headed up to the area around the town of Pinhão, a two hour lovely drive from Oporto Airport where we had collected our rental car. We had booked 3 nights at a Quinta, ( farm), near to Pinhao but on the way we needed lunch and on the spur of the moment, stopped off at Amarante.
Amarente
A pretty township, just off our main highway the A4, the River Tamega flows through Amarente on its way down to the Douro. We stopped at an open air cafe on the banks of the river, excellent goats cheese salad and a glass of rose! Then onwards to our Quinta, stopping at Resende for some fresh cherries, perfect!
Douro Valley & the Quinta do Tedo
The Tedo River flows into the Douro Valley, and at their junction is the Quinta do Tedo, a farm growing grapes plus making their own wines and ports. For visitors accommodation, breakfast, evening meals and a lovely swimming pool were also on offer and the Quinta turned out to be an amazing place to stay.
Our rental car journey to the Quinta do Tedo, as we headed east took us along the Douro Valley, when we joined it at Peso da Regua and we crossed to the southern bank and headed upstream.
You can access the Douro Valley from Oporto by Cruise boat, Coach, Train or rental car. We opted to drive as the Douro was the first leg on an extended Portuguese road tour, check out the other Blogs! But driving in Portugal and on their great roads, worked super well for us, and we would not hesitate to recommend.
The UNESCO Heritage listed Douro Valley is little short of spectacular, the lines of the terracing on the hillsides, the colours of the vines, the river and the sky – what a powerful combination.
On holiday, when visiting a number of destinations a key challenge is how long to spend in each. We decided that to get a good feel for the Douro Valley that we would choose one place, stay there for our full three days, and get to know as much as we could. That place was the Quinta do Tedo, and we had signed up for B&B and in the end had two superb evening meals there as well.
Quinta do Tedo
The map of the Quinta, see above right, shows the positioning of the Quinta and it’s vineyards nestled around the Tedo and Douro rivers. It’s not all about the views from every aspect of the Quinta, but the views are amazing. Views from the swimming pool, or the dining room or when out on a walk around the vineyard, accompanied by two beautiful dogs from the Quinta that just came along for the walk.
On our first morning at the Quinta, we decided to take a walk around the vineyards before breakfast. In the courtyard was a map of the walk, and two beautiful dogs having rest, until we turned up for our walk!! And off they went , in the lead on the walk. Every so often they would stop and look back to see if we were keeping up!
We did but had to often pause, admire and photograph the views, not only is the area super photogenic but as the sun came up, the colours changed, revealing a new depth of colour and the view.
Pinhao and Douro Vineyards
The Douro Valley is a complete vista of green terraced vineyards that from the rivers edge head all the way up the slopes of both hillsides. We have seen vineyards in many parts of the world, but the enormity of the Douro vineyard display, is overpowering.
From Pinhao Port we took a “ traditional” boat tour up the Douro. It was a 4 hour trip so we decided to take lunch, and whilst we were given a glass or maybe 2 glasses of port on the trip, the boat tour was probably a bit too long. 2 hours would have been plenty of time,even though the views are amazing, but 2 hours is quite enough.
The Douro Valley is a wonderful place to visit. If you have time when visiting Portugal do try to make time to explore it whether that be by River Cruise, Train or Rental Car, you will not be disappointed.
Travels with My Wife 