Boat Tours, Porto – Insider Tips

Things to Do in Porto: Boat Tours

The river is a fine place to go on a hot day as boat tours last anywhere from one hour to multiple days. If you would like to take a longer upriver tour to Regua or Pinhão, inquire at the Tourist Office for the most reputable firms. Many tourists and visitors decide to take one of the “six bridges” tours departing from the Ribeira. A few port wine boats also take excursions; most of them depart across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia.

While you can reserve these shorter tours in advance, you can normally just walk up to a kiosk and buy a ticket. There are multiple tour companies to choose from, so shop around for best price and most convenient departure times. The tour, as advertised, takes you upstream to see all six bridges spanning the Douro in the Porto area and is the perfect way to explore more of Porto by sea. The boat will then turn around and go almost to the mouth of the river before turning back to the dock. This is a wonderful and relaxing trip with nice scenery.

The Douro is a magnificent river, and well worth a cruise.Travel up the Rhine River cruise that is hugely popular with the British, and enjoy the area’s incredible and stunning scenery. What it lacks in historic castles, it more than makes up for in beautiful countryside. In addition, the cruise passes through two enormous dams, which involve passing through their giant locks, a truly breathtaking experience. The main lock has a vertical drop of about 100m, which is pretty phenomenal.

Editor’s Note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about the best boat tours in Porto, Portugal.