Walking Tour: Heart & Soul of Douro Valley

Enjoy a self-guided walking tour through the heart and soul of Douro Valley, one of Portugal's famous wine regions and a picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Walk at your own pace and do wine tasting along the way, while your luggage is transported for you between accommodations. Our route takes you through astonishingly beautiful landscapes and postcard-worthy traditional villages. The Douro Valley's demarcated wine region is one of the most scenically impressive in the world; as evidenced by its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the fourth most visited destination in Portugal, thanks to its natural beauty, cultural heritage, and historic landmarks.

• Soak in the breathtaking beauty of the Douro Valley, a world-renowned UNESCO heritage site
• Explore the heart of the famous Douro wine region and witness year-round vineyard activity
• Walk from village to village along unpaved roads and footpaths
• Enjoy al fresco lunches and taste award-winning table wines and other varieties
• Stay in local boutique accommodations with warm hospitality
• Visit historical sites and port wine cellars in Porto

Make your way from Porto into the very heart of the Douro region before exploring the picturesque, patterned slopes and valleys of this World Heritage landscape on foot.

Follow unpaved roads and footpaths as you walk through the different villages, pausing for picnic lunches and visits to local wine estates where you can sample not only award-winning table wines but also port and muscatel wines. Museums such as the Bread and Wine Museum in Favaios will give you a greater appreciation of local traditions and wine production. Favaios is famous for producing Moscatel wine, a sweet, fortified wine made from Muscat grapes. Visiting the town's wineries and vineyards will allow you to taste and learn about this unique wine while witnessing some of the year-round activities involved in tending the vines and terraces.

Relax after each day’s walk at carefully selected country houses and hotels. You will receive a warm welcome, comfortable accommodation, and delicious meals.

End your self-guided Douro Valley walking tour back in the fascinating historical city of Porto. You can visit the famous port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia as well as explore Porto’s many sights and views.

With this trip through the Alto Douro region, you will gain an understanding of the local traditions and unique landscapes. Feel transported back in time by walking close to the Douro River, the once treacherous main route for transporting goods, especially barrels of wine from the vineyards to the port wine cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Like what you but it is not quite a perfect fit?

Simply tell us what you’re looking for. We’ll happily adapt this itinerary to suit your personal interests, needs, and schedule to create your ideal trip.

You can book this itinerary from March 1st through October 31st each year.

• The low season is from March 1st to April 30th & from October 16th to 31st.
• The high season is from May 1st to October 15th.

Spring, early summer, and fall are ideal for walking holidays in northern Portugal. Days are generally warm and sunny but can be chilly and possibly windy, especially on the coast. There is always a chance of experiencing some rain, so please come prepared for changeable conditions. May, June, and September tend to be warmer with less chance of rain.

July and August are usually the hottest months, with temperatures regularly exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

If the trip coincides with the grape harvest, which is usually in September, you will have the opportunity to experience the hustle and bustle of grape picking and transportation to the wineries. With a bit of luck, you can even participate in grape treading or harvest celebrations.

Traveling during the low season is generally considered a sustainable tourism practice as it helps with tourism dispersal: spreading out where tourists go and how their money supports locals throughout the year.

We firmly believe that travel should be a safe and rewarding experience for all concerned, including the destinations that you visit and the people you meet. This walking tour was crafted using extensive local knowledge and designed to respect both the way of life of local populations as well as the natural environment.

Environmental Initiatives
You will see this UNESCO World Heritage landscape up close through scenic routes and rural backroads with river and vineyard views. You will see man-made wine terraces, and have the chance to enjoy the local flora and fauna with negligible environmental impact, especially since you will receive a full briefing from us on how to respect the local wildlife and landscape. We focus on green transportation by taking the train out to the valley and then beginning the walking tour. We use some accommodations for multiple nights in order to reduce the need for luggage transfers. When necessary (to avoid some luggage transfers), we'll use local taxi drivers to reduce carbon emissions and support the local economy. Since the quality of tap water is excellent in Portugal, we supply a refillable bottle that clients can use during their walking holiday and beyond.

Sociocultural Initiatives

• Accommodation

To make sure that money stays within the small local communities that our clients spend time in, the accommodation for this program is in a combination of small, unique hotels and family-run rural lodgings, which give clients an insight into local history and culture. Some accommodations produce their own wine, olive oil, and fruit, from which they make products that can also be purchased as gifts/souvenirs.

• Food and wine

The daily lunch pack contains fresh local produce and we encourage guests to have dinner at hospitable local restaurants where they can enjoy traditional regional dishes, engage with the owners, chef, or servers, and, of course, sample Douro wines and port.

Most of the walking days involve passing through small hillside villages where clients are welcome to stop at local cafés, bakeries, and grocery or craft stores in order to get a sense of what local life is like and interact with the residents.

This is particularly relevant in the village of Favaios, which is famous for its artisanal bread. We strongly recommend visiting one of the local bakers to see how they use the wood-fired ovens and buy still-warm rolls. The formidable baker, Manuela, will also slice and butter the bread on request. Favaios is also one of only two places in Portugal that produce muscatel wine so a glass of Moscatel de Favaios is a must for those who enjoy fortified wines. Clients can learn more about the history of both these tasty treats in the village’s Bread and Wine Museum.

This trail is in the heart of the renowned Douro wine region so as well as observing the manual labor that goes into tending the endless grape vines, both for small-scale independent production and for the major players, there are plenty of opportunities to visit local wine producers to taste and buy their wines and learn about the unique family histories of these quintas (wine estates).

If the trip coincides with the grape harvest, which is usually in September, clients have a wonderful opportunity to experience the hustle and bustle of grape picking and transportation to the wineries and, with a bit of luck, even participate in grape treading or harvest celebrations.

Economic Initiatives
By booking this trip, you'll directly support the local economy. Your tourism money will stay with these communities as you support older generations reliant on subsistence agriculture.

Be sure you have traveler's insurance.