La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

The Douro Valley

Spotlighting Port & the New Breed of Portugese Wine

Trip Notes:

Airport

Porto (continental) or Lisbon (intercontinental). If flying into Lisbon and spending a few days there, you can take a train to Porto in 3 hours (see below). To get from the Lisbon airport to the city center, there is an airport shuttle bus. In Porto, your best option is a taxi. There is also a subway system; the E line has its final stop at the airport (“Aeroport”). See Metro map. For an overview of transit options, see GoOporto.

Portugal train schedule

Lisbon has three train stations. To go to Porto, you’ll be using either Lisbon Santa Apolonia (located in the city center) or Lisbon Gare do Oriente (2 miles from the airport). It’s 3 hours from Lisbon to Porto (station name: Porto Campanha). For the CP train schedule in English, click here.

Trip extensions

Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city and offers plenty to see and do. For a basic orientation, see GoLisbon.

Pre-tour

Plan to land in Portugal at least a day before the tour begins. We recommend spending the preceding night in Oporto iin order to be at our meeting spot on time. In Oporto, the most convenient hotel choice would be the one we’re using on Day 1, the PESTANA PORTO (we can make the reservation for you). Alternately, there’s a variety of 3- and 4-star hotels in the city center. If not staying at the Pestana, you will be responsible for arriving there on the morning of Day 1 in time for our pick-up.

Meeting point

We meet in the lobby of our first hotel in Oporto, the Pestana Porto (see Accommodations). The meeting time is usually 9:30 A.M. (Time will be confirmed in your information packet.)

Departure day

On our final day, we’ll have you back to Oporto (airport or city center) by 1 P.M. Drive time from Pinhão is approximately 3 hours.

Travel insurance

This is recommended to protect you from needless loss caused by last-minute cancellations, lost luggage, and more. One source is Travelex Insurance: www.travelexinsurance.com, (800) 228-9792 (please use our compay code: 21-0043 LDV).

Weather

When packing, check www.weather.com. Go to “Porto, Portugal” and “Vila Real, Portugal” to get a general idea of temperatures and forecast.