Day trip to Douro valley from Porto
 

Hey all, Looking for some advice. We will be in Porto for 3 days in late November and want to spend a day in the Douro Valley. We will be taking the train to Pinhao both ways. Based on research so far, we are planning to tour Quinta das Carvalhas and then a boat ride on Magnifico Douro. I wanted to do the VIP tour at the quinta and then the 2 hour boat ride, but we don't have enough time to do both. So we either do the 90 minute wine tour and the 2 hour boat ride, or the 2.5 hour winery tour and a 1 hour boat ride. I realize these are both probably great options ;) Just curious for anyone who has done these activities - would you give up an hour on the boat, or an hour at the winery? Any other suggestions welcome. Thanks! It's our first time to the area. Also, if it helps, we will be a group of 5 (2 50/60's parents, 3 "kids" 19, 23, 25).

I would give up an hour on the boat. We took a boat up the Douro from Porto. The scenery looked the same, terraced vineyards, the whole way.

Thanks for the feedback! I have been reading that the scenery gets markedly better when you head from Pinhao towards Tua, but it sounds like that wasn't your experience.

One more thought - should we be considering 90 minutes at the first vineyard, a 1 hour boat tour and then add a second short winery tour...? so many great options...wish we had endless time

I would spend more time at the winery. We took a boat trip out of Pinhao. Even though we enjoyed I felt it was too long and while beautiful, I had my fill in one hour.