matravels

I am headed to Portugal next week and would like to do a day trip from Porto to the Douro Valley. I am considering taking a train to either Pinhao or Regua but am unsure if the train station in either town is within walking distance to town and/or a vineyard that we could visit.

treplow

Have you thought about going by boat? It is a very relaxed trip through interesting countryside. We actually did it on a one week's river cruise all the way to the Spanish border. But there are day trips from Porto, especially on the weekends.

matravels

we looked into it but the day trips seem to go on weekends,and we will be there midweek...

deonca

I was in Porto in January and took the Douro Valley train. It left from Porto's Sao Bento station (with its beautiful painted tile murals) at 9:15am. Cost was 16.85 Euros for the return trip to Pinhao. (I was going to go further to Pocinho, but the ticket seller advised that it really wasn't worth going out that far.) The first part of the journey is nothing spectacular, but it becomes beautiful as you go further into the Valley, right along the river. You pass the grape terraces and 'quintas' along the way. I had half an hour in Pinhao before the returning train, which left at 12:12pm. Didn't venture too far from the station...so I can't say if there were vineyards nearby. There are a few restaurants right near the station though. The train got back to Porto at 2:30. Have a great trip!

lreynold1

I don't know how you could swing this, but IMO the most stunning portion of the train ride is from Pinhao to Pocinho. After Pinhao for much of the way there is no road along the side of the river, just the train tracks, the river and the vineyards. It is breathtaking. Once in Pocinho, there is about a 1/2 hour break for the conductor to get a cold drink or a snack in one of the two cafes at the end of the line. I think the round trip from Pinhao to Pocinho is under two hours.

The train station in both Regua and Pinhao is adjacent to town. Regua is a much bigger town and there are no vineyards within walking distance that I can think of. From Pinhao though, you could probably go to the vineyards associated with the Quinta de la Rosa, a B&B type place affiliated with a vineyard that is fairly close to downtown, maybe 3 km or so. But Pinhao is not much of a town, there's really nothing to do there after you take a quick look at the tiles in the train station. To visit vineyards, I think you really need a car, or a private driver to take you around. Have a good trip.

MFNYC

The train ride from Pinhao to Pocinho is incredible. The train in in a valley that hugs the river and the views are spectacular. We drove from Porto to Pinhao. We had directions and maps but there was roadwork with a detour so we were confused and took a wrong turn at some point. We relied on our GPS, which miraculously got us to the Pinhao station in time for the train (there are only a handful per day). Although the route took us through winding mountain roads and into tiny little villages like I have never seen before. I honestly thought we'd never find our way, but the GPS prevailed. On the drive back we were more careful and drove through Regua which was our original plan. We did not stop in wineries, as we were driving and also wanted to get back to Porto before dark.