Greetings!

Trying to finalize our day in teh Duoro Valley itinerary. Travelling by a charter bus since we are a group of 18.
Trying to figure out if a stop at Regua Village is worth it. Is ia nice traditional village to walk around? I wanted to spend some time in Pinhao, but now know that the village is very small and not much to do there. Another idea was stopping by Lamego to see the cathedral, but that would probably take too much time out of the schedule. So not sure whether I should try to do Lamego OR Regua

As of now the program looks like this:

ca. 9.30 am -- depart Porto by bus to Douro Valley w/ possible stop for Photos / Pastries / etc??

11.30h -- 12.30h Quinta do Seixo tour

12.30-14.30h Quinta do Seixo picnic lunch

14.30- 15.00 Transfer to Pinhao (visit the station)

15.00-16.30 Rabelo Boat (75min tour )

17.00 - 20.30 Quinta do Marrocas Tour + tasting + homecooked dinner

20.30-22.00h Transfer to Porto

Question: Should I try adding Regua or Lamego or something else on the way to Quinta do Seixo?

Where do you propose to add anything else to this itinerary? Would you leave Porto earlier? It is already a pretty packed itinerary. It will take you two hours to get from Porto to Quinta de Seixo, maybe even a little longer in a bus.

If you wanted to leave earlier, like 8am or something Regua would be a nice stop, you could visit the wine museum and let people stretch their legs and have a coffee. Certainly you have enough going on this day without adding anything to it.

I agree with rialtogrl that an earlier start would give you some cushion time for a coffee stop and a river walk. And in a bus the trip from your Porto hotel to the Quinta do Seixo will take longer, I think, than you might expect. The drive along the 2-lane N222 can be very slow.

The fastest route from Porto to Qunta do Seixo would be through the pleasant and pretty Tâmega river town of Amarante on the A4, if you wanted a coffee stop there (a much prettier town than Régua or Pinhão to me), then down south the A24 at Vila Real, crossing over to the left bank of the Douro and then east on the N222. I suspect this is the route that the bus driver will take.

On our most recent trip we stopped in Amarante for coffee/pastries at Docaria Mario on the main drag with a lovely outdoor terrace. It sells convent sweets, Doces Regionais. And we also stopped for photo ops and to show this attractive town to our friends. *But I wouldn't suggest this without an earlier start. And market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays when traffic through this town will be very heavy.

You just won't have time for a detour to Lamego, not on the direct route to or from Porto, to visit the cathedral or the Shrine of our Lady of Remedies there. It would take about 20 minutes to drive from the Quinta de Marrocos south to Lamego. When we visited Lamego we budgeted a good half-day.

As rialtogrl says, you have a very full day. And if an earlier start isn't possible, I wouldn't suggest adding a stop to your itinerary.
Hope this helps.

Thank you Raltorgirl and Maribel!!

Excellent points! I'm pretty set on the idea that it's not going to be Regua. I haven't found any photos online that draw me in. Amarante--on the other hand--looks like a nice mid-point break to stretch our legs and get a sweet at either Confeitaria da Ponte or Docaria Mario (perhaps take away to have on the bus...jsut think that geting 18 coffees would take forever for a sit down break ).

I really wanted to see the staircase of the Senhora dos Remédios since we won't make it to Braga. But I think Lamego is too out of the way and would end up costing us at least 1.5 hours (if not more) just to see Senhora dos Remédios.

So it's either leaving the day as is

OR

adding a short stop to look at Amarante (bridge, church, sweet!) Sarting to think that 2 hours for a picnic might be a bit too much as the food will be spread out and not coming out as a course meal. Because it's only our second day and becuase evening return is late, I think I want to keep the departure around 9 am so that everyone can enjoy a slow and relaxing breakfast.

ca. 9.00 am -- depart Porto by bus to Amarante > Douro Valley

10.00 -10.40 - photostop at the Amarati bridge / church (pick up sweets to eat on the bus)

10.40-11.50 Transfer to Quinta do Seixo

12:00h -- 13:00h Quinta do Seixo tour + (gift shop )

13:00-14.45h Quinta do Seixo picnic lunch

14.45- 15.15 Transfer to Pinhao (visit the station)

15.15-16.30 Rabelo Boat (75min tour )

17.00 - 20.30 Quinta do Marrocas Tour + tasting + homecooked dinner

20.30-22.00h Transfer to Porto

How does this look?

minamax10,
I forgot to mention the lovely Amarante church, São Gonçalo. A better stop for coffee/pastries, then, would be the Confeitaria da Ponte with views of the church and bridge. But yes, you might want to just get the pastries to go, as service may be slow (in my experience).

Here's a bit more info on Amarante from a blogger than I follow-
https://juliedawnfox.com/things-to-do-amarante/

I don't know how much time you'll actually need for the Quinta do Seixo picnic, since I haven't done it, but rialtogrl can tell you.

Régua isn't very photogenic, I'm afraid, so you really don't need to stop there since you won't have time for the Douro Museum visit.

It depends on the weather. If the weather is good and the picnic is in the vineyard, you have to walk to the picnic area. Also if you are in the vineyard, no one wants to leave too fast - it is stunningly beautiful there.

If it rains and you have to be inside this all changes. You will have a lot of extra time because a) no walk to the picnic site and b) no one wants to linger as long.

Amarante is a pretty town but if you can I would allow an hour and not 40 minutes. just so you do not have to rush through it. They have an interesting pastry there that looks like male anatomy. Maybe you can eat these on the bus.

Yes, I figured that with 18 people, it'll take ages to get proper drinks, so sweets to go sounds great. I am glad to hear that my assessment of Regua was not wrong. I just didn't see anything that would draw me in. oh, and I have seen Julie's blog before! It is great! Thanks for reminding me.

Thank you rialtogrl! All excellent points. hahha... The male anatomy sweets... that's going to be interesting. So I will go back to the drawing board and try to move things a bit. The only things that need to be timed very well are the start of Quinta do Seixo tour and the Rabelo boat departure.

minamax10,
Yes, Julie's blog is a great resource for anyone contemplating a Portugal journey. As a resident for many years, she really knows the country well and provides great travel tips. I receive her newsletter.

A good travel blog for Porto & environs from a native:
https://portoalities.com/en/

Here are Amarante's famous "foguetes" convent sweets:
Receita de Foguetes de Amarante | Doces Regionais
Main ingredients: eggs, egg yolks, almonds, sugar, syrup and wrapped in a communion wafer.

And the other sweets that Confeitaria da Ponte sells:
Confeitaria da Ponte ? PRODUCTS

And a video (in Portuguese) of Amarante and its famous sweet shop, going strong since 1930.
https://boacamaboamesa.expresso.pt/b...na-em-Amarante

Wow, so much interesting information Maribel! Can'tn wait to try some of these pastries.

Have you taken this trip yet?

I've booked two nights just outside of the center of Pinhao, driving from Porto and then driving back to the Porto airport.

Hope it won't be too much trouble if I have to drive down for dinner, parking-wise, in late April.

scrb11.
Minamax has returned from her trip and has written a delightful trip report about her adventures.
Here it is:
Porto - Coimbra - Lisbon : Trip report. 18 ladies and 8 full days!

The easy of driving down for dinner to the village, negotiating the narrow roads and twists and turns at night will depend on where you'll be staying outside of Pinhão. There's no problem with street parking in the village.
When we've stayed at a quinta/small hotel right off the N 222, 6 km. west of Pinhão in late October/early November, our desk staff has arranged for a taxi to take us to the village for dinner at Velodouro, Cozinha da Clara at the Quinta de la Rosa or Rabelo at the Vintage House in Pinhão and then drive us back to our quinta. The desk staff had a couple of Pinhão taxi drivers on speed dial. Ours was a lady.
You might want to use that option if you're staying close by.

I was considering staying up at Casal de Loivos but I don't think I will.

Good to know parking won't be too much of a problem but I think I will look for something at least within walking distance.

The Casal de Loivos is a lovely property with simple gorgeous Douro River views, and I imagine that they would order a taxi for you as well if you decide one night not to have dinner there.
In April sunset should be between 8 and 8:30 pm, depending on your dates. We usually dine in the Douro around 8:30 but Cozinha da Clara at Quinta de la Rosa opens for dinner at 7 pm.

We're going back to the Douro in a few weeks, and we'll stay for 4 nights at the Vintage House, now owned by Taylor-Fladgate, right at the river's edge in Pinhão, but don't know whether it's in your price range or not..... The Quinta de la Rosa is also closer to the village (1.6 km and a 20-minute walk), but I wouldn't walk the distance at night.

Pinhão is tiny and has few accommodations in the village itself-- just the Vintage House and LBV plus Quinta de la Rosa, 1.6 km from the village center.

Actually there's another guest house next to that property. I can afford the prices Vintage House is asking but I'm going up there mostly for the scenery, not the hotel accoutrements.

Of course weather is uncertain in northern Portugal so it's a quick trip to see if I can take in the scenery.

I'm actually not a big on doing wine-tasting. I'm more interested in seeing and taking pictures of the terraced vineyards than I am in sampling the product.

It's my first visit to Portugal so I'm probably not giving many of these places the time they deserve. Kind of cramming in a lot of destinations over a 2-week trip.

Sorry, I wasn't thinking about guest houses but instead hotels.
Enjoy the beautiful scenery!

I would rather go to Pinhão, the views are incredible there