What is the best way to view the Douro Valley?
 

Our family of 3 will be visiting Portugal this September and plan to stay 3 nights in the Porto area. What is the most scenic way to view the Douro Valley, by DuroAzul riverboat cruise company, or rent a car and drive through the Douro Valley? Which areas are the most scenic along the river? I am most interested in photographing the vineyards for possible future paintings. Thank you for your input!

If you want to paint or take photos, then a car rental is essential. That way your time is yours, the angle of your shots are yours, and the choice of subjects is yours.

BTW my wife, as a suggestion from her sister, paints outdoors with a sock with the toes cut out over her hand without the brush. That way you can wipe your brush.

Locate Pinhão on your Portugal map. That's essentially the area you want to see for the vineyards, and it is quite a ways from Porto.

I think that the prettiest part of the Douro Valley is between Pinhao and Pocinho. The only way to see that stretch along the river is to take a train from Regua or Pinhao. (I think you can get it in Porto, too, but that would be a lont train ride). If you do a search for "Douro" on the forum, you will see several posts that several of us have written describing our trips to the Douro.

I think the easiest (and probably the quickest) way to get to Pinhao from Porto is to take the super highway east till it ends, then the national road to Vila Real, then south to Regua on another super highway. From Regua to Pinhao is about 20 km along the river. I think a car will give you the possibility to see much more than a boat trip, because there are some very nice sections of the Valley that are not on the river.

I also think that you would enjoy the Douro much more if you took a night or two -- a one day drive from Porto will be very rushed.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! Based on your comments, we have changed our itinerary. Instead of staying in Porto as originally planned, we are going to base out of Pinhao for 2 days and thoroughly enjoy the Douro Valley. I appreciate your input and we're looking forward to a great trip.