Following the River Douro through Portugal - have you done it before?

[deckboy]

This year, for part of our trip to Spain and Portugal, we fancy following the River Douro, either Porto to Spanish border or other way round.

We have been to Portugal quite a few times and prefer Aires/Areas in towns where we can enjoy the local cafés/bars with a campsite every 4-5 days to freshen up ourselves and the leisure battery.

Any favourites you are willing to share with us

 

[Pauljenny]

Depends where you plan to cross the border.
Miranda do Douro is nice, so is Foz Coa. Barco d' Alva , Almieda, Vila Formosa.
Making my feet itchy.

Buy an old Rough Guide to Portugal, from a charity shop... Or lash.out on a new one, if you're minted.
Boa Viagem.

 

[Dezi]

Hi, we did this trip a few years ago from Porto to the Spanish border and then followed most of Wellingtons

campaign route through Spain to the pyrenees made during the peninsular war.

Pinhao is a good stop for a few days 41.189965, -7.548242

Toilets, restaurant bar withing yards. Farmers market weekend.

Dezi :cheers:

 

[John H]

We've done the Duro Valley a couple of times and it is a brilliant drive. I recommend doing it from top to bottom rather than the other way round and September/October is a great time because the harvest is coming in. There are lots of options for overnighting. We can recommend the aire in Braganca as a start point (or Miranda de Duro as an alternative) Down the valley itself, Pinhao is a lovely spot for a wildcamp by the river and a very interesting little town with its train station covered in blue tiles. You can also get a good value boat trip on the river there. When you get to Porto, the campsite in Vila Nova de Gaia is closest to town but is basic and not very good value. A better option might be to stay further out and get a longer bus ride into town. Porto is a fascinating old town to walk around - and don't forget to do a tour of one of the port wine bodegas - we can recommend the one at Calem.

 

[Pauljenny]

Hi, we did this trip a few years ago from Porto to the Spanish border and then followed most of Wellingtons

campaign route through Spain to the pyrenees made during the peninsular war.

Pinhao is a good stop for a few days 41.189965, -7.548242

Toilets, restaurant bar withing yards. Farmers market weekend.

Dezi :cheers:

We're following the Peninsular wars trail too. Talevera next . We're using the Sharpe books because 95% of his descriptions are factual.

We've done The Torres Vedra lines, Almieda, Santiago de Compostela, Badejosz and Andalusia.
Fascinating ,to stand on the battle fields, reading his story. ( history ?). Local Tourist information people made us very welcome.

We'll make a point of stopping in Pinhao again.

 

[vindiboy]

PORTUGAL DOURO VALLEY 1 by vindiboy1 | Photobucket

Yes we did a trip through the Douro, great place to travel through, plenty of overnight places too,

 

[vindiboy]

PORTUGAL DOURO 2 by vindiboy1 | Photobucket More Douro.

 

[londontavern]

For those following Wellington, I found the site of the battle of Salamanca, interesting with a nice monument and information board. Nice for a picnic if you don't mind a short walk up a bit of a hill. Only came across by chance as there was a geocache there.

 

[noarlunga]

When you get to Porto, the campsite in Vila Nova de Gaia is closest to town but is basic and not very good value. A better option might be to stay further out and get a longer bus ride into town. Porto is a fascinating old town to walk around - and don't forget to do a tour of one of the port wine bodegas - we can recommend the one at Calem.

We did the Duero/Douro trip via Miranda de Douro (nice local wines at €2 / bottle).

In Porto you can stay on the harbour wall on the Gaia side, part-restricted on market day. 41.143134, -8.647576

Google Maps

There's a fish market there selling freshly landed stuff from the local boats. You can catch the water bus across the river and then the historic tram into the town. The water bus ceases at teatime but it's a medium walk or a short taxi/bus ride back to the harbour.

Johnny A

 

[Dezi]

We're following the Peninsular wars trail too. Talevera next . We're using the Sharpe books because 95% of his descriptions are factual.

We've done The Torres Vedra lines, Almieda, Santiago de Compostela, Badejosz and Andalusia.
Fascinating ,to stand on the battle fields, reading his story. ( history ?). Local Tourist information people made us very welcome.

We'll make a point of stopping in Pinhao again.

If you are interested in the Napoleonic wars and have not already done so, then I can thoroughly recommend the following.

Elizabeth Longfords - Wellington 1969. The finest book on Wellington.

Robert Harveys - War of Wars 2006. An all encompassing work of the period.

Bon journey mon braves

Dezi :camper::cheers: