Day 1
Day 1.- We encourage you to come a few days early to enjoy Portugal before our Expedition. Some of you may want to join our partner Portugal Green Walks for one of their extensive list of walks (www.portugalgreenwalks.com) If you contact Portugal Green Walks, please mention our name. Nevertheless, the first two days will be relaxing and allow you to recover from jet lag. You will be joining us at the Hotel Moov Porto Centro in Porto, where you will have a meet up at 3:00 pm to meet your guide and receive detailed information about the Expedition. At 4:00 pm, you will be offered a 3-hour guided walking tour of the historic center of Porto, preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, followed by dinner in a typical Porto restaurant.
Day 2 – Beautiful classic train ride
Day 2.- Today, the adventure really begins. We have an early breakfast and go to the Sao Bento train station, which is in itself a tourist site because of the outstanding hand-painted tile work. All the immense scenes are of historical events in northern Portugal. Here we will board the train called The “Linha Do Douro” at 9:10 arriving at the end of the line in Pocinho about 12:40. (www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/portugal/porto-rio-douro/douro/linha-douro-portugals-best-train-ride) After arriving in Pocinho, we will have lunch in a local family-run restaurant and drive in our vans to Bara d’ Alva. We will check into our hotel and have about an hour and a half paddle to get familiar with our gear and touch Spain on the Douro River before dinner at 20:00.
Day 3 – Barca d’ Alva – Foz do Coa 11.27 miles 18.14 Km
Today we have our first real experience paddling the magnificent Douro River as we paddle on the reflections of the 600 feet walls and grapevine terraces. We’ll visit a house in ruins that is made entirely out of stone, and we’ll have a swim or two and a picnic lunch at our takeout just below the new Rock Art Museum. Our lodging will be at a vineyard that once belonged to the Templar Knights. After checking into our accommodations on this wine and olive oil producing vineyard www.chaodordem.com, we’ll offer an optional and recommended visit to the Rock Art Museum www.arte-coa.pt The museum is on a very high point overlooking the confluence of the Coa and Douro Rivers and was considered a magical place for the people who chose this spot for their over 5000 rock engravings. Dinner will be in the vineyard dining room.
Day 4 – Foz do Sabor – Mos – Ferradosa 15 Miles 24 Km
Today is a special day because we have lunch in a restaurant hosted by our good friend Jose Manuel in Mos. Jose Manuel raises much of the food he serves for lunch. He also makes his own port wine, and his process will be described. Before arriving in Mos, we pass some of the most beautiful parts of the Douro. After lunch, cafe, and a bit of Jose’s port wine, there is an option for those who wish to go directly to Bairro do Casal www.bairrodocasal.pt) where we will spend the night or continue paddling on to Ferradosa about 2,5 hrs downriver. For those who chose to go directly to Bairro do Casal, you can swim in the pool, use the sauna or take a 3 k. walk on a 3000-year-old Roman road.
Day 5 – Ferradosa – Valeira – Pinhao – Peso da Régua 15.50 Miles 25 Km
The paddle today will not be forgotten. The Valeira Cataract was the greatest obstacle to navigation on the Douro until the first great hydraulic project carried out between 1780 and 1791. This project was to demolish the falls, and they succeeded in making it possible to navigate up the Douro to the border with Spain. This made possible an essential development of the wine industry, and in fact, this was the reason for the project. This incredible project didn’t eliminate the dangers of the river, it only made it possible to pass but still with considerable risk. A point worth mentioning is that the wine casks were only half full so that when a boat hit the rocks, the wine casks would float and be saved. The man who made the first detailed map of the river, Baron Forrester, drowned in this place 70 years after it was demolished.
All 5 locks on the Douro River are of the same size, but the levels we are lowered or raised to vary from lock to lock. The locks allow ships up to 272 ft. in length, 37 ft beam (wide), and a draft of 12.5 ft. Today we will pass the Valeira Lock (2.8 miles from Ferradosa 1.5hr), which will lower us 108 ft. Passing through a lock in a kayak for the first time is an exciting experience, and you’ll enjoy it, I’m sure.
As usual we get on the water early. and we’ll have a picnic lunch at a beautiful site a short distance below the lock. After lunch we’ll continue on to Pinhao to our takeout. In Pinhao, time permitting, we’ll visit the famous train station to see tile work dedicated to the working vineyards in the Douro Valley. From Pinhao we’ll portage on to Peso da Regua where we’ll spend the night.
Day 6 – Peso da Régua – Porto Rei – Ermido 11.5 Miles 18.5 Km
Today we won’t pass any locks, but we have a unique experience at the end. Our first stop is the beach at Porto Rei for lunch and a swim in either the pool or the river. This is an excellent place for those who wish to practice rolling or any other maneuver. After lunch, we’ll paddle downriver to a natural spring with a beautiful small waterfall. From there, we’ll move on to Quinta da Ermida (www.facebook.com/quinta.daermida) where we will spend the night and have dinner. This beautiful baroque style manor house was first built in the early 19th century with major structural and decorative renovations in the early 20th century and a lovely swimming pool. For those who wish, there will be an opportunity to visit Caldas d’ Arégos with their natural hot baths and spa. (www.visitportugal.com/en/NR/exeres/5E6059BA-53AE-43BC-EDF07377564)These public baths have been in use since Roman times.
Day 7 – Ermida – Caldas d’Arégos – Porto Antigo 7.7 Miles 12.5 Km
Today we have a shorter paddle with an exciting hike after take out for those who would like to do so. We will put in at the beach where we took out yesterday and paddle down a long, reasonably wide part of the river. You will have noticed a change in the vegetation along the river banks. Since lunch yesterday we have moved from port and red wine to the white wine area, and we see quite a lot of Quercus suber, commonly called cork trees. The weather also changes from here on down the river with higher humidity and much more rainfall but most likely in these months we won’t have rain.
Our lunch will be a picnic at our take out at the ramp in Porto Antigo, and from there, we will go to our lodging for the night. Tonight you will again stay in very traditional lodgings. https://www.casacalcada.com/en Dinner will be a short walk away.
Day 8 – Porto Antigo – Espadanedo- Entre os Rios 13.7 Miles 22 Km
Today we will pass another lock, and it is the tallest on the river. The Carrapatelo Dam and lock is about 1 hour paddling from Porto Antigo. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrapatelo_Dam) This lock lowers us 114.8 ft. into one of the most beautiful parts of the river. Our lunch stop on this paddle will be on a sandy beach at Espadanedo, about 45 min. after the lock. After lunch, we paddle on to Entre os Rios where we will take out and go to the beautiful Quinta Santa Cruz with its 12-century chapel. https://quintasantacruz.com This Quinta is operated by close friends, and as it’s usually a wedding destination, we are very fortunate to stay in this truly unique place.
Day 9 – Crestuma – Oliveira do Douro – Porto 11.5 Miles 18.5 Km
Today is our last day on the Douro, and we’re off to an early start. Today we will put in at the beach of the most famous kayak racing club in Portugal. Today for the first time, we are paddling on the river as it was before the dams. This is tidal water, and if we’re lucky, we’ll get a free ride into Porto. We’ll paddle either helped or hindered by the river current as it flows out to the sea at Porto. After the first bridge in Porto, we have an early lunch at Oliveira do Douro, and arrive early afternoon in the center of Port. We’ll continue on and be the focal point of many cameras as we paddle on to the fishing port where the Douro meets the sea. Here we take our kayaks out of the water for the last time and raise our glass of port wine in celebration of having paddled together across Portugal. After taking out our kayaks we go to our hotel in Gaia and celebrate our 9 days together with a farewell dinner.
Day 10 – Porto
Our services end after breakfast. Those who desire may spend time visiting the historic quarter of Porto which, as you know, is classified as a World Heritage Site. You will find the people genuinely welcoming, and Porto is home to very impressive architectural styles in Gothic, Baroque, and the very interesting storefronts in Art Nouveau. Important note: Our itinerary is always subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.