After two weeks in Spain, I had planned another two weeks visiting Portugal. My itinerary would start with four days in the Douro Valley, then two days in Porto and three days in the Algarve, all with my friend Karen. I would end with three days on my own in Lisbon, then meet my friends Lindsay and Karen in the Azores for four nights. It would be my first trip to Portugal, and I looked forward to seeing a new country after having spent the last three months re-visiting Spain, France and Italy. I had heard so many great things about Portugal, and was ready to soak it all in.

First Step: Meeting Up with Karen in Porto

Karen was flying from New York and I was flying from Bilbao, and there were unfortunately no nonstop flights to Porto from either destination. However, we realized that we could both fly Air Europa, a Spanish airline, and connect in Madrid. From there, we could continue on together to Porto. I had never flown Air Europa before, and will admit that I was a bit hesitant about the experience, but it clearly offered the best route. It was also a SkyTeam partner, which would at least mean free checked bags and priority boarding, even if I wouldn’t be earning Delta miles on the flight.

I’m happy to report that Air Europa was a pleasant surprise. All the flights went smoothly, and the crew members were all as nice as could be. It definitely beat every experience I had ever had with Iberia.

View over Bilbao on the better-than-expected Air Europa flight

I met up with Karen in Madrid without any problems, we jetted over to Porto, and we were ready to go. For the Douro Valley leg of the trip, we had decided to rent a car to get around. Many people decide to visit the valley as a day trip from Porto, but we had more time, and really wanted to enjoy Portugal’s wine country. I also wanted to stay at two different hotels, one of which had a three night minimum during peak season. Thus, four days it would be. We were ultimately happy to have so much time in the area.

First Hotel: Six Senses Douro Valley

The Six Senses Douro Valley is consistently included on lists of the top hotels around the world, and I couldn’t resist booking a stay there. It was well worth it – I’d venture to say it was one of my favorite hotels that I’ve ever stayed at. I was happy to stay for three nights, since that provided us with the opportunity to spend one day visiting nearby wineries, and another day relaxing at the beautiful property. Let’s be honest – I wish I could have moved in permanently.

We made it! View from Reception at the Six Senses
You can also see the Douro River from Reception (when we aren’t in the way)
Our modern and comfortable room
We also had a view of the river from our room
The property boasted expansive gardens
View of the property’s main building
The hotel offered several restaurants onsite, all of which served fresh vegetables and herbs from the gardens
Let’s not forget the serene pool – no screaming kids here

After driving the one-and-a-half hours to the Six Senses, making a couple wrong turns, checking in, getting settled, and freshening up, it was time for dinner. We opted to stay onsite for a meal on the Vale de Abraão terrace (very fresh, very good), then call it a night. Karen had flown in on a redeye and we had a wine tour booked for the following morning, so a good night’s sleep was in order.

Wine Tour with Douro Exclusive

I had opted to book a private wine tour with Douro Exclusive, a local, family-owned company. Their reviews were all stellar, and while the price was significantly more expensive than a small group tour, I felt that it would be worth it to have a much more intimate experience.

Our guide Ana picked us up from the Six Senses at 9:30 in the morning. She was professional and knowledgeable, quickly launching into a detailed history of the region and its wines. Karen and I both agreed that it was one of the most educational wine tours we had ever been on.

The tour started with a rabelo boat ride along the river. While this part of the tour technically was not private, the only other travelers on the boat were a couple from Boston, who also happened to be staying at the Six Senses. A flat-bottomed boat native to Portugal, the rabelo was traditionally used to transport port wine produced in the Douro Valley to the coastal city of Porto, where it would be traded and exported commercially.

A neighboring rabelo boat cruising on the river
The morning started off overcast, but it was actually nice to have some cooler weather. It’s not uncommon for valley temperatures to reach 100F in the summer months.
We passed a number of port houses, such as Royal Oporto
Apparently, this bridge was designed by Eiffel
Heading back to the, um, port

Next, it was off to our first winery tour and tasting. Ana gave us an excellent history lesson on the invention of port – I had no idea that its creation was somewhat of an accident. Port is of course different than standard wine, since it is fortified with a grape spirit to stop the fermentation process, which serves to both increase the amount of residual sugar and the alcohol level. The reason that someone even thought to do this in the first place was that the wine-loving-but-climate-challenged Brits wanted to import wine from the vineyard-climate-friendly Douro Valley. Fortifying the wine would enable it to last during the long boat ride to Great Britain. Then, in the early 18th century, the Brits were at war with France, thus facing a wine shortage from the country that had previously been its chief provider. Tariffs were reduced on Portuguese wine to remedy this problem, and port took off.

Our first winery stop was at Quinta do Panascal, one of the producers for Fonseca port

Similar to most winery tours, we started with a walk through the vineyards. While the Douro Valley could brag about many details that made it unique, one thing that was impossible to ignore was the incredible beauty. The view of terraced vineyards perched high above the winding Douro River was unlike that of any wine region I had ever visited.

Karen in the vineyards

Ana told us that there were actually over 100 different varietals of grapes that could be included in port, but only five were widely used: Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesa and Touriga Nacional.

Next up was the tour of the production facilities, which is where things veered off course a bit from the typical wine.

Each year at harvest time, the grapes are brought to these vats, where they are manually stomped, by foot

Ana showed us a few videos of the crew stomping on the grapes, pants pulled up above their knees and arms wrapped around each others’ shoulders as they followed the rhythm yelled out by the, I don’t know, stomping leader? It looked quite fun and exciting at first, but I’m sure that multiple days of stomping barefoot on fruit can be rather fatiguing. I assumed that everyone was rewarded with some properly-aged wine at the end of a successful stomp session.

One more angle of the stomping vats

Then it was on to the main event: the tasting. We tried a number of different types of port, including a couple of white ports.

Yes, white port is a thing

While I was most accustomed to ruby and tawny ports (made with red grapes), white port was made with white grapes, and was particularly popular in Portugal for cocktails such as the port and tonic.

Then, it was already time for lunch.

Lunch was at the Michelin-starred restaurant DOC, overlooking the Douro River, Everything was incredible.
And the sun started to come out!

We ended our day at Quinta de Tourais, a small winery that specialized in dry red wines rather than the sweet wines that brought the Douro Valley its fame. In recent years, a number of producers had been working to diversify the region’s wine offerings, and dry wines were becoming increasingly popular.

The owner, Fernando, had friends design the labels for each bottle
Fernando, extracting some wine from a barrel for us to taste

After a long day of wine tasting, we ended up having another quiet dinner on the terrace at the Six Senses, and called it a night.

We were worn out like Aqua, the adorable house dog at the Six Senses
I got her to exert a little effort to lazily play with me

Relaxing at the Six Senses

For our final full day at the Six Senses, we planned to stay put. Not only was the property beautiful, but it also offered a number of activities onsite, and we wanted to maximize our time there.

We started the day with a private Pilates class overlooking the river
Then, we checked out the “hiking trail” on the property. I am more inclined to call it a walking path, but it did include a number of precious little stopping points like this one, actually dubbed the “Rest Nest.” Karen and I saw how it could be quite sweet and romantic, but we felt no need to rest after our short stroll on the path.
I could never turn down a cute photo opp, however
According to the map, these were ruins from an old teahouse (unclear on how old)
There was even a waterfall
The hotel would set up a private picnic for us here if we so desired (we did not)
Another rest that we didn’t really need. But the view was impossible to resist.
Having made a full round of the property, we found ourselves back at the gardens
Olive tree groves
One very tall palm tree
After our arduous hike (ha), we were ready for some R&R by the pool
We signed up for a wine tasting at the Wine Library before dinner
We couldn’t resist the self-serve wine tasting machine. You just inserted your card, selected your wine and pour size, enjoyed your wine, and repeated all over again.
Our final dinner was at Pickles, overlooking the pool. We both agreed that it was our favorite meal of the entire stay.

Hotel #2: Quinta do Vallado

As much as I had loved the Six Senses, I was looking forward to checking out our next hotel, the Casa do Rio Foz Côa at the Quinta do Vallado, if only for a night. Our friends Lindsay and Katz had stayed there a couple years prior, and recommended the place wholeheartedly. With only eight rooms, the property would have a much more intimate feel than Six Senses, but it looked to be just as beautiful.

We’d also get to enjoy a stunning road trip to get there. The N222 route in the Douro Valley had been voted one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and it didn’t disappoint.

We kept having to stop to get pictures of the incredible terraced vineyards
Another view
One more

After a meandering drive, we finally made it to the hotel, and were welcomed by a crew of winery dogs. Those Douro Valley dogs really had the life.

One of the large house dogs
The mod design of our room oddly seemed to work
View of the river from our room
We were also welcomed with some grapes, pears and the house wine, of course
After getting settled in our room, we headed straight to the infinity pool
Time for a port cocktail
We walked down to the river and found these cute Adirondack chairs. They also had kayaks and paddle boards if you were so inclined (we were not).
Looking back at the hotel from the river

The hotel restaurant offered a very good, very affordable dinner, so we opted to stay onsite (I’m not even sure where we would have gone otherwise). It was another quiet night – if it’s not clear, the Douro Valley is not the place to go if you’re looking for a buzzing nightlife.

The property offered a complementary wine tasting, so we of course had to partake before dinner

While the building at Caso do Rio was much more intimate that that of the Six Senses, the overall property was massive. In addition to the pool and river access, it had a multitude of hiking trails circling up, down and around the vineyards. No “rest nest,” but the trails offered something for everyone. We chose one of the more challenging routes for a morning trek before we needed to leave to return to Porto.

The pre-sunrise view over the Douro River was magnificent
Another angle as we got higher up
And another
Finally, the sun
Returning back to our home (for the next few hours, at least)

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the terrace overlooking the river (where Karen got shushed by a fellow guest who had been rudely talking on his phone five minutes prior – LOL). As we attempted to begin our drive back to Porto, one of the dogs almost wouldn’t let us leave, refusing to move as I inched closer and closer to him in our rental car. The owner finally ran out and dragged him out of the way.

Me, heading toward the dogs resting in the driveway. I can confidently say that I was a lot more anxious about their safety than they were.
I know that the dogs did move periodically, as we found them in different places throughout our stay. However, every time I saw them, they were in the same restful position.

All in all, I loved our time in the Douro Valley. Both hotels were phenomenal, the winding drives were so fun, the views were unbelievable, and of course, the port was delicious. I am also glad that we decided to visit the valley and see/learn all about the history of the region before spending a couple days in Porto (where we would of course be drinking more port). Read about our next stop here.

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