Explore Northern Portugal with Norberto!

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $505 USD + $65 per participant

Price includes: Your guide (Norberto), round-trip transportation, winery visit & tastings, boat ride

Not included: Lunch (approximately 30 euros per person)

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Tour highlights: Local winery visit and wine tastings, 1-hour boat ride, scenic country roads, unbelievable viewpoints

Probably the most popular day trip from Porto, the Douro Valley wine region is a simply wonderful place where bucolic rural life, vineyards, charming towns, and beautiful scenery await you at every turn.

And when you’ve spent lots of busy days exploring our cities, an escape out to the countryside could not be more refreshing. So let’s discover this utterly charming place together!

The closest point of the Valley is about 100 kilometers east of Porto, from where the incredible views and gorgeous countryside completely take over. On arrival, we’ll stop off at a stunning viewpoint from where you can survey everything you’re about to explore.

From there, we’ll drive along scenic roads to a our first real stop of the day - a traditional and family-owned “quinta” (wine estate), where we’ll learn about the ancient wine growing techniques, the history wine in this region, and of course, sample some excellent wines along with homemade jam and olive oil.

Continuing into the heart of the valley, we’ll drive on to Pinhão, a lovely riverside town. Here, we’ll leave the car behind and will board a traditional Rabelo boat for a one-hour river cruise on the Douro River. Always lots of fun, this is also an opportunity to see the valley from a very different vantage point: below rather than above!

After our boat ride, it’s time for a late lunch, and we have lots of different options for where to eat, ranging from little local taverns to upscale wineries serving high-end cuisine.

Once we’ve fueled up on good food, we’ll get back in the car and make the drive back to Porto, stopping off wherever we’d like at any number of the great viewpoints.

Duration: 8 hours

Cost: $480 USD + $59 per participant

Price includes: Your guide (Norberto), private round-trip transportation, Paiva entrance tickets, lunch, local convent sweets

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Tour highlights: 516 Arouca Suspension Bridge, Paiva Walkways
traditional lunch, Convent sweets, Arouca town center

Get ready to visit one of the most beautiful attractions in northern Portugal - the incredible Paiva Walkways! Found in the town of Arouca, this is one of the most famous hiking areas in all of Portugal, where 8 kilometers of wooden walkways and suspension bridges traverse the rocky hillsides of the Paiva River.

Setting out from Porto, we’ll leave first thing in the morning, arriving to Arouca about an hour later. Here, we’ll stop for a coffee and maybe a little snack, before beginning our hike.

Now get ready for an amazing adventure! The wooden walkways here will take us all along the left bank of the Paiva River, one of the cleanest in Portugal. A moderately challenging but entirely downhill walk, along the way we’ll pass by densely wooded areas, rocky outcroppings, and even a few little river beaches, enjoying great vistas for almost the entirety of the hike.

We’ll also have the option of crossing one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, the 516 Arouca. Stretching 516 meters across a valley above the river, this is a truly exhilarating experience.

Note: crossing the bridge is not mandatory, and we can also shorten the walk to 3.5 kilometers, in case anyone gets tired.

After the hike, we’ll head for a very tasty lunch at an especially pretty local restaurant. From there, we’ll head back to Arouca for a quick tour, as it’s a historic town well-known for its traditional convent sweets, which have been produced in the local monasteries and churches for centuries.

So we’ll grab a few sweet treats as a just reward for our day of hiking, and will also take a look around the convent, learning a bit about the history.

Finally, we’ll hop in the car and head back to Porto.

Duration: Approximately 9 hours

Cost: $450 USD + $55 per participant

Price includes: Your guide (Norberto), private round-trip transportation, e-bike rental, winery visit & tastings

Not included: Lunch (approximately 25 euros per person)

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Tour highlights: e-Bike Tour in the heart of the Vinho Verde Region,
Winery tour and tastings at a Vinho Verde estate

Far less-visited than the Douro Valley, but no less beautiful, the Vinho Verde (Green Wine) wine region is one of the jewels of northern Portugal. If you want to get a little off the beaten path and explore some lovely countryside and great wine, this is the tour for you!

And what better way could there be to explore wine country than on two wheels?! Equipped with excellent e-bikes, we’ll enjoy the incredible landscapes of the region, cycling for about 30 kilometers (2.5 hours) along paths that run through mountains and vineyards, alongside rivers, and right through the charming and historic town of Amarante. Of course, we’ll stop to check out some of the sights in this very nice little town.

When we get hungry, we’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant that serves excellent regional specialties, paired, of course, with Vinho Verde wine.

After lunch, we’ll put the bikes away and will head over to the gorgeous estate of a Vinho Verde produce, where we’ll take a short walk through the property, learn about the process of Vinho Verde production, and try some of their best wines paired with local products.

Following the tasting, we’ll wrap up the tour, getting back in the car and making the drive back to Porto.

Duration: Approximately 9 hours

Cost: $480 USD + $28 per participant

Price includes: Your guide (Norberto), private round-trip transportation, entrance tickets to Guimarães Castle, Duke’s Palace, Braga Cathedral

Not included: Lunch (approximately 25 euros per person)

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Tour highlights: Guimarães Castle, Dukes Palace, Guimarães medieval center, Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, Braga Cathedral, Braga city center

When heading to northern Portugal, everyone knows Porto and the Douro Valley, but far fewer people are familiar with our two other great northern cities, Guimarães and Braga.

We’ll start our tour in Guimarães, known as the birthplace of Portugal, and an incredible little city with a fairytale-like UNESCO-designated historic center.

Our first stop here is the Guimarães Castle, an impressive medieval fortification and a symbol of the founding of the Portuguese nation. Next up is the Chapel of São Miguel, followed by the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança. As we tour these two sites, we’ll delve into the history of this nation, learning how modern Portugal came into existence.

Afterwards, we’ll go for a stroll down the oldest street in the city, making our way into the medieval city center, where you’ll be dazzled by the grand, centuries-old architecture. Of course, we’ll also be sure to check out the mythical inscription on the city wall that reads “Here was born Portugal”.

It should be midday by this point, so we’ll grab a bite to eat in one of the city’s many excellent restaurants, and will then hop in the car and make our way to nearby Braga. Braga is actually an ancient Roman city, but despite its long history, it’s most known as a religious center, mainly because of the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte.

One of the most impressive religious sites in the country, the monastery has an almost impossibly beautiful staircase, which we will of course climb our way up.

After visiting the sanctuary, we’ll explore the city center, marveling in particular at the Cathedral of Braga, the oldest monument in Portugal! We’ll also go for a wander around the “modern” center, seeing the gardens of Santa Bárbara, the City Gate, and its main squares and streets.

Finally, we’ll return to Porto, having fully explored two of the great cities of the north.

Duration: Approximately 8 hours

Cost: $880 USD

Price includes: Your guide (Norberto), private transportation

Not included: Lunch, optional boat ride in Aveiro

Max participants: 8

Note: All tours are private (only you and your travel partners)

Cancellation Policy: Read our full terms here

Tour highlights: Porto to Lisbon transfer, 1.5 hours in Aveiro, 1.5 hours in Óbidos

With tons of great places to visit between Porto and Lisbon, a trip between these two cities is the perfect excuse to turn a long drive into a great tour!

So let’s travel in a comfortable way from Porto down to Lisbon while exploring charming cities and towns on the way down.

To start the day, I’ll pick you up at your hotel, from where we’ll head to Aveiro, our first stop. Often called the “Venice of Portugal”, we’ll go for a short walk through the center together, after which you’ll have some free time to explore on your own, or, if you’d like, take a boat trip along the canals (we’ll need to reserve this in advance).

From Aveiro, we‘ll then set off towards medieval Óbidos, a beautiful and historic walled town that’s about a 2-hour drive south. There, we’ll go for a walk through its gorgeous center and will head to a local restaurant for lunch.

From Óbidos, it’s onward to Lisbon, about 1.5 hours away.

Looking for something a bit different?

All of Norberto’s tours can be fully customized to you, your interests, and travel style. If you’d like something totally unique, you can work one-on-one with Norberto to co-create a one of a kind tour.

To get started, request a custom tour below and provide us some initial ideas about what you’re looking for. Norberto will then reach out to you directly to start planning your tour together.