Portugal tours by Dreamkeeper

05/10/2024

30/05/2024

Portugal’s Douro Valley is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. It’s also Portugal’s most famous and popular wine region, home to port, the delicious fortified wine,

and known for its beautiful terraced landscape. No wonder it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



The region dates back to the Romans, who created the terracing. There are more than 120 grape varieties in the Douro Valley. While there are 30,000 grape producers, only 500 make wine, and only about 100 wineries, called quintas, are open to the public.



While one can spend several days in the region, it’s an easy day trip from the city of Porto. Either way, you can maximize your wine experience in the Douro Valley. Here’s our guide on how.



1. Research the Winery Experiences and Any Tour Operators Carefully



While one can take the train from Porto to the Douro Valley, it may limit the wineries you can get to. We prefer to take a tour (and let someone else do the driving), but wine tourism is growing in the region, so choosing from the many tours can be tricky.



To maximize your wine experience in the Douro Valley, we highly recommend researching the different tours and asking about the specific wine experiences offered. The first time we visited the Douro Valley we didn’t do that, and while we were on a nice small group tour, the wine tastings themselves were held in large rooms with a lot of other tour groups at the same time. It was very impersonal and there was no opportunity to ask questions about what we were sampling. One wine tasting even featured a staff member walking around in a kitschy costume (that winery, albeit in a lovely location, still features an employee in costume during the tasting).



This time around we knew better and did our homework. It paid off: We ended up having a fantastic tour with Jorge Porfirio through Oporto Road Trips.



To maximize our wine experience in the Douro Valley, we visited three different kinds of wineries: one old winery that specializes in port, one larger but still family-owned winery that produces both port and still table wine, and a newer winery dedicated to still table wine.

24/05/2024

Um review do Presidente da Ordem dos Médicos do Principado do Mónaco sobre a visita a Aveiro e Coimbra que fez comigo.

30/04/2024

Publicado nos USA por um Blogger que levei ao Douro Valley

Not all wine tours are alike, and you don't want to be disappointed. Learn how to maximize your wine experience in the Douro Valley.

28/04/2024

09/04/2024

Saudades destas reuniões de hosts da Airbnb

28/03/2024

Devy
Mar 20

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A very memorable experience
The whole day was amazing and everywhere we looked was very beautiful. The tour operator was very responsive and helpful. Jorge, our tour guide/driver was great. He was engaging, funny, attentive and knowledgeable. We had so much fun and he took us to so many interesting places, in addition to the wineries. Lunch at a local restaurant was so delicious. We had chicken, fish, salad, rice, unlimited red/white wine, coffee and special DOURO DESSERT!! There was a line out the door during lunch time so you know that this is the place to go and the view from the restaurant was pretty great too. Totally recommend this tour. :)

Written March 20, 2024

03/03/2024

Voyage17875898803
The best Porto and wine experience
Feb 2024 • Family
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jorge, our tour guide, is the best. He took care of everyone needs, very attentive and polite. He knows the area, the wineries, the people, and was always very respectful, always willing to help and to answer all questions. Highly recommended.

20/02/2024

Especialmente quando temos um dia complicado, receber um elogio destes é fantástico.

09/02/2024

It's wonderful when we get a morning email like this:

Dear Jorge,

I hope you and your loved ones are well. A friend of mine from New York will soon be traveling with her adult daughter in Portugal (April). I told her she must consult with you. I know she will thank me for this!

Fond regards,

08/02/2024

https://www.facebook.com/100050369744942/posts/952875949734721/i8

31/01/2024

Maggie Crane
United States of America

Review left by Maggie Crane
7 hours ago
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I cannot begin to tell you how much we enjoyed our day with George at Dreamkeepers! It was an absolute highlight of our trip. George is a dapper gentleman, who knows the area inside and out. He clearly has great, personal relationships with the places we toured, which made each moment that much more special. We felt very safe and very comfortable the whole day. George picked us up in his Mercedes sedan from our Quinta in the Douro Valley, took us to two wineries with tastings, a phenomenal typical Portuguese lunch, and on a robalo boat along the river before returning us to our Quinta.
George even recommended a stellar restaurant for us for our last night in Porto, and went so far as to arrange reservations for us. What a treat. George is a wealth of knowledge and an absolute joy to spend the day with. I feel so fortunate that our paths crossed. I feel like we met a new friend!