ONCE YOU LAND IN PORTUGAL, BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS WILL FOLLOW – ON A PRIVATE BOAT ALONG THE DOURO RIVER, TOWARDS MARVELLOUS TASTES AND SIGHTS

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Welcome, Marma invites you to experience the fantastic region of Douro Valley aboard an unforgettable journey along the river on a vintage wooden boat.

Your adventure starts with the pick up at a location to be defined in Porto – if you are flying, this can be at Porto International Airport (OPO). You will be then taken to Cais de Gaia where we will begin to write our story with a visit to Taylor’s tercentenary Port wine cellars and to its new and innovative museum, which allows us to travel to the past and learn more about the history of Port wine and the Douro region.

Once the visit is over, there is a relaxed menu with a stunning view over the city of Porto and Foz do Douro, in the restaurant O Orangerie, run by chef Ricardo Costa and his team – the same that in 2017 won two Michelin Stars in the gastronomic restaurant The Yeatman.

After lunch, we will embark at Cais de Gaia towards Alto Douro Vinhateiro, the first demarcated and regulated wine region in the world, classified as a World Heritage site by Unesco. We will then come aboard the Mary, a classic boat built by hand in 1988 by a Portuguese shipbuilder, created to be strong but without losing its elegant and refined appearance. With a cabin for a more pleasant trip and an area for sunbathing, this boat offers a smooth but really fun ride.

We will continue appreciating the river banks and passing by the 6 bridges that are part of the landscape in Foz do Rio Douro (Ponte Luís I, Arrábida, Infante, Maria Pia, São João e Ponte do Freixo). As we go up the river we leave behind the city of Porto and its urban landscape, entering a more rural area – the banks are full of vegetation and small houses, separated by the quite steep valley.

Minutes later we arrive to Crestuma Lever dam, where we will go up the first sluice by means of an astounding engineering feat built in 1985. This was the last dam built in the Douro and it is 14 metres high.

The journey goes on up the river until reaching Inha River, one of the Douro’s tributaries. This place is ideal for a refreshing dip before the journey continues until the next stop. An afternoon snack in a typical Portuguese restaurant is the next surprise we have prepared for you. The paper table cover, the homemade food and the terrace with a great view over the river and Lomba beach are what makes this place one of the best kept secrets of this region.

Still with time for a swim at the end of the day, we arrive to Douro41 Hotel & Spa, a contemporary 5* hotel, which blends in perfect harmony with the surrounding nature. Inspired in the Douro, the architect recreates the terraced fields that characterise and shaped the hillsides for centuries, using traditional schist and large glass windows with bucolic views that dominate the building.

After a break for all the check-in formalities, or simply for a dive while the sun sets, dinner will be served in the restaurant “Raiva”. It has a simple, relaxed and very traditional cuisine that brings to the plate the best this region has to offer. Let yourself be amazed with a menu by Chef Ricardo Lourenço, a breathtaking view and all the comfort needed to impress you with what this region has to give.

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Wake up to an inspiring view to the river and its surrounding nature and enjoy a revitalizing and diverse breakfast in the hotel.

The boat is ready for another day in this enchanted paradise! Today we will discover a less known but just as beautiful par of the Douro – the so-called “Douro Verde”, which differentiates itself from the rest of the river stretch for being linked to the demarcated region of vinho verde wines and for having a landscape of dense vegetation and humid climate, in contrast with the Douro Vinhateiro, which is drier.

The municipality of Castelo de Paiva, where the rivers Paiva and Douro cross, conceals Ilha dos Amores (Island of Loves), a true oasis in the middle of the rivers, covered with creeping plants and majestic trees. This will be the first visit of the day – we will take a short walk while we discuss the mysterious legend behind the name of this little heaven.

After this short visit, we will then sail along one of the cleanest rivers in Europe, and the second cleanest in Portugal, Paiva River. This is the second tributary of Rio Douro that we will get to know, and in almost all its extension it presents a great diversity of species and ecosystems, some of which are already considered a priority in Europe.

A few kilometres away, we arrive to the Carrapatelo dam. With a height of 35 metres, it is the biggest sluice of the Douro River, and one of the biggest in the world. When we are inside, we cannot help but feel impressed by its construction and grandeur.

In the beginning of the Carrapatelo dam, we spot the Bestança River that flows into the Douro at Porto Antigo. Here, the vegetation is well structured and the water is clear, making this one of the rivers with the best environmental quality. In the landscape surrounding it we find houses with gardens which seem straight out of a movie – well deserving of a visit before the stop for lunch.

Afterwards we head for the border between the granitic area of the region of Vinhos Verdes and the schist region of Port Wines, and there we find Quinta da Covela, dating from the 16th century and formed by the ruins of the renaissance manor, wine press and chapel. Witness the centuries-old presence of vinho verde production and its historical significance, which more recently belonged to Manoel de Oliveira, one of the most important European filmmakers of our time.

It’s also here that, after a guided tour to the property, the lunch is served under the trellis, far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, accompanied by a premium quality wine tasting. Having concluded this experience, we head to the House of Tormes, House-Museum and headquarters of Fundação Eça de Queiroz, where once lived one of the greatest novelists of all Portuguese literature, the first and foremost Portuguese realist writer.

Approaching the heart of the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, we arrive to Quinta S. Bernardo to check-in. This amazing boutique hotel with only 7 bedrooms is a pleasant surprise in Mesão Frio. The building dating from 1912 was fully restored and it kept the family spirit alive through details and decoration.

Enjoy a drink on the terrace, where you can admire the view over the river and revel in the last rays of sunshine before dinner.

Dinner is served in the hotel restaurant and everything will be prepared with the best products and ingredients from the property – everything is local and deeply rooted in the tradition of the region, using only the best seasonal produce.

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The breakfast is served with an amazing variety of fresh local produce.

After a meal like this you will feel like taking a walk by the quinta, ambling along the vineyards, with a beautiful backdrop, to the boat. Then you will finally discover the Alto Douro Vinhateiro, the Baixo Corgo and the Alto Corgo.

A few minutes after setting sail for Pinhão, we find the Régua sluice, 28 metres high – it is smaller than the Carrapatelo sluice and the last we will go through on this journey.

Today we start by visiting a charming property, located precisely in the border between the sub region of Baixo and Alto Corgo, on the right bank of the Douro River. Quinta dos Murças is characterised by the diversity of its “Eight Terroirs”, identified in 48 hectares denoted by the mountains, different altitudes and sun exposures, schist soils, and climate, where viticulture and vinification are the least invasive possible, given that the production is biological (in the process of certification). It was in this historic wine farm where, in 1947, was planted the first vertical vineyard of this region. Take a hike through the vines and enjoy a guided visit to the wine-aging cellar with Douro wine and Port tasting, and discover by yourself all this diversity in your own glass.

We head to the next stop for a lunch in DOC, an excellent restaurant where every dish appeals to the senses. Inspired in the regions of Trás-os-Montes and Douro, and with a strong contemporary component, the team of Michelin Star Chef Rui Paula will prepare everything to the tiniest detail and make sure each moment is unforgettable in this magical place, where the vine covered mountains merge with the tranquillity of the river.

After lunch, let yourself be charmed by a wondrous boat ride, passing by the most emblematic wine producing quintas until we arrive to Quinta do Ventozelo. This time you will visit one of the largest (around 400 hectares) and oldest properties of the Douro demarcated region, with its first historical reference dating back from 1288.

Here, there are many sensations to experience: it’s not only the view over the Douro or the drawn vineyards; it’s also the overwhelming expectant silence and the unmistakable richness of aromas that fill your chest with each step. Check-in in the hotel and go enjoy a walk through the marked path, and behold the diversity of fauna and flora that surrounds you. Then there will be a guided visit to the wine-aging cellar and stop by the interpretative centre that tells the history of Douro, closing with a Port and Douro wine tasting.

After the wine experience, recoup your energy by exploring the gastronomy. The restaurant Cantina do Ventozelo, located where once meals were served to the workers, counts on the consultancy of Chef Miguel Castro e Silva, who will prepare you a fantastic meal, privileging local and seasonal produce. Celebrate the region and complete your experience with the selected wines.

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Feel embraced by the superb landscape of the Douro, and enjoy a fantastic breakfast at the hotel.

Take your time admiring the farm and its charms, while the skipper awaits you in the marina with everything ready for another day navigating calmly along this lovely valley, gazing at the stunning beauty of this region.

The trip is short and we will quickly reach the small village of Pinhão, known as the heart of the demarcated region of Port wine. We will begin with a short visit to the train station, which used to be a major wine trading hub. It is famous for being completely decorated with tiled panels in distinctive tones of blue, depicting landscapes and traditional activities of the region.

A few metres next to it, in the direction of the marina, we find a small butcher’s shop which is very typical of the village, where you will probably taste the best bacon in your life, as well as a great variety of smoked meats that – Fernando Rebelo, the butcher, claims – treat all ills, from cellulite to chapped lips. Everything here comes from a small, sustainable and conscious production.

After this visit you will be taken to Quinta de la Rosa, located 1 km from Pinhão. This was one of the first wine producing properties in the Douro to take table wine-making seriously. It currently has 55 hectares of vineyards, including the famous Vale do Inferno with its impressive schist walls, among the tallest of the Douro.

Lunch will be served in the restaurant A Cozinha da Clara, located right at the entrance. This place pays a heartfelt tribute to Claire Feuerheerd, grandmother of the current co-owner, Sophia Bergqvist. Let yourself be pampered with what Chef Pedro Cardoso will prepare for you: based on traditional Portuguese cuisine without neglecting the gastronomic heritage of this family, the menu unravels a conjugation of flavours. Combined with the gastronomy, the wines too are used to give the food an identity.

Once the lunch is over, revel in the scenery as we sail to Quinta do Panascal, where you will have the pleasure of tasting some of the best Port wines in the world. Located on the right bank of Távora River, Panascal is one of the most reputable vineyards of the Douro Valley. There is a popular saying asserting that “From Roncão and Panascal come the best wines of Portugal”.

Besides its beauty, this farm enabled the group FONSECA to become one of the pioneers of organic viticulture, as it converted Panascal in 1992 to serve this organic purpose. This allowed them to produce the first Port made entirely from certified organic vines.

Here you will appreciate a pleasant visit through the vines with an audio-guide, and you can learn about the history of the company, its famous wines and their regional production (in winepresses). Conclude the visit with a dazzling Port wine tasting.

By the end of the day and back to the boat, seize the opportunity to take a dip in the calm waters of the Douro River, an unforgettable experience you will not want to miss.

Leaving the Távora valley behind, we head to the mouth of the Tua River, the last tributary of the Douro that we will get to know. It is here, right by the Douro River, that we find the Calça Curta, famous typical restaurant, much sought-after for its dishes of game and freshwater fish. This is a family business and it is the mother, Zélia, who is in charge of preparing dinner. Leaving the kitchen are traditional dishes, such as deer, boar, veal, and river eels. Immerse yourself in the traditional flavours of this humble Duriense house.

Go back to the hotel in a surprising boat trip at night time where you will be able to stare at the starry sky and gaze at the Douro with a different perspective.

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Breakfast is served in the hotel, followed by the check-out. You will be taken to Porto International Airport (OPO) or to a place to be defined in Porto.

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