Douro Valley Tours and Trips

Whilst there was some overlap with my previous tour (Grand Spain & Portugal), the itinerary covered Portugal in greater depth and detail . The Tour Director Helder was excellent and made the trip even better with a secret visit to Nezere a special stop.Teamed with our driver Alfredo they worked to ensure we were given the best opportunities.

Excursion to Royal Portuguese Riviera, Cork Factory visit and Duoro River Cruise should not be optional excursions. Everybody is expected to attend, so just include them in the itinerary. They were great excursions, but should be included.

This trip covers a wide selection of town, villages and sites. There are options for interesting excursions curated by the tour director. Our tour director was the gold standard - organized, friendly, and compassionate. Our entire tour group gelled and enjoyed each other's company. The bus time was manageable and enjoyable. Our bus driver was skilled and friendly, and, with the tour director, made a great team. I highly recommend this trip.

I liked the actual itinerary of the tour. Unfortunately, the 2025 Australian Insight Vacation travel brochure from which I selected the tour has a number of major differences to the actual itinerary on the ground. From discussions with the Tour Director, the itinerary has been this way for several years. Insight needs to update the marketing for the tour to reflect the actual itinerary so that disappointments are avoided. There also appears that the Australian Insight Vacation travel office staff have little understanding of what actually happens on tour - disappointing performance. For instance, I wanted to leave some luggage in Lisbon rather than take it on the bus. I was advised that I could leave it in storage at the hotel we left in Lisbon (Hotel Corinthia) albeit we were returning to a different hotel (Turim Marques Hotel) in Lisbon. On the night before we left Lisbon the tour, Corinthia Hotel advised that I could not store the luggage as we were returning to that hotel. I then had to take a taxi to Turim Marques to store the luggage .

Great tour for a wonderful overview of a beautiful country! Our travel director was very kind, informative and enthusiastic! Our driver was excellent in negotiating the sometimes extremely narrow streets and the bus was very comfortable. Portugal is a lovely country steeped in history, with beautiful architecture and stunning scenery. From the coastline, to the dry interior and to the bustling ports of Lisbon and Porto, this tour allows one to experience it all.

The itinerary was comprehensive. We could have maybe spent a little more time in some of the beautiful towns, but everything had to run on a schedule. Our tour director was wonderful, & our bus driver was absolutely brilliant. Many thanks Insight Vacations.