Valley of Gold

We were delighted with the variety of scenery, walking and accommodation. We changed the itinerary as our flight arrived late in the evening at Porto to spend the following day there too. This gave us an opportunity to explore Porto which we enjoyed. We returned to Porto on the last day to complete our explorations, taking the cable car down the far side. The Jimao tapas restaurant was a great place to eat.

Food highlights were the restaurant upstairs opposite the Pestana (Casario) and the special lunch we had at the Quinta da Portal at Vilarinho. The wonderful view from the terrace at Loivos and the very good welcome glass of wine was another. The views were marvellous too: across the river from Porto at night when all the Port lodges were lit up, the view from San Domingo(?) and sitting in the loggia at Vilarinho. 

We very much enjoyed our walk. Interesting routes through countryside with wild flowers and pine forests as well as walking by the very green vertiginous vineyards. Limited walking on tarmac roads which was great. Quinta de la Rosa was really good. Lovely eating on the balcony looking over the river if a somewhat long slog down the road in the heat to get there. We enjoyed the boat trip and wine tour. On the loop walk you can get a sandwich at Cafe Central.

This was our first Inntravel holiday and we are looking forward to future holidays with you. We enjoyed the walking and felt that the walking notes were invaluable to our experience. We could not have planned such effective routes ourselves. In the future I will read the upgrade options more carefully and consider room or hotel upgrades when offered. 

This was a very special holiday for us and our 4 friends. The highlights were the variety of the walking, swimming in the pools after our walks, the tour of Graham's Port house, the traditional food and the warm welcome we received from the staff at the accommodations.

It's well worth an extra night in Porto, otherwise the time in the city would be rather short.  The Grahams tour is very good and informative.  A highlight for us would be the Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros, one could easily spend extra time here soaking up the atmosphere and just relaxing in a lovely setting.  
We recommend pre booking restaurants in Porto, particularly if in a group.

Great and interesting places to stay with lovely hosts while walking through stunning scenery through quiet little villages where the locals stop and say 'hello'. We thought this was a great trip through unique countryside.

The holiday fully met our expectations and we would definitely consider booking with Inntravel again. We were very impressed with the efficient way in which the staff resolved the problem we experienced as a result of the lightning rail strike during a Sunday afternoon. 

An absolutely wonderful holiday combining a couple of days in Porto with a walking circuit of the Douro Valley. The walks were interesting and well judged with outstanding views each day.  The wild flowers were absolutely stunning (we went in May). Inntravel's walknotes are comprehensive and informative. A couple of our walking days were very hot - at our request the hotel brought the time of breakfast forward for us so we could start walking in the relative cool before 9. The hotels were all comfortable and very different from each other which added to the experience. We were very pleased to have added an extra day to our final stay in Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros - an exceptionally beautiful place with fantastic food and facilities.

The hike from Casa de Casal de Loivos to Pousada de Alijo was breathtaking.  Strolling through vineyards high above the Douro Valley provided stunning scenery.  The rural landscape of terraced green vineyards and olive trees provided the peace and tranquility we have come to enjoy through slow travel.

The Valley of Gold hike was absolutely fabulous! Our group of 7 enjoyed every minute from start to finish, enhanced greatly by beautiful sunny weather everyday.

It is well worth arriving mid-afternoon at Casa de Casal de Lovois. The terrace has amazing views of the river valley, and it is a fabulous place to relax with a glass of wine after the 2.5-hour scenic train ride from Porto. We ate dinner outside at stone tables while the sun went down. It was a beautiful setting.

In Alijo we went to O Pelourinho for dinner and it was excellent value for money and delicious food - 2 courses for 7 people with house wine for 114 euros. Bargain!

Due to the size of our group and limited availability at Casa de Vilarinho de Sao Ramao, Inntravel accommodated us at an alternative property called Casa das Pipas (also known as Quinta do Portal). I think I got the honeymoon suite - a beautiful room with a huge four-poster bed and a little private patio overlooking the vineyards. The farm-to-table dinner restaurant was a 700m walk from the main hotel building, and the cuisine there was phenomenal. We paid extra for the wine pairings with each of the multiple courses, and it was well worth it. The chef came out in person to describe each dish, and we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful view.

The final hotel on the hike was Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros. This property is truly heaven on earth. Many of the rooms are stand-alone villas nestled in beautiful gardens with a profusion of blooming roses. The restaurant has floor-to-ceiling glass walls so we had spectacular views while enjoying excellent meals. Omelettes were available on request to supplement the delicious continental breakfast, and wine was included with dinner.

The hikes themselves were really enjoyable, and we particularly liked that it was a true inn-to-inn hike, with no transfers required along the route.  The scenery was varied - vineyards, olive groves, pine forests, orange and lemon trees, the occasional sleepy village and breathtaking views throughout. We also really enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of the trails. On the whole hike, we only met 7 other hikers. Our favourite routes were from Alijo to Casa das Pipas on Day 3 of the itinerary, and Casa das Pipas to Chanceleiros on Day 5. Hiking poles were helpful, particularly on Day 5 for the steep ascent to the Sao Domingos Hermitage, and the even steeper descent down a path of scree. 

We stayed on in Porto afterwards and there was lots to see and do,. We loved the port wine lodge tour at Graham's (arranged by Inntravel), followed by lunch at their restaurant Vinum (advance reservations required). We also did a Sunset Segway Tour of Porto with Bluedragon City Tours which was great fun.

The Inntravel staff were fantastic throughout. They responded to communications promptly, and were always friendly and helpful. The route information they provided was very well put together. Between the maps, GPS files and written instructions, we kept on track everyday. (The maps are very detailed, so it helps to use a highlighter pen to mark the route.) And we liked the daily distances which allowed us to eat a leisurely breakfast before we set out, and arrive at the next property mid-afternoon so we could relax by the pool and enjoy the delightful hotels.

Thank you, Inntravel. We had a really amazing time.

This is possibly our best Inntravel walking holiday so far. Beautiful breathtaking scenery, lovely accommodation, good food and kind hospitable people made for a brilliant holiday. The walks are well graded and the walking notes were excellent. (Beware of another company who have stopped providing walking notes and clients have to rely on GPS). Whilst we downloaded the routes to AllTrails, and were very happy to have them, they were a great aid, not a substitute.

This was a very enjoyable walk - not too taxing, but sufficiently stretching! The scenery was varied and there were some fabulous views especially from the comfort of a hotel terrace at the end of the day.  

Our first experience of a self guided walking holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed it and using the gpx maps gave us additional confidence - highly recommend using them with the walking notes. Brilliant service and we will definitely book again for next year. Special thanks to Will and Rob from Inntravel - it was a pleasure to meet you both during our trip.

This was such an excellent and enjoyable holiday.  While the daily distances covered weren't/aren't 'excessive', we decided to leave the accommodation after an early breakfast each day to ensure we could do a fair chunk of the walking before the heat became a little too 'noticeable'.  We suprised the next host a couple of times by arriving at their accommodation as soon as we did; never a problem but more in the 'Blimey, you've done well' category... The time of year we walked was perfect for the route. The maps all worked a treat (the 25000 scale gives perfect detail); I prepared by doing route studying to avoid any surprises. I marked our route on the map with 'dabs' of day-glo felt pen as there is so much detail on the maps with lines of the walking paths it could be quite easy to start to follow the wrong one; we didn't...

The routes take you into the heart of a unique and very beautiful area of Europe, which was entirely new to us.

Our highlights:

If staying in Durraes try the cafe down from the train station for an introduction to local life.

Paço de Vitorino presented a slightly forbidding exterior as the gates were closed due to Covid (April 2022) but when you enter you are provided with an interesting tour of a lovingly restored Manor House with all modern conveniences.

Paço de Calheiros, the Count is very passionate about promoting local tourism and provides another intersting tour but the beautiful grounds are best discovered walking his lovely dog, Leo.

Grahams Port Tour exceeded our expectations and the restaurant looked lovely,with great views over Porto, however a reservation was required.

Casa de Casal de Loivos, has stunning views overlooking the Douro.

Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros is set in beautiful gardens with an amazing view and facilities, from swimming pool and hot tub to tennis court and pool table.

INNTAVEL NOTE: these customers combined our walks Manor Houses of the Minho and Valley of Gold

This was our first holiday with Inntravel and it was excellent! The communication - telephone, email and hard copy - were faultless. The choice of hotels was very good, the walking notes were accurate, the extra detail was interesting and we will definitely be using Inntravel again. We are happy customers and have been spreading the word about Inntravel since our return!

Wish to say it was a brilliant holiday! This was due to fantastic scenery and lovely walks at a wonderful time to go, at grape harvest time. The colours as autumn approached were beautiful. The hotels were of a very high standard, food was delicious and Portuguese people were so friendly. We were blessed with great weather too. The walks through the hills were exhilarating and rewarding.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip in a lovely part of Portugal.  We started by staying in porto for 2 nights -  a bustling interesting city, with some great places to eat.  Then onto the train (at the impressive Sao Bento station) to head east along the Douro river to Pinhao -  quite a spectacular train journey.  The first hotel at Casa de Loivos (now deep in wine growing country) had a gob smacking view over the river valley from high on its flanks.  The walking was not too taxing and mostly very pleasant  -  hilly vineyard country but with lovely woodland walks and some hill walking as well.   We ended up at the Casa da Visconde (where you stay for 2 nights) -  an excellent hotel with truly delicious food.   We went in mid September, with calm sunny days and the grape harvesting was in full swing.  All in all very intersting and enjoyable.

A wonderful, restorative holiday - exactly what we needed after 18 months of lockdown.  Thank you, Inntravel for arranging everything so well. We particularly enjoyed the tour of the Graham's Port Lodge in Porto, and the recommendations for supper at Jimao Tapas e Vinhos, and Postigo do Carvao (both of which we booked before leaving the UK), and lunch at the Majestic Cafe. We had 2 nights in Porto and were glad that we asked Inntravel to bring forward our arrival at Casa de Casal de Loivos by a couple of hours.  The view from the terrace is magnificent and it would have been a shame to have only arrived early evening. Margarita the manager is absolutely wonderful - nothing is too much trouble; sitting on the terrace with a complimentary glass of white port we felt that the 'relaxation' phase of our holiday had really begun.

The Inntravel guide describes Alijo as a 'small working market town' but we were impressed by it's cleanliness and sense of civic pride. We ate very well in the Barao Forrester restaurant. Walking from Alijo the next day, our visit to the bread and wine museum was a real treat.  It was fascinating to learn about the local production of moscatel wine - even better to sit on their terrace with a view of the vineyards, sampling it at 11am...  Cristina and her nephew made us very welcome at Casa de Vilarinho de Sao Romao and we felt privilleged to have such a lovely house to ourselves as we were the only guests. We enjoyed the walking (which was not strenuous) and apart from one group of Dutch walkers never met anyone apart seeing grape pickers in the distance. I was glad that we booked an extra night at Cas do Visconde de Chancelieros  - a wonderful place to relax at the end of the holiday. The food there is superb - and we loved the fact that they would point out the villages on the hillside where that evening's local wines originated.We enjoyed our tour of Quinta de la Rosa, and we also organised our own walk through the vineyards of Quinta das Carvalhas which gave some of the best view of the holiday. A superb holiday!

Fabulous holiday from beginning to end. The booking process was seamless and very efficient. Everything went to plan. The variety of accommodation was delightful and the walking was very well described in the notes, the GPS files were also a god send as there aren't many signs on the routes. Such a beautiful area to walk through the vineyards, especially at harvest time. Thank you Inntravel for an excellent holiday, wish we were still there!

Lovely hike in stunning scenary with a very authentic character from the towns and villages on the route.

This is a fantastic walking holiday on fairly easy paths in an area of calm outstanding beauty. You are rewarded at the end of the day with lovely meals, mostly included in your package with great suggestions from Inntravel when the meals are not included. The hotels are all fantastic, with a great location in Porto, two outstanding small hotels in the countryside and one good comfortable hotel in a small town (our package needed some modification as one of the initial hotels was fully booked). We need to give a special mention to Casa do Visconde at Chanceleiros. We were the only guests for 2 nights and only joined by another couple for our last night (due to the covid situation and the fact that apart from their international clientele this lovely hotel relied this year on their Portuguese clients who were back at work in September). Despite being the only ones, the whole team worked to produce lovely meals in the evening. The feeling was unreal, having a good kitchen working only for 2 people. The food was traditional Portuguese cooked with flair and great ability, the wine offerng is more than generous. We learnt a lot about Port (and drank a fair share). I recommend to extend the holiday a few days in Porto as one day doesn't appear enough to explore this lovely city. Once again, an excellent holiday package from Inntravel and really great places to stay.

The hikes were nicely varied in scenery: vineyards, deep wooded valleys, little towns, mountain top views and pine forests. Each day got better than the last and I only wish there had been more days! 

Great hotels and a chance to see the city and valley. A cuisine delight. I enjoyed the wine and the wine tasting. This is not a challenging walking holiday but an all-round experience.

I appreciate that weather is one aspect of the holiday over which you have no control, but we were fortunate to have perfect sunny days during our walking holiday. The inns/hotels were lovely and the meals were very good. (To update your info, the Pousada de Barao Forrester no longer offers wine or water with their 25 Euro menu but will give you 10% off the a la carte menu.) Walk directions were very clear, with a few small exceptions that I can forward to you if you like, but we always guessed correctly when we were in doubt. We enjoyed the company of other Inntravel clients who were a day ahead or behind us when we stayed at the same hotel for two nights and our schedules overlapped. I would definitely recommend taking hiking poles. The picnic lunches provided by the hotels were very generous and we learned to sort through them before setting out to remove heavy items that we did not anticipate consuming in the course of our day's walk. I would have appreciated having an information addendum for Day 7 as to whether arrangements had been made for Mr. Carvalho to collect us from our hotel and take us to the train station (Ursula seemed confident that they had, but agreed to call to confirm) and to let us know the approximate cost of the taxi ride. I would have preferred to have Inntravel add that charge to their invoice and send me a second voucher for this final leg of the trip.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: We followed up the holiday details referred to here and have updated the notes accordingly and contacted this customer with our appreciation.

Weather was perfect. We were really lucky. I'd recommend getting train tickets when you can in advance as queues can be large at times. When you come back from Pinhao check platform. Ticket inspectors will keep you right about whether train goes direct or you need to change. Hop on Hop off bus in Porto isn't worth the money! Metro trams and buses are really good. Streets in Porto are very steep especially going down to river. Get a good map of Porto before you go if you can. 

Great week. Inntravel choice of hotels were excellent & with 3 of them felt like being in a family home. Beautiful area.

A thoroughly enjoyable walk through very attractive countryside. October was the perfect time... not too hot, but sunny and the added interest of seeing the grape picking. 

We had a wonderful holiday helped by the beautiful October weather. Inntravel is one of the best tour companies we have used and the information provided was very impressive, comprehensive and useful which helped us to get the very best from our 9 day trip.

The beauty and the tranquility of this area made one forget all about the stresses of our busy lives - it was magic.

My personal highlight of the trip was the walking from one accommodation to the next each day without the need for transport. It is amazing to me how all of the tracks, cobbled walkways, and roads join together to provide a solitary and scenic path from one place to the next. We only saw six other hikers the entire time on the trails. I loved looking back over the valley and being able to see the way that we had come - it looked like such a long distance! It was beautiful to be out in nature passing through vineyards, orchards, quintas, hamlets, villages, and towns. The local people we passed in the villages were friendly and welcoming.

Tips: Do not be overwhelmed when you receive the directions and maps - they make a lot of sense once you are there following them. They are very detailed and helpful! The hiking can be challenging at times with the elevation changes, do not under estimate the need to train and be prepared. We are very active and still wish we had gone on some hikes with elevation changes to be more prepared. Spend time in the small villages to talk to the local people - we did so and were invited to taste the port made by a local. Allow time each afternoon to arrive at the accommodation early enough to enjoy the lovely outdoor terraces and pools.

I'm already researching where my next walking holiday with InnTravel will be!

A good walk, pretty undemanding. The Cities were rather crowded with tourists and we were told it was high season. Queues at major sights were very long, meaning a wait of over two hours to gain entry. In most cases we gave them a miss. Maybe we did not go at the best time.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Valley of Gold walking holiday with the Cities, Palaces & Wine journey by rail. September is a popular month in the cities.

Well chosen hotels, wish we could have stayed in the ones that were full! Good and accurate walking descriptions. And appreciated the maps.

A truly lovely and active holiday. The countryside is stunning, the food and accommodation excellent and the hospitality second to none. We were fortunate to be there for the harvest (our intention) which added to the enjoyment. The families harvesting the grapes were really friendly and kept offering us bunches of grapes for our lunch. Thank you Inntravel.

A well organised walking trip I would have no hesitation in recommending. The hotels were all comfortable and pleasantly situated. I was impressed that it had been noted that I am vegetarian and most of the meals I was offered were delicious, with a real effort made to accommodate me. The view from the hermitage of San Domingos was spectacular, but I think our favourite day was the longest - that from Alijo to São Romão, for its variety of landscape. When staying in Alijo, we found the recommended restaurant O Pelourinho excellent - such delightful hosts and delicious food, again with great kindness in offering to make a special meal for me. Another of your recommendations, that of Cais da Foz, was very good too. We found poles a must, especially on the descent from San Domingos. Take mosquito repellent: I was tormented at Chanceleiros!

We really enjoyed the walks and different hotels. Good walking paths apart from dusty! We used walking shoes and it was absolutely fine. It was lovely having a pool at all the hotels. It would be nice to arrive at Casa de Casal de Loivos earlier in the afternoon to enjoy the views and lovely terrace. We regretted not taking an earlier train. But then we had had extra days in Porto so would have been happy leaving in the morning. It was worth spending extra nights in Porto - a lovely city. Enjoyed Grahams and Quinta de la Rosa port wine tours. Lots of nice food and of course the port. Particularly enjoyed a Port and tonic before dinner! We’ve been on several Inntravel holidays now and would certainly recommend - and probably do another one.  

The highlights for us of the Douro holiday were the train journey from Porto to Pinhao and the lunch at Manuel's restaurant in Pinhao. Also the circular walk whilst staying at Casa Vilarinho via Sabrosa. By amazing chance, we hit the very day the village was celebrating 500 years since Magellan circumnavigated the globe. We saw acrobats and tumblers performing in the little square and later had a beer in the central bar when players from the band piled in. What an atmosphere!  A local was trying to tell us something but it was too noisy to hear him. It was a lovely walk too, especially going through the pine woods. Made a change from vines!

The wine & port tasting and tour at the Quinta de la Rosa was excellent and well worth the 5km walk down there.

We enjoyed the Minho part of the holiday and felt the highlights were staying at Quinta de Sobreiro and accidently walking to Cruz where we were treated to the church bells at 12pm (Westminster Chimes) and at 12.03 (Ode to Joy, twice round!) while we sat in the bar opposite.

As always, it was good meeting the other Inntravelers and eating at a large table together.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Valley of Gold and Manor Houses of the Minho walking holidays.

A very good holiday. All the hotels varied in character but were all equally enjoyable. The swimming pools were very welcome as the weather was very hot for early September. The cooking was exceptional and we enjoyed the communal tables at 2 of the hotels and the  lively conversations with other guests. All the staff we encountered were pleasant and helpful. The scenery was quite different for us and we enjoyed the lovely long distance views. The visits to the Quinta de la Rosa and Grahams in Porto were both pleasureable and informative,but also very different. We also had a meal at Graham's restuarant but found it disappointing.

Porto was busy and vibrant but we found quite expensive, The Pestana Vintage was good but we found a marked difference in the room between our first night stay and our addon at the end. The restaurant 1858 BBGourmet in a quiet location was really excellent for lunch and had we been there for another night we would definitely have gone back for an evening meal.

As usual Inntravel arrangements went smoothly.

2019 is a year when both of us celebrate our 70th birthdays and the Valley of Gold was planned as a special treat and we added several days onto the holiday in both Porto and Chanceleiros - and what a treat it was! Everything was perfect. We thoroughly enjoyed Porto and the visit to Graham's port cellars was incredibly interesting but the only drawback(?!) was succumbing to the purchase of 5 half bottles of port. The Hotel Pestana Vintage Porto recommended a fish restaurant in Matosinhos (25 minute taxi ride) called O Valentim and it was a superb experience - simple surroundings but what wonderful fish. We had a very warm welcome by Maria at Casa de Casal de Loivos and this set the tone for all the places we stayed at and it was here that we thoroughly enjoyed sitting around a large dining table and meeting other visitors and enjoying a beautiful meal. Many reviewers comment about Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros and their regret at not staying longer so we took note of those comments and had the extra night at what was probably the best hotel that we have stayed in regarding location, welcome and wonderful food. It will be difficult to better this holiday so well done Inntravel.

Another wonderful walking holiday. All the accommodation was great but the last, Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros was terrific and well worth a few extra nights. I would definitely recommend dinner in the Atrium of the Graham Port Lodge Restaurant, Vinum. Great food and a lovely view of Porto with the Luis 1 Bridge in the background as the light fades and the streets lights go on. The tour round Graham’s Wine Lodge was also fascinating. The train journey from Porto to Pinhão is very scenic and we thought that the two hour boat trip from Pinhão is a “must”. The heat at that time of the year made the walking quite challenging (we went on 28th August) but the swimming pool in each hotel provided wonderful relief!