Fantastic paddle with excellent guides and land crew.
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 1/14/2021
If you are looking to see parts of Portugal you would never ever see by yourself, stay in magnificient quaint accommodation with excellent local food and wine this trip is for you.
Our 2020 plans of doing this magnificient trip again, this time with some of our paddling friends, was interrupted by COVID. However when we can we will be back.
My wife and I have done extended multi day paddles in Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, Alaska, Mynmar and Raja Ampat.
The Douro Kayak paddle easily rates as one of, if not the best paddling, socialising, sightseeing, gourmet indulgent trips we have done at a reasonable price.
Where else can you get 10 days transport, accommodation, meals, magnificent sceniery and great times for this price?
Highly recommended and looking forward to doing it again.
Outstanding trip
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 11/7/2017
July 19, 2017
Outstanding trip. Great to be with the Douro team and see parts of Portugal that are perhaps not on most itineraries. I had been somewhat dubious about the reasonably price but everything was wonderful.
Joel Deaton
Carefree, delightful and interesting.
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 11/7/2017
Stephen L. Porter In September, four friends took the 10 day Douro trip with Jack and Rui as our guides. From beginning to end it was carefree, delightful and interesting. Three of us had no paddling experience, but we were quickly schooled on the basics and finer points (recovery after flipping) of kayaking. We felt safe, floated the river with confidence and left with a sense of accomplishment. The trip was well organized without glitches, not easy given the logistics of moving boats and people between the river and accommodations, rendezvousing with the sag wagon for riverbank lunches and passing through locks at designated times.
Most unique (and appreciated) was the special care and interest that Jack and Rui displayed on our trip, both in planning and hosting. Within a day we were fast friends, with a sense of experiencing the trip together--whether playing pool in a 12th century monastery or laughing over card games in a quaint mountain village. The personal touch of our new amigos was shown in many ways: from the initial walking tour of Porto that provided a quick immersion into Portugal, to the variety of lodging and dining establishments, to the sumptuous lunches on the river featuring local cheeses, meats, salads and wines and by sharing the history, culture, cuisine and wine of the Douro region and Portugal.
Some indelible memories: floating the remote and tranquil eastern half of the river, with blue herons our only companions ; the steep, terraced vineyards crafted and tended by hand since the Roman era; picking fruit from the river bank in our kayaks; slowly being lowered 128 feet in a creaking lock, which opened to a cruise ship awaiting entry; walking at sunset to a hilltop pagoda in Quinta de Vargellas, Taylor’s premier port vineyard; and paddling through Porto in tour boat traffic all the while being welcomed by crowds on the boardwalks.
Steve
