Northern Portugal Adventures: Douro Valley, Peneda-Geres National Park, and Atlantic Coast

Reading our booklet while trekking in Douro Valley from Portugal Green Walks!

We took a two and a half week trekking adventure to Northern Portugal! We used Portugal Green Walks to help plan our amazing outdoor adventure. The areas we adventured to in Northern Portugal were Porto, the Douro Valley, Peneda-Geres National Park, and the Atlantic Coast!

If you are interested in learning more about the outdoor adventures and trekking available in Northern Portugal check out this article as we share our favorite experiences from our trip.

Walking the streets of Porto during a gorgeous evening.

Portugal is a country roughly the size of the state of Indiana in the US. It’s small compared to a lot of other countries we have been privileged enough to visit. It therefore felt pretty easy to get around and feel like we experienced a lot of the country in a few weeks. In two and a half weeks we were able to visit four different areas of Northern Portugal slowly and with plenty of time to wander in each!

Since we did a walking trek with a few private transits we obviously moved slow on this adventure.

Our Northern Portugal itinerary looked like this:
Porto Three Days (flew in and out of here from the USA via Paris.)
Douro Valley Four Days
Peneda-Geres National Park Four Days
Atlantic Coast/Camino Five Days

Check out our highlights from each area below and if you are into trekking in Portugal we don’t have enough nice things to say about utilizing the services of Portugal Green Walks! They put together our local lodging, arranged our private transits including airport pickup and drop off, recommended mom and pop restaurants/groceries along the way, and even moved our luggage from town to town for us!

Porto Portugal Highlights:

1. Mercado do Bolhao.
   We did some grocery shopping here and a walking tour with a local guide before our cooking class. We loved the stories and the smells and of course the fresh food! Some of the families and the vendors have been here for a century and a half. We got fresh olives, cheese, bread baked that morning, and some of the best olive oil around.

2. Cooking Class!
   We did a cooking class with Chef Joao at Almeja. We spent several hours in the kitchen with him and result was an experience we’ll never forget. Thank you to Amass Cook for curating this special time for us! We made a risotto, tempura, and while we made dessert he provided us with an extra one that was the most mouth watering dessert I have ever had. Curry powder, pistachio, homemade gelato, and more on this unforgettable masterpiece!

3. Timeout Market.
   Fun place next to our hotel with local pop up vendors, tasty grub, and good music.

4. Livraria Lello.
   The MOST beautiful bookstore in the world. Get your tickets in advance to ensure you get to take a visit. I got “The Iron Heel” by Jack London after much debate over what book to take home from this special place. If you are a reader you will be in bliss!

5. Exploring!
   Porto was our time to jump into the streets and wander. Restaurants, shops, people, and more. We loved having a few days to adventure in the city before our trek began.

Douro Valley Portugal Highlights:

1. Cepa Torta.
   We didn’t have a bad meal in Portugal but this was one of our favorites. No frills, local, fresh, and affordable. Like most restaurants in Portugal you might have walked right by it without even knowing there was a Michelin restaurant inside.

2. The towns of Pinhao and Alijo.
   We stayed in each of these towns and explored the local vineyards, small villages located between/around them, and hiked the dirt trails of this beautiful region! In Pinhao we ate lunch with the local construction and utility crews, did laundry, cold plunged, and relaxed to the choo choo’s of the trains.

3. D’Origem.
   Olive Oil Press and Museum located on our trek. I did wind up lugging a jug of their outstanding olive oil along in my backpack the rest of the trip!

4. Douro Kayak.
   If you don’t want to hike the Douro Valley like we did you could explore the region by kayak!
   The river was calm and there are also great day options to SUP and Paddle should you choose to do so.

5. Pinhao Restaurants: Sabores do Douro and The Bridge 1870.
   Two great restaurants in the Douro Valley. Sabores for the budget eaters and the Bridge for the fancy upscale evening foodies.

Peneda-Geres National Park Portugal Highlights:

1. The artwork in Castro Laboreiro.
   Check out the black widows and the sheep dog inside this protected area just outside of town. The sheep dogs are revered in the area for their importance in goat and sheep herding and protecting this ancient way of life.

2. Castle in Castro!
   Yes you read that right :). Atop the hiking trail is a former castle/fortress. It requires a short but somewhat steep climb but you can explore quite a bit in it.

3. Hiking Trails.
   Yes we did a lot of hiking in the National Park. I wrote an article for Happy People exclusively on the trails in this National Park that we did, you can read that HERE!

4. Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peneda.
   This is a pilgrimage site inside the National Park. This stunning church is a shrine for Mother Mary after her appearances to people there in the Middle Ages. The way the church and the park collide look like it rests on granite rock that reminds if there’d be a church below Half Dome in Yosemite Valley. It’s one of the most visited sites in Europe after Lourdes and the Vatican. We walked the steep staircases of the church pillars and stayed at the hotel that was once only for pilgrims: The Peneda Hotel. The chef and staff there were so sweet and while they were packed for lunches we had private dinners there at night that they prepared for us like

5. Rock Climbing and Camping.
   The adventures in the National Park aren’t limited to walking. Climbers come from all over Europe in the fall for a climbing expedition and we saw tent campers of all ages hitting the dirt patches!

Atlantic Coast Portugal Adventures:

Our final several days was walking the famous Camino route along the Atlantic Coast and the Minho River in Spain! It was interesting, and funny at times, to be hiking the Camino away from Santiago. It was prime trekking season for the Camino Pilgrims and unlike a National Scenic Trail in the US most people hike one way. Towards Santiago Spain! We reassured the concerned locals and pilgrims at times that we did in fact know that we were walking the “other way.”

Regardless this trail is flat, along the ocean, and moves you in and out of lovely towns along the way that you can stay in. We stayed at a B&B next to Spain on the Minho River, two local hotels right off the Camino on the Atlantic Ocean in Caminha and Vila Praia de Ancora, and we finished our adventure in Viano do Castelo which is the former capital of Portugal!

The Portuguese Camino is 620km from Lisbon or 260km from Porto. (There are seven routes and ways to hike the Camino de Santiago, all routes ending at St James tomb in Santiago de Compostela Spain.)

We met a few people who said it was dicey walking at times from Lisbon. We trekked one fourth of the length to Porto and had a splendid experience. Thousands of pilgrims embark on the Camino each year and it was fun to be on the ride for several days with a couple hundred of them!

If you see someone hiking towards Spain with a sea shell on their backpack with a red cross on it? Give them a “Bom Caminho” and you’ll likely receive back a warm reply, smile, and wave!

Northern Portugal was so special to get to be explored by foot! Kind people, amazing food, beautiful scenery, and curated experiences made this an adventure we’ll never forget. We were able to move slow and deliberate through this country and we’ll have memories that we can take from this for the rest of our days! Adeus por enquanto Portugal!

A few final tidbits about a visit to Portugal:

1. They use the Euro.

2. Many speak English, almost everyone spoke English, Spanish, or French. However learning basic Portuguese was super helpful and respectful in my opinion.

3. 40% of the population lives in Lisbon, half in Lisbon and Porto, and the other are spread around the country.

4. Restaurants are open for lunch from about 12-230 and then reopen for dinner at 730. Lunch is typically lean meats/fish, veggies, potatoes, bread, and yes…”casa vinho.” Tapas are more like bars with snacks and sandwiches and are open from around 12-10pm, sometimes later.

5. Locals are super friendly and kind.

6. Tipping is not required but 10% is VERY appreciated.

7. Many local restaurants only accept cash outside of Lisbon and Porto.

8. Portugal has beaches, mountains, great food, is safe, the people are lovely, and it’s affordable compared to the rest of Europe…so what are you waiting for?!

We hope you got the chance to learn about this country and maybe you’ll also have the opportunity to plan a trek of your own to Northern Portugal.

Thanks for reading and comment below with any questions!

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R