Avalon Waterways Vida Portugal: Vineyards & Villages along the Douro
In the first of a new series, Jane Archer breaks down a great itinerary that will hopefully entice you and your clients to get booking…
The itinerary
Avalon Waterways is making its debut on the Douro River in Portugal in 2024 on new river ship Avalon Alegria. The seven-night Vida Portugal: Vineyards & Villages along the Douro itinerary operates round-trip from Porto, with calls into Entre Os Rios, Regua, Pinhao, Pocinho, Barco d’Alva and Caldas de Aregos, and offers a more unusual take on the usual Douro experience, with daily included excursions, categorised as classic, discovery or active, that encourage customers to dip into the history and culture of the country or try something more active.
The cruises will run from April to November, with prices from £2,594 per person, cruise-only departing November 6-13 including wine, beer or soft drinks with lunch and dinner, most excursions and wifi. A longer holiday, adding three nights pre-cruise in Lisbon with an included city tour, costs from £3,260 per person on the same date.
Alegria’s Panorama Suites feature water-facing beds…
…the lower deck staterooms are also pretty smart. Images: Avalon Waterways
The ship
Avalon Alegria takes its design cues from Avalon’s other river ships, which means two full decks of Panorama suites with floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall glass doors facing the river that open two thirds the width of the cabin, creating an inside balcony, and beds that face the water so passengers always wake up to a view. The vessel will also have walls of glass in the lounge and restaurant, and will be the first in the fleet to have a pool on the sundeck.
The Alegria has 14 lower deck staterooms (with fixed windows) and 37 Panorama suites, a main restaurant and al-fresco Sky Grill, a small gym and an Adventure Host to advise on the active excursions. The vessel holds 102 passengers and has 33 crew.
The Douro Valley is all about verdant vineyards, craggy cliffs – and lots of port. Image: Avalon Waterways
Destination highlights
Douro river cruises are all about the scenery – think steep river banks covered in acres of verdant vineyards, broken here and there by craggy cliffs and sleepy villages – and none-too-taxing tours, with visits to quintas (wine houses) and historical towns. Avalon has all that but a few more unusual excursions as well.
These include an optional food tour of Porto on day one and a bike ride from the city to the Atlantic coast, accompanied by a biologist tour guide on day seven.
From Regua, passengers can round off a tour of the town and nearby Lamego cathedral with traditional bola (bread baked with bacon or ham) and local sparkling wine, or go straight for the alcohol on an olive oil and wine tasting tour. There’s more eating that evening at an optional Portuguese dinner ashore.
They can hear a Gregorian chant in a 13th-century church on a tour from Entre os Rios, see prehistoric rock paintings or carvings on a tour from Pocinho or gen up on Portuguese history on walking tours of Braga and Guimaraes, Amarante and Porto. Passengers will also get a feel for Portugal’s soulful Fado music as Alegria sails back to Porto with a group of local musicians on board.
From Barca d’Alva, there is the full-day tour to the Spanish university city of Salamanca that all lines offer, but unusually also a morning tour to see birds of prey in the village of Freixo de Espada a Cinta in the Douro International Natural Park. There’s an optional workshop that afternoon for those who want to learn to bake florinhas (Portuguese pastries).
Porto has so much to offer as a pre or post-cruise destination. Image: Avalon Waterways
Ideal customer
Douro cruises traditionally sell to older customers who have graduated from the Rhine and Danube, but there’s a lot on this itinerary to appeal to a wider audience, whether past river cruisers or not. The small ship is perfect for travellers cruising on their own (there are no single cabins so keep a lookout for solo deals), and this is also a good choice for those who like to stay active or are interested in wildlife and nature.
The cruise line says
Janet Parton, sales and marketing director at Cosmos, Globus and Avalon Waterways says: “Avalon is delighted to be offering the Douro for the first time in 2024. It’s a destination that we often get asked for by our UK travel agents and guests, so I’m thrilled that we can now showcase this beautiful region on board Avalon Algeria. The itinerary we’ve created will provide a range of immersive excursions for guests to personalise their experience on the Douro.”