How we choose Douro Valley tours

Every Douro listing

We read every Douro listing in the catalogue individually, including the detail beneath the tour title. The title is only a starting point. You need to know where the day begins and how you get there. A trip starting in Pinhão leaves travel from Porto to you.

Our three main lists cover wine tours from Porto, day trips and boat trips; the narrower lists cut the same catalogue by one question each: private, half day, from Pinhão, with the train, at sunset. Each list answers a different question. A tour can belong in more than one comparison when its itinerary fits both. The total counts each tour once.

The bar: 4.5 stars and 30 reviews

The entry bar is 4.5 stars and 30 reviews when one of the three main lists is built. In the catalogue, 114 listings met that threshold. The narrower lists, private tours, boats from Pinhão, half days and the like, keep the 4.5 stars and ask for 10 reviews, because few tours of a kind exist; a list needs at least three. We then choose tours for the comparisons. A small movement in a rating does not automatically hide a tour already in a list.

Compared by what is in the price

We compare what you receive for the price shown with what you must arrange yourself. Lunch and pickup need separate attention. A boat trip can leave you paying for the return train. Read the exclusions if your budget is fixed; a lower fare can leave more of the day to arrange.

The order and the updates

Inside a list the order follows the number of reviews; operators cannot pay for position. Prices and ratings are read again daily, along with review counts. We revisit the lists every two or three months. Nothing is sold here. Your button opens the booking page, where you pay the price shown there.