Cruising Portugal’s Douro River: A serene journey with Viking Cruises
I am lying on a lounge on the Sun Deck gliding along the Douro River in Portugal. The sun is shining, the scenery is green on green on green, and the only noise is the gentle flapping of the flags on the Viking Torgil.
Ahh, the serenity…
The cruise’s itinerary starts when Viking representatives first greet you and wrap their arms around you. In our case, this was at Lisbon Airport. “Don’t touch the luggage,” my husband and I were told by the Viking driver.
Our job, he told us, was to relax and Viking would take care of everything else. And they did – right to escorting us to Porto airport when the cruise finished and waiting until we passed through security.
Porto and the Douro River at sunset.
Lisbon to Porto cruise: Starting the journey
I had never been to Portugal, so I was wide-eyed with expectation.
The itinerary did not disappoint – there is something here for lovers of nature, wine, food, history and culture.
The 10-day ‘Portugal’s River of Gold’ itinerary starts in Lisbon (with two nights at the five-star Corinthia Lisbon).
A full day in Lisbon was a great start to our adventure and the beginning of our taste-testing of the Pastel de Nata.
Often referred to (outside of Portugal) as Portuguese tarts, these are mouthfuls of creamy egg custard encased in crispy puff pastry. They are best eaten warm with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Absolutely lip-smacking!
The altar of the Old Cathedral, Salamanca.
Exploring Porto, Coimbra and Salamanca
From Lisbon, Viking transported us to Porto, about 300km away, where we boarded our home away from home, the Viking Torgil.
En route to Porto, we stopped in Coimbra and explored part of the 16th-century university, visiting one of the most beautiful libraries we have ever seen.
What followed was a busy six days of excursions, food and wine. We learnt about the production of Port wine and the history of Portugal including the 40 years of dictatorship in the 20th century.
Viking expertly transported us all in very comfortable, branded coaches complete with seatbelts, individual climate control, WiFi, USB ports and a toilet.
We had a bonus day in Spain at the golden sandstone city of Salamanca – another historic university town.
This university is the fourth oldest in the world and dates from the 13th century.
The Salamanca cathedrals adjoin each other and date from the 12th and 16th centuries. The age of these still functioning buildings is hard to comprehend.
After cruising from Porto to the Spanish border, the Torgil turned around and cruised back to Porto.
The Dom Luis I bridge spans the Douro River in Porto.
All ships dock on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the Douro River looking across and up at Porto and the glorious, double-decker, arch-shaped Dom Luis I metal bridge.
The star of the itinerary for us was the winding Douro River. Green and glassy, it provided a serene sailing experience.
We never tired of the vertiginous terraces of thick, stone walls planted out with grapes mostly but also olives and almonds – a patchwork in all shades of green.
Views from the Aquavit Terrace aboard the Viking Torgil.
Enterainment aboard the Viking Torgil
The Viking Torgil offers a spacious bar and lounge, an outdoor sitting area – the Aquavit Terrace – a restaurant, and a vast sun deck with pool.
The lounge and restaurant span the width of the ship with panoramic windows on both sides, letting in light and views.
Apart from the usual, informative port talks, I attended a fun Portuguese cooking lesson. I also joined a Portuguese language lesson although I didn’t progress far beyond ‘obrigada’ (thank you).
There is a piano player in the lounge and an organised activity after dinner. Some evening highlights were a music quiz, and flamenco and folk music performances.
Farewelling our new friends
With only 98 passengers, it was easy to make friends on this trip.
We exchanged numbers and lamented the end of this lovely journey. But, as the hotel director said at the cocktail party on our last night aboard, “Do not be sad that the trip is over. Be glad that it happened.”
I am very glad.
The writer sailed ‘Portugal’s River of Gold’ itinerary as a guest of Viking Cruises.
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